Water lilies dot the water where Jerry and Mary Kay Samp have a piece of paradise in their west Lawrence home, 4712 Carmel Place. Their grandson Ben Stammeyer dips his toes in the new pond, one of the featured tour stops on the second annual Tour Des Fleurs, which starts Friday.

Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo Day lilies glow in the afternoon sun light as Jerry and Mary Kay Samp have a peace of paradise in their west Lawrence home tucked away at 4712 Carmel Place. New new pond and the vast green yard dotted with flowers and shrubs give way to a quite rest.

Day lilies glow in the afternoon sun light at Jerry and Mary Kay Samp’s garden, 4712 Carmel Place, one of the stops for the second annual Tour des Fleurs.

Escape the beginning of summer with cool, serene garden hideaways, bubbling waterfalls, stone accents and an inside look at area garden centers during the second annual Tour des Fleurs.

The tour, June 19-21, is a new spin on the old-fashioned garden show: Participating businesses highlight the weekend with special events and open the doors to private gardens they have built and maintain.

All stops on the tour are free, but if you plan on making many purchases, a $5 wristband, available at any of the tour stops, entitles a tourgoer to special discounts. Proceeds from wristband sales will support the Junior Master Gardener program at New York School.

Hands-down, the best part of this tour is the opportunity to interact with business owners who have created these unique shops and gardens.

Dave Plamann of Quiet Places Water Features is one participating business owner that I had the opportunity of visiting with recently. Plamann built the simple yet elegant pond at 4712 Carmel Place and helped the owners, Jerry and Mary Kay Samp, with the flagstone and plantings immediately surrounding the pond.

Plamann says he likes working with the “do-it-yourself with help” homeowners like the Samps. The front and perimeter gardens at the Samps’ home is their own handiwork. Plamann’s help was needed, however, to transform the large expanse of turf in the middle of the backyard into a more inviting expansion of the patio.

Listening to quiet music of the dual waterfalls, I can close my eyes and envision building this little getaway in my own yard. Goldfish dart in and out under the waterfall, and four different varieties of waterlilies dance in the gentle breeze. Lotus, hornwort and other aquatic plants grace the interior of the pond, while forget-me-nots, daylilies and a juniper frame the edges. One of my favorite plants also provides year-round interest on the edge of the pond: it is a dwarf-contorted filbert called Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick.

Special events at the garden centers and the other private gardens on the tour promise to be just as inspirational and enjoyable. Friday night features include wine-tasting and cheese at Pendleton’s and at 4712 Carmel Place, and you can get a special view of landscape lighting at 3915 Aster St. On Saturday, Water’s Edge will have a lotus party at lunchtime, and Stonedesign will be baking bread in an outdoor oven at 1618 Cypress Point in the afternoon. Local artists will display their work all weekend at Henrys’ Plant Farm, and there will be homemade ice cream at lunch on Sunday.

Wristbands will get you discounts on consultations, plants and pottery at many of the tour stops.

Clinton Parkway Nursery, Pendleton’s and Low Maintenance Landscape Inc. are also sponsoring educational talks at their locations on both days of the tour (contact them or check the tour Web site for more information).

— Jennifer Smith is the Douglas County Extension Agent – Horticulture for K-State Research and Extension. She can be reached at 843-7058.