(gentle music) - "Oklahoma Gardening" is a production of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, as part of the Land-Grant Mission of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, dedicated to improving the quality of life of the citizens of Oklahoma through research-based information.

Underwriting assistance for our program is provided by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, helping to keep Oklahoma green and growing.

(gentle music) Welcome to "Oklahoma Gardening".

Join us today as we head to Tulsa for the 71st Annual Tulsa Garden Club Garden Tour.

We will give you a sneak peek of three of the beautiful gardens that will be opened to the public on May 14th.

While we visit with each homeowner to find out their gardening secrets, the one thing that is not a secret is how amazing these landscapes are.

You won't wanna miss this year's garden tour, so stay tuned as we give you the details.

(upbeat music) It's almost like an ombre of sunset colors.

(upbeat music) It's not the flowers, right?

(upbeat music) (laughing) (gentle music) It is that time of year again, We are about to kick off garden tour season and it's one of my favorite times of year.

And we are back over here in Tulsa to visit with the Tulsa Garden Club about their upcoming garden tour.

Joining me today is Cindy Davis.

Cindy, I know you guys work so long on this every year.

It starts as soon as one's finished.

What have you got planned for us this year?

- We're so excited, Casey.

This year we have five gardens and three interiors.

So it's Saturday, May 14th from 10 to four.

- [Casey] All right.

- [Cindy] A one day only.

One day only, yeah.

- [Casey] But tell me a little bit about how a person that might wanna come to the garden tour, how can they get tickets?

- [Cindy] Okay, you can buy them at the garden center, Tulsa Garden Center, on Peoria.

You can get them on Eventbrite.

- [Casey] Okay.

- [Cindy] And they can walk you through the process of that.

- [Casey] Yeah, so if you're not around here it's easy to get 'em online.

- [Cindy] Yes, and you will have your receipt.

And when you go to the gardens you will present that at the table for check-in, and then you will get the garden guide at the individual gardens.

- [Casey] Okay, so all the addresses are listed on the website so people can just show up- - [Cindy] At anywhere in the garden.

- [Casey] Anywhere there's no starting place, right?

- [Cindy] Right, right.

- [Casey] Okay.

And what if somebody didn't get theirs pre-ordered 'cause-- What's the price pre-ordered?

- [Cindy] $10 in advance and 15 at the door.

- [Casey] Okay.

- [Cindy] So on the 13th, that's the last date to buy advanced tickets.

- So I know it's a lot of work every year the garden tour is to put on, so tell me where do these proceeds go and why do you guys do all this work every year?

- Well, our main theme has always been garden education.

And so through the tour or the flower shows or our meetings or just community outreach, we're always striving to educate ourselves and other people.

And we do have scholarships that we give out.

- As somebody who was a recipient of one of the scholarships- - That's right!

That's right!

- Way back in the day, I appreciate it, and I'm so glad to continue to support this effort that the Tulsa Garden Club does.

And it's a great day to get out into your community.

- Thank you.

(gentle music) - Today, we are here at Paul and Beth Teels' Garden.

And if you know anybody in the gardening world here in Oklahoma you've probably heard of Beth Teel's Garden.

And today is an opportunity to see a sneak peek of what's gonna be on the Tulsa Garden Club Garden Tour.

So Beth, thank you so much for joining us and allowing us to come into your backyard.

You have a beautiful garden as I've heard so often.

- Thank you, it's my pleasure.

And I just love having anyone coming to my backyard.

- So tell me, how long have you been gardening?

I've heard your name for so long.

Tell me about your kind of history with gardening.

- We've lived here 38 years, almost 39 this next month, and I've been gardening probably 20 of those years.

- Okay, well it definitely shows, obviously we've got the tulips blooming.

You're really big into doing that every fall, I guess?

- [Beth] Yes, I planted around 600 tulips this year.

And so not all of them came up, but in pots, but they all came up that were in the dirt, so-- - [Casey] Okay, well I know how much the garden's gonna change between when we're filming today and when the actual garden tour is.

