Country Garden and Yard Tour to benefit student trip to Washington, D.C.

Residents of Frohna, Mo., and Altenburg, Mo., will host a Country Garden and Yard Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to benefit local students.

The money raised from the tour will help fund a trip to Washington, D.C., for seventh- and eighth-grade students at United in Christ Lutheran School in Frohna.

Aileen and Marvin Petzoldt of Frohna have three grandchildren going on the trip, which will take place in spring 2013. Their home, at 7077 Main St., will be a stop on the tour. They will also be selling blooming planters.

"I like doing things like that for the school," Aileen Petzoldt said.

This is the first year for the tour, which will showcase the gardens of four area homes. The homes of Frohna residents Bob and Darlene Bachmann at 75 Birdsong Drive and Altenburg residents Tim and Colleen Mueller at 905l Main St. and Stan and Jennifer Hadler at 9463 Main St. will also be stops on the tour. There will be signs leading to these stops.

The gardens will display items such as water features, flower collections, garden art, ponds and a gazebo.

Petzoldt said she has about 100 varieties of hostas in her garden and several hundred different kinds of plants.

In addition to hostas, Petzoldt said collecting garden art has become another hobby. She uses castoff items such as colorful broken dishes, old urns, a child's wagon and her dad's old farm shoes to decorate the landscape.

Their garden also has a fountain, birdhouses and a shiitake mushroom farm maintained by her husband.

Petzoldt said she and her husband enjoy being outdoors while working on their garden and yard. Tending to their growing plants brings them satisfaction.

"It is my little part of keeping Frohna looking nice," Aileen Petzoldt said.

Darlene Bachmann said her garden has flowers such as cosmos, purple salvia, geraniums and petunias.

"The knockout roses will be blooming nicely," Bachmann said.

Bachmann said she enjoys gardening because of her love for all kinds of flowers.

"It is a great stress reliever for me," Bachmann said.

In addition to flowers, the Bachmanns have a vegetable garden. They also have a gazebo, bridge and pond.

Tickets may be purchased at Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging in Cape Girardeau; United Land Title LLC in Jackson; Carol A. Word, CPA, PC in Perryville, Mo.; Emily's Beauty Shoppe in Altenburg; JLyn's Salon in Altenburg; and United in Christ Lutheran School in Frohna. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the event. A map of the gardens will be included.

ajones@semissourian.com

388-3654

Pertinent address:

Frohna, MO

Altenburg, MO