Garden Walk Showcases 2 Vernon Hills Yards

The elaborate gardens of two Vernon Hills residents will be featured in Gardeners of Central Lake County’s garden walk this month. 

Lesley and Gilbert Smith and Gayle and Ron Althardt will open their yards to visits from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 29. Both couples live on Woodbine Circle.

The Althardts’ backyard features a model train that runs on 2,000 feet of track amid ponds and miniature villages. Their gardens include 300 hostas, 3,800 impatiens and a seven-foot waterfall.

Visitors will find a four-season vegetable garden, unusual varieties of trees, a beehive and a prairie at the Smiths’ home. Their pesticide-free garden is certified by Conserve Lake County for supporting water conservation and resilient ecosystems. 

This year’s garden walk features five gardens in all. The other three gardens are in Lincolnshire. For more information, including a map, directions to each home and information about handicapped accessibility, visit the garden walk page of the Gardeners of Central Lake County’s website.