| | Published April 11th, 2012
| Moraga Juniors' May Garden Tour Promises to Inspire
| | By Sophie Braccini |  | | Photos provided by Moraga Juniors and Virginia Steuber
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This year's Moraga Juniors' Garden Tour will feature six diverse Lamorinda gardens, from modern to poetic to whimsical. The self-guided tour on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., promises to surprise, delight and inspire.
"We chose three gardens in Lafayette, two in Moraga and one in Orinda," says Junior Wendy Smith. "What we look for when we select these gardens are places that are unique, reflect the owners' personality, and will provide the visitors with a wonderful experience that can unleash their own creativity in their own garden."
A wide range of gardens are featured. Virginia Steuber designed her garden herself. "It just came out of my heart," she says. "The vegetable garden was conceived from the medieval vegetable garden concept. The front garden was inspired by the backpacking trip we take in the Sierra. I just wanted it to look wild, naturally occurring, which in fact takes a lot of work."
Steuber included themes from other trips, such as garden mounds from Germany, and an 'old roses' English garden. She recreated an Alice in Wonderland space on the side of the house, Peter Rabbit has his space in the back, and she added a labyrinth to her garden that she walks daily.
Key to the installation has been her gardener, Ricardo Enriquez. "Anything I design, he can install," she says. Steuber and her husband feel so blessed with their home that sharing it, especially for a good cause, is something that's important to them. "We want to do more for the community," she says.
Other gardens on the Tour are testimony to the taste of their owners and the talent of the landscape architects who were able to materialize their vision. One modern garden, designed by Joseph Huettl of Huettl Landscape Architecture, is elegant and colorful, and features a lot of natural material and interesting plants. Visitors will find interesting ideas about outdoor kitchens and water features, as well as recreation and play areas.
This year's Moraga Juniors' fundraising goal is $20,000, with all proceeds to benefit STAND! For Families Free of Violence in Contra Costa County and to support the onsite emergency shelter Therapeutic Child Care (TCC) program. The TCC program helps children heal from trauma and develop social and academic skills needed for success.
Tickets for the May 5 tour are $30. Gourmet lunch boxes are also available and may be pre-ordered for $10 each. They can be purchased from Juniors' members online at www.moragajuniors.org, or at the following locations: Across The Way (Moraga), McDonnell Nursery (Orinda) and Orchard Nursery (Lafayette).
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA