There is a fee of $17 for the day, and preregistration is required by calling either Marion Leimbach at (218) 832-3290, or emailing Leimbach at pineloft@bigfork.net, or Donna Anderson at donaraefoto@bigfork.net.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the meeting at 10 a.m. Beautification and merit awards will be announced during the meeting. Beautification awards include individual, public and business gardens, while merit awards honor two individuals who have provided exceptional service for either their local club or the entire district. The 8th District includes Duluth, Grand Rapids and International Falls.

Laurie Frazer of rural Deer River has been growing irises for over ten years and now has a collection of over 800. On her iris pages and online catalog at www.lfrazer.com she has posted pictures and information on many of these, from miniature dwarf to tall bearded iris. Her presentation of the “Irises of Shadowood” will follow the short business meeting.

A “turkey and all the fixins” lunch at noon will be followed by a bus tour of two fall lakeshore gardens featured in the 2007 MacRostie Art in the Garden Tour earlier this summer. One, on the shore of Big Island Lake, is the home of Lady of the Lake perennials and was created by Janice Ward. Her garden is actually 16 different gardens, she explained, planted in both sun and shade and filled with nooks and crannies. She also has both annuals and perennials, including some antique flowers like her 8 foot tall “Kiss Me over the Garden Gate” plant. This year she added a waterfall.

“A big part of what this is all about for me,” she said, “is that I enjoy sharing the gardens with other people,...it’s fun to watch people enjoy them.”

The tour will end shortly after 3 p.m. with door prizes and raffle drawings.

Anyone interested in gardening is invited to the day, explained retired horticulturist Dave Wildung. North Country Gardeners, he said, have put together a terrific program and added a new idea with garden tours.

To reach the Marcell Family Center, take Highway 38 28 miles north of Grand Rapids or 11 miles south of Bigfork.