That something that's not going to change is the charm that is in this garden.

I love the unique stuff that you have, just for example like over here, tell us a little bit about your display table here.

- Well, Paul and I made this during the pandemic.

I found the bottom of a table, it was a dining room table.

I found the bottom on Craigslist and then we put the top on it so we could actually use it as a display table for plants during the season, and I just love it.

We've had so much fun displaying different kinds of plants during different seasons - [Casey] And those little sheep are your handy work as well, right?

- Yes, these are.

I make lambs outta cement.

This was a French- - [Beth] Chocolate mold and I've used it a lot.

I make a lot of lambs.

- [Casey] I just love that idea.

So you're always looking at different molds and how you could put concrete in 'em, right?

- [Beth] Yes, that's right.

I also make pots, that pot right there is a hypertufa, it's what you call that, and I have several pots around the garden.

I also make bigger lambs, I'll show those later on, but yes.

- [Casey] Well, it's just charming, tell me a little bit, I know you've got pots and also some topiaries.

Where do you find some of all your unique stuff that you have?

- Find a lot of it at garage sales and mostly estate sales.

I don't go to garage sales as much as I used to.

But, no, a lot of estate sales, I find different things.

This came down the street at at an estate sale, bought two of those.

And these came from an antique store, just all over the place.

- Well, they all add a neat texture and and really create a unique interest in your backyard.

There's always something, a little find here.

Tell me a little bit about, I know over here you've had some slug damage with hostas you mentioned earlier.

- [Beth] Yes.

- [Casey] So, what's your solution?

- The solution is to plant the hostas in pots and I can also winterize the hostas in their pots.

I just let 'em stay right there, or I can move 'em back to my compost pit in the winter.

- [Casey] You just kind of bury the pots in your compost?

I love that idea.

- [Beth] Yes, yeah, I just stack 'em all right there in the compost pit and cover 'em with leaves, and they just do perfectly.

And then I bring 'em out when spring arrives, and then they start growing.

And these have just really started growing in the last couple weeks.

- [Casey] Well, I love the fact that you've kind of brought a true shade garden into your patio space by bringing those hostas and the different textures and colors that they offer.

- The best part about this is when there's hail in the forecast- - Uh-huh.

- They're all protected.

And I don't have to worry about hail damaging the leaves.

- Right, right, and you even have a hosta in a hanging basket, which I've never seen.

I love that idea.

- That's been, that's new for me and I hope it works.

If I can just keep the birds from getting all the coco liner out for nesting.

- [Casey] So, tell me a little bit about your side garden.

So, I know that space between the privacy fence and the house is sometimes a lost space.

- [Beth] Yes.

- [Casey] But you have utilized it to the fullest, tell me about that.

- [Beth] This is like a secret garden, actually.

- [Casey] Uh-huh, yeah.

- My grandchildren love running back and forth.

We had a problem with mud, too much water over there, so I filled it with pea gravel and limestone and that starts the path back there.

And then above, we had, during the ice storm, a neighbor lost a big tree that was providing a lot of shade our azaleas and hydrangeas over there, so Paul built a really nice structure over that area.

And so it keeps it all shaded.

- [Casey] Well, and I love that because so many people are going through that same issue of all of a sudden their shade garden has turned into a full-sun garden.

- [Beth] Exactly.

- [Casey] So you've got a trumpet vine nearby that looks like it does creep on it and provide some more shade still.

- [Beth] It does.

And you know, that provides just the right amount.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- All right.

Well I love the secrets you're sharing with us and I saw some unique things holding up your peonies out front.

Can you tell me about that?

- Oh, yeah.

Those were just old lamp shade forms.

You take all the stuff off the lamp shade, all the silk or the cotton, whatever.

- [Casey] Right.

- [Beth] And then you just put it down over your peonies and it provides a support for your peonies.

- [Casey] Structure, yeah.

- [Beth] Yeah.

- [Casey] And so again, at estate sells you found those?

- [Beth] Yes, or my house.

You always have a lampshade that you need to get rid of.

- Absolutely.

