Jeanne Molzon of the Clarkston Farm and Garden Club gives a sneak peek at a snippet of one of the gardens on thisyear’s Garden Walk. (Photo special to The Oakland Press/KATHARINE MICHALAK)

A catered lunch on a July afternoon, a one-day boutique selling original works of art, a walk in a garden serenaded by music or by an artist painting. This is what the third annual Clarkston Garden Walk offers.

On Wednesday, July 16, the Clarkston Farm and Garden Club, in conjunction with Clarkston Community Education, will sponsor a selfguided walking tour of six distinct gardens.

The tour begins with lunch, which will be hosted in the atrium of the Clarkston Community Education building. A boutique offering handmade items including note cards, pottery, jewelry and original paintings will be open 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The gardens will be open noon-7 p.m. Participants can pick up maps to the homes on the tour on the day of the walk at the Community Education building. Maps will detail which gardens will have artists and musicians present as well as the times for those events.

Jeanne Molzon from the Garden Club and Beth Kerr from Community Education are this year’s co-chairwomen.

“We’re really impressed by what the homeowners themselves have designed and developed. People who come just love it and tend to come back the following year,” Molzon explained.

That sentiment was echoed by Tami Dowd of Clarkston, a participant in the 2007 tour, who is looking forward to this year’s walk.

“For me as a gardener, it was incredibly inspirational to see how these people had transformed their back yards, to see gardens that have a lot of natural, native flowers and to see how people integrate annuals and perennials to create beautiful landscapes,” Dowd said.

The event intentionally showcases different settings to

present a full spectrum of gardening possibilities for inspiration, encouragement and sheer enjoyment. This year’s offerings will, once again, run the gamut from moderate to enormous. One home is a condominium, to show what can be done in that setting. Another home showcases Michigan native plants and wildflowers on a 10-acre setting.

One home shows a well-manicured landscape that includes a spectacular rose garden. Another home features a wooded setting including annuals and perennials as well as a water garden with a bridge.

Two homes this year feature sloped landscapes, including steps, walkways, rocks and a variety of plants.

In addition to the six homes on the walking tour, a new feature this year will be a drivethrough community property at a new home development.

Dowd, a self-described “gardener wannabe,” now looks forward to this and other garden walks.

“There was such a wide variety of gardens from country gardens to city gardens to subdivision gardens. That was the other thing that was very inspirational. It breaks all the myths of gardening,” Dowd explained.

Proceeds from the annual tour are used to help fund the library literary gardens and the planters in downtown Clarkston and to contribute to annual scholarships offered to graduating Clarkston High School seniors.