Beautiful sights on Waseca walk

Community members enjoyed a day of sightseeing as the Waseca Garden Club hosted its annual Summer Garden Tour on Saturday afternoon. Club president Jolene Gundermann said that the tour is a tradition that dates back at least 35 years. Gundermann herself is a longtime member of the club. “I’ve been involved for over 40 years, starting in ‘78 or ‘79,”  she recalled.

As part of the event, featured gardens at homes and businesses in Waseca make themselves available to be viewed and enjoyed by the public. While many of the gardeners volunteer to be part of the tour, Gundermann said that sometimes club members ask their neighbors to join if they have a particularly “nice garden.”

Club members at the Waseca Historical Society’s Bailey-Lewer House offered free refreshments and maps of the tour, guiding participants to four other gardens in the city. Each stop had a station manned by club members, with a guest book to be signed by visitors. One member quipped that the gardeners with the smallest number of signatures will have to do the dishes at the next garden club meeting.

Lifelong county residents Vicki and Dennis Neidt opened their garden to visitors as part of Saturday’s festivities. In addition to helping maintain his family’s garden, Dennis said that Wasecans may recognize him from leading painting classes in the community. Also participating were former Waseca County commissioner Ralph Keyes and his wife Audrey. Their daughter, Tanya Herbst, joined them in greeting guests on the tour. Homestead home goods store owner Nancy Walter enjoyed being part of the lineup for a second consecutive tour. “It was a lot of work to get the yard ready,” said Walter, adding that she was thankful that this year’s tour wasn’t rainy like last year’s. Mike and Jane Mulcahey, a couple who have lived in their Waseca home together for 45 years, hosted the final stop. Their flower garden was especially expansive and its decor included metal silhouettes of their five grandchildren.