Parkland Garden Club’s 21st annual garden tour, “Kaleidoscope of Color Around the Lehigh Valley,” offered eight gardens on July 13 for visitors to tour and enjoy.

“This year’s garden tour reflects the idea that gardeners are always including color, textures, patterns, and different forms and shapes into their gardens,” said Barbara Campbell, chairman of the tour.

The 1-acre property in the 5000 block of Elmhurst Drive, Schnecksville, featured colorful perennial flower beds, 200 dramatic lilies standing 4- to 5 feet tall and flowering viburnums and hydrangeas.

More than 15 different species of birds nest in the trees, shrubs and birdhouses on the property.

The home in the 2100 block of New St., Orefield, features an English garden showcasing espaliered fruit trees, and a rose arbor, a pool, outdoor entertainment area, and a kitchen garden.

The garden in the 2300 block of Focht Avenue, South Whitehall, has a lawn with a herd of sheep grazing on it, an English village among the Irish moss bed, an organic garden of blueberries, multi-season raspberries and a large vegetable garden.

A front walk lined with red geraniums welcomed tour-takers to the Dutch Colonial West End home in the 2700 block of W. Greenleaf St., Allentown.

The front garden under the Split Leaf Red Maple is filled with Geranium Macrorrhizum, Astilbe, Hosta, Mountain Laurel, and Ligularia. The backyard in the 900 block of N. 21st St., Allentown, has been designed to welcome birds and butterflies. The garden is planted with over 100 species of native plants that provide food and shelter for the birds and insects as well as beauty for the human eye.

In the 4000 block of Pheasant Court, Allentown, nearly 1,000 perennials provided a “kaleidoscope of colors,” as well as a variety of trees and shrubs and a 2,200 gallon fishpond with a waterfall.

Another garden in the 4000 block of Pheasant Court, Allentown, is a gardener’s paradise.

Visitors approaching the front walkway, are astounded by the textures and colors, including a Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) and the fun sculptures and many colorful containers throughout the garden beds.

A silent auction featuring garden theme items took place at one home in Orefield. David Shimp, greenhouse manager at Phoebe Floral Shop, gave a demonstration at a home along Pheasant Court, Allentown. And, Sue Kittek, feature garden writer for the Morning Call, was on hand at the Elmhurst Drive home to answer garden-related questions.