Well, and I love also the hardscape that you've incorporated in your garden.

Tell me a little bit about, did you bring all this rock in yourself?

Did you have others bring it in?

Tell me a little bit about that.

- We did, there's a place here in Tulsa that you can buy limestone by the pound.

And we just go, for a flower bed, we go and get the stones that we think we need and stack 'em and then it just works out great.

Instead of using the metal edging we found this to be a little bit safer for children in the backyard.

They can fall on a rock, but you can also do a lot of damage with the metal edge like that.

- [Casey] Right, right.

- [Beth] So this has been kind of fun to use the limestone.

- [Casey] And it's something that's a little bit more manageable, right?

- [Beth] That's right.

- [Casey] You just get pieces that you can actually manage.

- Yes, we can lift.

At this age, we don't need to be lifting boulders, but we can lift pretty small rocks.

And this, this works that great.

I do like the limestone.

I recommend to all my friends not to buy the sandstone because that crumbles so quickly.

But the limestone works great, and you can also move 'em.

if it's something gets out of bounds and you wanna make it a little bit bigger bed, then you just move your limestone out a little bit.

- Well, Beth, your garden has beautiful bones to it.

- Oh, thank you.

- With the box woods and also that limestone, it's just really fabulous.

And I can't wait to see what it looks like as we continue on through the season.

- Thank you, thanks.

(casual music) - It might look like we are in Colorado but in fact we are in West Tulsa, and today at this garden we are looking at one of the featured gardens on the Tulsa Garden Club Garden Tour.

And joining me as Scott Honeyman who is the landscaper for this beautiful design behind us.

- Thank you.

- Tell me a little bit about your inspiration here, and to have this in a front yard.

- Well, the beginning of this started as a challenge to try to hide a septic system that was located in the middle of the front yard.

- [Casey] Oh really?

- And so- - [Scott] It kind of grew from that point.

Obviously we wanted to keep the mountain theme with the style of the house.

So I wanted to plant trees and shrubs that would kind of give that look that we wanted.

We designed the element of the waterfall to give the noise and also just a beautiful feature to build the landscape garden around.

- [Interviewer] Right.

- [Scott] And it just took off from there.

- [Interviewer] Well, no matter how big a house is, or how beautiful it might be, you still have those utility things that you have to kind of cover up.

- Oh, always, there's always something in every yard.

- So obviously with such a slope as well there's less to mow.

- That's correct.

- There's less terrain to have to manage and stuff as well.

Did that play into this design?

- Well, partially, you know, maintenance is a big part of your design feature.

So doing things like certain types of mulches, ground covers and things that lessen that repetitive maintenance is always gonna be a big plus.

And of course that was one of the factors as well.

- Well, I love the colors you've chosen and it's not just the annuals with the pansies and the bulbs but even the ground cover kind of plays into that color a little bit.

Tell me about some of the plant selection.

- Absolutely.

Well, we have moneywort ground cover as our basic ground cover for the area.

We use also blue rug junipers to kind of give a little bit of a texture difference in certain areas, looks nice growing.

You'll see places where it's kind of growing through the rocks and gives that more natural look.

The, obviously the bright colors from the moneywort kind of shows off the green.

So it's not just green on green.

It's more darker shades of green and burgundies and just different elements.

And of course, textures of plants play a big factor as well.

So you want to have coarser plants like the mahonia bealei.

The fountain grasses that we have planted in here add some character, the weeping blue atlas cedar, just a lot of fun.

- And wow, the bulbs are on their way out.

They're still beautiful, but I can tell those azaleas are gonna be amazing next week.

- They should be by next week, they should be in full bloom.

- And are those re-blooming azaleas?

- There are some, the basic Fashion Azalea is an azalea I selected because it'll grow in more sun areas.

- Okay.

- There's also the addition of a newer variety called Bloom-A-Thon Azalea, which is a repetitive blooming azalea that we use to kind of complement the other plants.

They don't grow as large, so you get different elevations and different features about them that are nice.

