BELFAST — “What do gardeners and artists have in common?” the Belfast Garden Club said in a news release. “Read what the experts have to say and you'll find there's a lot in common. In addition to creativity and hard work, gardening and art-making both require faith, trust and imagination. So when an artist offers to share their garden, expect a multiplication of inspiration and joy.”
Artist Janalee Welch and her husband Keith will open their garden and Janalee's art studio, at 49 Robbins Road, Belfast, to the public from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, July 20. The garden tour is part of the Belfast Garden Club's Open Garden Days.
The $5 admission fee to the gardens will support the club's public service projects throughout the year. The event will go ahead rain or shine. Season passes can be purchased on-site for $35.
Welch, a former teacher and lifelong artist, started gardening in earnest during the pandemic. “When I bought this property 10 years ago, there was no garden of any kind,” she says. “There were just a few small trees and shrubs planted in random locations.”
Using what he already knew about color and structure, Welch transformed the entire backyard into a garden that includes more than a dozen hydrangeas, many native plants, a new moss garden, several sculptural elements, paths, and walkways. Terraces were added to maintain the slope, as well as a climbing-covered pergola and large raised flower beds.
“I see my garden as an extension of my art,” she says, “like an artist's palette of harmonious colors, shapes and textures.”
Many garden-themed items will be available for sale during the tour, including Welch's handmade journals.
Despite the challenges of uneven hills, eroded slopes, hard baked clay soil, rocks and shade, the garden's evolution itself is an inspiration to continue working.
“It's still a young garden,” Welch said, “and there's still a lot we want to accomplish.”
Open Garden Days will be held every Saturday until Aug. 17. For more information on the Open Garden Days schedule, visit belfastgardenclub.org. Proceeds benefit the Garden Club's school programs, camp scholarships, library donations and Belfast's 13 public gardens which are maintained by the Club's volunteers.
