Five lovely gardens will be featured at this year’s Oakdale Garden Club annual Autumn Garden Tour on Saturday, Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

One of the gardens in town features a creative use of raised beds to grow vegetables and flowers, while another garden is the perfect family play yard, complete with a tree house. Three of the gardens overlook the Stanislaus River and homeowners have created lovely spots for watching the river flow by. One features an Irish Garden Shed constructed by the owner, another demonstrates a creative use of native plants, and a third features a restful Zen garden. In addition, a silent auction and raffle will be held at one of the gardens.

Tickets to this year’s Autumn Garden Tour are $25 and help fund the many civic beautification projects undertaken by the Garden Club as well as providing scholarships for local high school students. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Morris Nursery in Riverbank, P & L Nursery in Escalon, Westurf Nursery in Modesto, the Greenery in Turlock, and Park Greenhouse in Ripon, and on the day of the tour at the garden located at 1084 River Bluff Drive, Oakdale.

The Oakdale Garden Club has just finished the re-planting of the Cowboy Statue, and will be working with the City to completely re-do the Downtown Pots, including a revised watering system, fresh soil, and new plants. Additionally, the Garden Club maintains the Blue Star Memorial Garden at the Oakdale Post Office, which is also scheduled for a re-fresh this year. The Garden Club partnered with Love Oakdale this year to plant a Peace Officers Memorial Garden at Valley View Park, and is developing plans to create a Community Garden off of A Street that will enable community members to rent plots to grow their own vegetables.