- All right, well, I know the homeowners love the backyard so I might go see if they're back there if you don't mind.

- Great, no problem.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

(jaunty music) - Sabrina, oh my gosh.

Thank you so much for having us in your backyard.

I bet you never get outta your backyard.

It's so beautiful.

- It's pretty tough.

(both laugh) - So you've got, I mean, it's a pretty narrow space here and there's a big vertical drop behind your house here but you have squeezed so much in here as far as activity for your family.

Tell me a little bit about what all you've got going on in your backyard here.

- Well, it was designed for entertaining and we wanted to bring in the elements of the inside and the outside and have a space that you could do multiple things with family activities.

- [Interviewer] So you basically have extended your living room, right, with that patio?

- [Sabrina] We have, that it's maybe one of the funnest rooms of the house.

It's certainly used a lot, so.

- [Interviewer] So tell me, this is no normal pool.

You've got a new name for this.

What is this called?

- [Sabrina] It's called a spool.

So it's a spa or it's a pool.

And it just depends on what time of year it is if you wanna heat it or not.

But it's great for the grandkids cuz it's a nice wading pool, if they wanna just go swimming.

- Right, well, I was talking with Scott out front and I'm thinking maybe y'all don't like mowing because you got that beautiful landscape out front and there's no mowing to be had back here.

You do have some turf though.

- We do.

- Tell me a little bit about that turf you have.

- Well, when we first moved in, we kind of found it was a little challenging back here to keep grass growing.

It's kind of shady most of the day.

And then, you know, when you'd mow, you would have grass clippings and things.

So it was kind of one of those solutions that just presented itself and our daughter Lana designed it.

And it's actually a nine hole par two golf course.

- [Interviewer] Excellent.

- [Sabrina] And her dad helped too, so.

- [Interviewer] You guys have some putt putt challenges out here with that?

- [Sabrina] Glen is the expert.

He gets several hole in ones and knows the tricks of where to hit the ball.

And cuz it's got some contours to it.

So it's fun.

- Yeah, It looks like, - It's fun.

- And that actually helps with the drainage off of the slope here and everything.

- It does, yes, it accomplishes several things and gives us an area to entertain.

- Well, I know this garden has, is more than just a landscape.

You've also got some special touches in here.

Can you tell me a little bit about some of the memorial plantings you have in here?

- Sure, we've got several iris plants on this side and the other side that were my Grandmother Roar's, Grandma Roar's, and they're kind of a lilac.

They should be in bloom by the 14th of May, so.

- They're heading out now.

And then I've got some Shasta daisies, that my stepmother gave me that are under the limelight, they're in the middle, that'll be poking their heads out.

And out front, we've got some creeping phlox, that was grandma's too and, - Well, this is definitely a secret, that you would not expect in a backyard when you come back here, and, what's one of your secrets, about having such amazing plants that you're growing?

- I don't know, spending time with them, you gotta talk to your plants.

- (laughs) Absolutely.

- Have some fun with them, talk to the bees, talk to the plants.

- Thank so much Sabrina, I love this.

- Well, thanks for being here.

(bright music) - We are now at the home of Jim and Gwen Wilburn, and Jim, thank you.

This is just a beautiful backyard, and I don't even know if I'm in the backyard, the side yard, because it's so intertwined within your house here, must be great for entertaining.

- It it's a great place for entertaining, we've had a lot of parties here, we've had weddings back here, we've had weddings in the front, - Oh, I bet, I bet.

- And we have a wedding coming up May 28th, my daughter's getting married here.

- Oh, fabulous, well, it looks just perfect, but I know it's about to change too, I mean, we're coming and we're seeing the azaleas, and the violas, but a lot of that's about to change.

- It is, and you know, it's all good, you wish everything could peak at the right time, but Mother Nature has their own, you know, their own thoughts about it, but yeah, we're getting ready to pull out all the violas, and we're gonna put in some pink begonias, with Joseph's coat, and by then the beautiful coral bells are gonna be gone.

- So, let me tell you, I feel like you might like color, Is that true?

