Mo Wion, left, and Darlene Eisele, both of Gardnerville listen to Dave Ruff lecture about deer and small animal resistant plants at the annual Genoa Home and Garden Tour at Antiques Plus Sunday afternoon.
Orange poppies were in bloom on rolling slopes of fresh-mowed grass Sunday for the Antiques Plus garden fair.
Quiet folks in wide-brimmed hats and khaki shorts milled around the 1870s era Dake House at 2242 Main S. in Genoa.
Four speakers gave tips on gardening in the high desert. Taking advantage of the professional gardeners on hand, women brought weeds pulled from their gardens for identification and asked about the pox on their roses.
"I probably have about 40 plants in bloom in my yard right now," said speaker Ingrid Texeira of the Cooperative Extension Services from the University of Nevada.
"Oh, how wonderful," remarked an audience member in sunglasses. She was seated in the shade of a tree with white blossoms as big as baseballs.
Other speakers included Dave Ruf of the Greenhouse Garden Center in Carson City, Judy Thomas from Carson Valley Ranch and Garden Supply, and Susie Daugherty of Nevada's Own in Wellington.
Smiling under a white visor among the poppies was Beverly Palmer of Carson City.
"It's been very restful, informative," she said.
"Yes, very informative," added her friend, Zoe Nowland. "I'm new to this area in the last five years so I'm glad to have someone from the area to give me information."
Rod and Holly Yoakam drove down from Reno. They are working on landscaping their 3-year-old house and keeping their eyes open for a place to retire.
"Genoa would be nice and quiet," said Rod Yoakam as a cyclist pedaled up Main Street into town.
Independent sales representative Juanita Mordhorst was selling Avon's Skin-so-Soft aerosol bug spray.
"I've really enjoyed it," she said. "Of course I'm interested in gardening, too, and I was able to hear quite a lot of the comments."
The owner of the Dake House and Antiques Plus, Martha Williams, and her daughter Kristen hosted the event. They sold classic American fare -- hot dogs, chips and root beer floats -- while iced tea and cookies were complimentary. Williams estimated the crowd at 150.
The Williams' seventh-annual Renaissance Fair is Saturday, July 26 and Sunday 27. Jousting, live music and vendors are planned.
On the Net
www.genoaevents.com
