Joe and Sandy Weidel reside in Ironville, in an old farmhouse with a brand-new patio garden.

The tranquil spot along the side of the house features a serpentine stone wall and four circular flagstone patios tied together with brick walks and stone steps.

The Weidels built the multilevel garden themselves, with help from their friends, landscape designers Barry and Donna Mentzer, of Sweet Bay Farms, in Washington Boro.

You can see their labor of love in the inaugural Gardens of the Susquehanna Tour, sponsored by the Wheatland Garden Club.

Self-guided tours of 34 mostly private local gardens run through October. The Weidels' garden will be open June 28 and 29.

Proceeds from the tour benefit historic building preservation and garden cultivation at Wheatland, President James Buchanan's historic home, 1120 Marietta Ave., Lancaster.

The Mentzers founded the club in 2005. Its 35 members, known as "the dirty knees," help care for Wheatland's grounds and propagate plants at the Mentzers' farm for the club's annual spring garden sale.

They also learn about gardening from the Mentzers, who both completed the Longwood Gardens graduate program. Barry Mentzer also has a degree in forestry from Penn State.

Roses, peonies, anise hyssop, oak leaf hydrangea and sweet bay magnolia — one of the most fragrant magnolia blossoms — will be in bloom in the Weidel garden when it opens for the tour.

Two umbrella-shaped Zelkova elms, a paper bark maple and a red oak will shade the patio as they grow.

The gardens feature flower beds with native plants, interspersed with tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

Weidel's favorite plant is sky pencil holly.

"It's unique," he says.

His "pride and joy" is a small raised bed for vegetables at the rear of the house.

"I used to have a big one out beyond the barn," he says. "The groundhogs ate it, and I got discouraged. This little one is just right. You just do a little bit, and you're done."

An antique dinner bell stands next to the vegetable garden. Before the advent of noisy tractors, it called farmers to dinner.

The main patio has a water pump and trough, now splashed with purple annuals.

The Weidels, retired teachers, have resided on the farm for 31 years. Barney, their 9-year-old golden retriever, and about 15 cats keep them company.

They frequently entertain large groups at outdoor gatherings. When the patio was finished in August, they held a celebration picnic for more than 100 people.

For many years, Weidel grew tobacco on the 44-acre farm. Now he grows corn and raises steers and pigs.

"I'm really more of a farmer than a gardener," he says.

Beginning in high school and continuing through his teaching career, he worked in landscaping, mostly at Erb Brothers, where he met Barry Mentzer.

"We're lifelong friends and landscapers," Weidel said.

And he loves the garden the Mentzers designed for his home.

"The most distinct thing about it is its design," he said. "You couldn't duplicate it another place. It's a terrific design. It accommodates what we wanted to do.

"I love looking at it, sitting in it, working in it."

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The Gardens of the Susquehanna Tour continues through October.

The "Rose Booklet" tour is based on the traditional English Garden "Yellow Book" scheme.

The tour booklet, which serves as a ticket, contains a tour calendar, garden descriptions and directions. Six or seven gardens will be open on any given day.

Booklets are $20. To purchase, call 392-8721, go to wheatland.org or visit Wheatland, 1120 Marietta Ave., during business hours.

To add your garden to next year's tour, or to suggest a garden, contact Donna Mentzer, Bcmdmm@aol.com.

Featured gardeners are:

• Marguerite Adams, Lancaster

• Valentine Albright, Landisville

• Andrew Appel, Pequea

• Sandy Bachman and Brian Lefever, Conestoga

• Robert and Louise Brewer, Lancaster

• St. Stephen's United Church of Christ, New Holland

• Dan and Sandy Conklyn, Lancaster

• Nelson and Peggy Craige, Lancaster

• Paul and Pam Currie, Lancaster

• The Legacy Garden at Garden Spot Village, New Holland

• Mark and Marcie Fahnestock, Mount Joy

• Robert and Carol Falk, Lancaster

• Alan and Sue Fehr, Millersville

• Ira and Jane Grushow, Ephrata

• Willard and Shelby Hackman, Lititz

• Elvin Hess, Conestoga

• Ray and Lois Hurst, Denver

• Fred Kinsey and Carol Thompson, Manheim

• Charles and Margot Lane, Lancaster

• Karl Lefever, Conestoga

• Jeffrey and Cindy LeVan, Lancaster

• Gene and Mary Lowry, New Holland

• Robert and Linda Macina, Lancaster

• Mervin and Laura Martin, New Holland

• Chris and Johann McKee, Landisville

• Barry and Donna Mentzer, Lancaster

• Curvin and Carol Miller, York

• Barb Shoemaker and Ernie Rudolf, Lancaster

• John and Joni Soost, Lancaster

• Rodney and Betsy Spotts, Leola

• Jeffrey and Debi Stauffer, Narvon

• Robert and Nancie Weaver, New Holland

• Joseph and Sandy Weidel, Columbia

• Jeff and Wanda Wiker, Strasburg

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