- Love it, love bright colors.

- Yeah, Well, it's beautiful, and only complimenting your bright colored pots as well, tell me a little bit about those.

- Yeah, those pots we bought, Gwen and I bought 'em in Italy about 15 years ago in Ravello, we loved them and they're like my babies, I bring them back, as soon as it looks like we're gonna have the first freeze, I bring 'em in my garage, - I was gonna ask, they don't look like they stay out there.

- No, and then bring them out right after that, you know, as soon as it looks like they're not gonna be another freeze, but yeah, I love those pots, and I think they're a lot of color, just like the, the plants.

- Absolutely.

- And you can see how we to do love color.

- Well, it seems like a very relaxing space, you've got the outdoor kitchen and the pool and I mean, you've got all your amenities that you would have in a house, out in your yard as well.

- We do, and even, you know, being in the office for the last two years here at home, and being on those zooms all day, I've a beautiful little courtyard, with the water fountain and cross colors rose garden, and I love walking out there in the day, you know, after an hour on the zoom calls, so, yeah, this yard is really, we're blessed to have a beautiful yard like this.

- Well, sometimes I know when you come to estates like this, you feel like maybe it's all done by a landscape company, but you get out here and are involved with the plant selection, right?

- Yeah, absolutely, every single plant, it's the only place where I feel like I'm boss, where my wife lets me have to say, and that's in my yard.

So, I get to, you know, I yellow's my favorite color, she won't let me wear it, but I do get to have it here on the violas and out front and so forth.

- Well, it definitely works out here, and thank you so much, and you mentioned Carla, I think I'm gonna go try to find her, maybe, - Carla's awesome, she's worked for us, with us for 25 years and she's the best.

- Excellent, I'm gonna go chat with her for a minute.

- All right, thanks Casey.

- Thank you.

- Hello Carla, I recognize you from the last garden tour, you've got another landscape here, on the garden tour and it's beautiful again.

- Well, thank you Casey, I appreciate that.

- I know your thing is color and you've got beautiful tulips in the backyard and of course these containers are just fabulous, tell me your secret.

- Quality plants and fertilizer, they like fishing mulching, we also like to put some Osmocote in there and water.

- Okay.

- Water's really important (laughs) - Water and fertilizer (laughs) - Water and fertilizer, the basics.

- Yeah, So, I mean, there's so much to this landscape, there's a lot of nooks and crannies and rooms, there're several different courtyard spaces.

Tell me a little bit about some of the different plants that you have throughout.

- Okay, so this is near the front door, and it's just kind of a formal entrance with box woods, then you go around the corner and we have a rose garden, and we have lots of climbing roses and we have some poppies for the spring, more roses and a fountain.

Then you go through the gate, you're in the backyard, yeah.

There's just lots of stuff.

- I just keep going and going, you got some viburnums that are blooming right now, - Oh yeah, they're looking amazing.

- And the hydrangeas are gonna be coming on soon, as well as the peonies, I believe.

- Yes, yes, we just trimmed all the hydrangeas and fertilized them, and you know, they're looking great.

So, the azaleas probably be gone, maybe by the tour, maybe hanging on a little bit, but you know, the hydrangeas will be coming out.

The roses should be blooming, they've got buds.

- So Carla, it seems like there's so much detail, how do you manage all of it and, and take care of it, 'cause there's so much entertainment that's going on here all the time as well?

- Right, well, if you just, you know, look at 'em, weekly and pick off the dead blooms, do a little pruning, maybe when stuff gets a little wild, keep your fertilizer up, it's all ready to go because it's five o'clock, and this is time for partying over here, because there's so many different areas to go to.

- Yeah.

Yeah, you can spread out, it's a great house.

- Well, it's a beautiful landscape.

Any favorite annuals that you definitely like using, that you wanna share with us?

- Oh, I like to mix the tropicals, like the hibiscus, you know, with the scaevola and, - With the grasses?

- Yeah, it's kinda nice and um, - [Carla] You know, the thriller, filler, and spiller type thing, but I like to use tropicals.

