Clematis flowers adorn the garden of Jeanne Klein, 824 Greever Terrace. The Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners Garden Tour is this weekend.

While walking the grounds of some of the most lush gardens in Lawrence, it was quite natural for those on the Douglas County Garden Tour to imagine what life would be like living among all the flowers.

Kathy Gerisch of Overbrook pictured her mornings drinking coffee on a screened-in porch with a view of bright orange fish swimming in the water garden.

“I mean, this is the ultimate,” she said.

Gerisch was at the home of Dan and Carol Abrahamson, whose garden of terraced beds, brick paths, trickling waterfalls and whimsical sculptures culminated in a stone pool, which was home to water lilies, lotus, papyrus and the shimmering fish.

Gerisch, who was joined by Nashalla Roberts and July Hackerott from Topeka, remembered the garden from a previous tour.

“We just love it here,” she said and noted that even more had been added to the garden.

“We thought this would be a perfect place to retire,” Roberts said.

Not far away, the Abrahamsons were identifying plants and answering questions about how the garden came to be. It’s been a 46-year process.

Dan Abrahamson does the building and Carol Abrahamson does the planting and weeding. And, with the exception of preparing for tours, they said it really doesn’t require all that much work.

“I just love to see things grow,” Dan Abrahamson said.

The Abrahamsons’ garden, which is on Lawrence Avenue, wasn’t the only one that had folks imagining the good life.

Over on Moundridge Court, Rose Campbell was impressed by the inviting setting of a hot tub shaded by a large weeping willow tree and surrounded by vibrantly colored lilies, hibiscus, clematis, geraniums and impatiens.

“It’s like a little piece of paradise in Lawrence,” Campbell said.

The owners, Sue and Pat Shea, aren’t afraid of mixing tropical plants in with Kansas’s more traditional ones.

Despite “downgrading” to a smaller garden four years ago, the Sheas packed flowers, shrubs and even a water garden into their yard. Among Saturday’s star attractions was a hardy banana plant, which will grow to 7 or 8 feet in the summer but doesn’t produce fruit.

Four other private residences are on the garden tour, which will continue today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at any of the gardens or at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds Demonstration Gardens, 2110 Harper St.

The event, which takes place every other year, is the primary fundraiser for the Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners program.