Cheryl Cooper and her husband put in a koi pond and waterfall, which will be on the Clarkston garden tour next week. (Photo special to The Oakland Press/ JOETTE KUNSE)

Some of the Clarkston area’s most beautiful gardens will be open for tours from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“The longer hours for this year’s garden tour will offer people who are working on Wednesday time to visit the gardens in the late afternoon,” said Jeanne Molzon, tour chairwoman for the Clarkston Farm and Garden Club.

The garden tour is a fundraiser for the Clarkston Farm and Garden Club. Proceeds are used to maintain planters in the village, landscaping at the library, educational programs in the Clarkston schools and scholarships for graduates.

Tickets cost $20 for the garden tour and $22 for the tour and lunch. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Education Building on Waldon Road. Tickets that include lunch must be purchased at least one day before the tour.

Clarkston residents Al and Cheryl Cooper are opening their garden for the tour. Walking through their shady arbor entrance into their beautiful backyard haven, guests are greeted by a bubbling fountain. An outdoor deck invites guests to sit and view the lower garden. Visitors may sit in front of the waterfall and koi pond and enjoy the antics of the colorful fish, or climb the steps to relax in the seating area above the garden and feel the breezes on the hill.

“We began with a grassy hill,” Cheryl Cooper explained. “Al wanted to cut down on mowing. So we dug and planted and dug and planted. With the plantings and landscaping, he can mow the whole yard in a very short time.”

The Coopers like antiques, and are always on the lookout for something for the garden. They knew they wanted to build a garden house, so when they found the windows in Canada, they designed the structure to fit the antique windows. The garden house serves as a play house for the Coopers’ grandchildren.

“My grandchildren and I have lots of tea parties in the garden house,” Cheryl said.

The Cooper garden includes a pergola, terraced plantings and several areas for lounging. Colorful clematises grow on the side of the deck, and birds sing from the various birdhouses in the garden.

Cooper says she works a couple of hours a day in the garden, just putzing around. She likes to see if plants will fit in a new way or place.

In addition to the landscapes, visitors will see artists working on watercolor, oil and acrylic painting in various gardens. Some of the gardens will offer local musicians performing, as well. Garden art, jewelry, pottery and paintings will be available for sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Education Boutique.