I like, hmm, I don't know.

Just anything that's colorful.

You know, you kind of just go and you see something at the nursery and you're going, that'll fit.

You kind of have it in your head what you want but you don't know really what you want 'til you see it and then you're like, perfect.

- So do you kind of play with it when you're at the nursery?

Those color combinations to figure it out and- - Yes.

- Almost like plant swatches, right?

- Yeah.

Yeah, really.

Yeah, and you know, you think about the container, what the container looks like, maybe the colors of the container kind of match that, add some you know, and something that's kind of wow.

Like not just your normal, you know, marigolds and begonias.

But you could use like the big begonias or the dragon wings.

Those have a little oomph and they look nice in a pot.

Pack 'em in, add lots of 'em.

- Well Carla, your containers definitely have your signature and thank you so much for sharing them with us and a few of your secrets also.

- Oh, you're more than welcome.

Come back anytime.

- Thanks.

(upbeat music) Joining me next is a Tulsa Garden Club member, Sandy Farris.

Sandy, thank you so much for joining us, and we are here in front of one of the homes that's gonna be on the garden tour, correct?

- Yes.

Yes.

- [Casey] Tell us a little bit about the history of the Tulsa Garden Club.

I know it's got a long legacy.

- Okay, yes.

It started in 1929 by 23 little ladies that the only requirement was to have a garden, no matter how big or small.

And they met at, it was called the Hilltop House, about 38th and Harvard.

In the mid-50s they moved to the Tulsa Garden Center.

We have a monthly meeting the first Monday of every month.

We grew like a weed last year because we got over 40 new members.

- Oh, that's excellent.

And then if anybody wants to become a member, they can just come to one of those meetings initially and get involved that way?

- Yeah, sure, yeah.

Online on our website.

It's real easy for them to get on and ask questions, contact us.

They can show up if they want to.

That's what I did when I became a member.

I just showed up.

So yeah, we would love to have anybody, everybody.

- [Casey] Oh, and I know your garden tour is one of the big things that you guys work so hard on all year long, but you do a lot of other things, like the flower show and some other aspects in the community.

- Of course, the garden tour is our largest fundraiser.

In fact, it's the longest running educational, charitable tour in the state.

And actually the Tulsa Garden Club is the largest garden club in the state of Oklahoma too.

But we have a lot of other charities that we give to and I'm sure Cindy mentioned the Second Chance program at TCC.

We're just busy all the time.

- You are.

- I mean, it's just great.

Yeah, we love it.

- Well, there's no better office to be working in.

I know you're doing a lot of stuff indoors, getting planting and stuff, but remind us of the date again, that people can come out and see these gardens.

- Okay, sure.

Saturday, May 14th, 10 to four.

- All right, the weather's gonna be beautiful.

Thank you so much, Sandy.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Casey] There are a lot of great horticulture activities this time of year.

Be sure and consider some of these events in the weeks ahead.

(upbeat music) Next week on "Oklahoma Gardening," we've been busy in the garden and have a spicy show lined up for you.

You won't wanna miss it.

(upbeat music) - Favorite times of year, it's garden tour season, and when we start to - (laughing) - I love that.

(upbeat music) - [Casey] To find out more information about show topics as well as recipes, videos, articles, fact sheets, and other resources, including a directory of local extension offices, be sure to visit our website at oklahomagardening.okstate.edu.

Join in on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can find this entire show and other recent shows as well as individual segments on our Oklahoma Gardening YouTube channel.

Tune in to our OK Gardening Classics YouTube channel to watch segments from previous hosts.

"Oklahoma Gardening" is produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service as part of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University.

The Botanic Garden at OSU is home to our studio gardens and we encourage you to come visit this beautiful Stillwater gem.

We would like to thank our generous underwriter, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Additional support is also provided by Pond Pro Shop, Greenleaf Nursery, and the Garden Debut Plants, the Tulsa Garden Center at Woodward Park, the Oklahoma Horticultural Society, Smart Pot, and the Tulsa Garden Club.

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