This garden on Farlook Drive is one of five that will be featured in a garden tour Sunday. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        GREEN TOWNSHIP — It's taken Ron and Judy Flaxmayer nearly six years to get their residential garden to the point of personal satisfaction. On Saturday, they hope it will please others, too, when it is showcased with four other private gardens on the annual Monfort Heights/White Oak Community Association Summer Garden Tour.

        “I guess I should be out there picking weeds right now,” joked Mr. Flaxmayer, a semi-retired University of Cincinnati instructor and official.

        His garden, which features lush foliage, cobblestone pathways, a circular pave-stone patio, a gazebo and an antique gaslight lamppost (circa 1904) that he inherited from his father's garden, also boasts the distinction of being designated a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

IF YOU GO

• What: Monfort Heights/White Oak Community Association Summer Garden Tour.     • When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.     • Where: 5851 Farlook Drive, 6010 Gaines Road, 5479 Sanrio Drive, 5674 West Fork Road, 5626 Sprucewood Drive.     • Cost: $7 per person. Tickets can be purchased at any of the gardens. Transportation is not provided, but parking is available.

        There are three new sites on the tour, with two repeats, said Peggy Lopez, who helped co-found the association in 1996. She said the association, in addition to having a voice in land use and other community issues, is most visibly active in the planting and maintenance of about 14 acres of public land at the Interstate 74/North Bend Road interchange.

        The garden tour, now in its fourth year, funds the bulk of that upkeep through ticket sales and plant sales that take place at one or more of the participating residences.

        “We usually price everything really reasonable, because were just trying to get people to plant,” she said.

        The 2001 tour attracted more than 400 visitors.

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