Annual garden tour and party benefit Mt. Lebanon Public Library
Mt. Lebanon residents can boast of having one of Allegheny County’s premier public libraries, and the library’s annual garden tour has gone a long way toward helping the cause.
The event has raised more than $530,000 since its start in 1991, with the proceeds giving the library the means to provide patrons with a growing number of resources, such as the latest books, audio-visual materials, magazines, programs and technology.
Mt. Lebanon High School student Hannah Jones decorated one of the birdhouses to be bid on during the Stardust Swing.
This year’s tour is scheduled for 11 to 4 p.m. July 8, preceded by the “Stardust Swing: An Evening in the Garden” party from 7 to 9 p.m. July 7 in the library’s courtyard.
The courtyard garden will be one of the stops on Sunday, along with some neighborhoods that feature multiple gardens.
“On Lancaster Avenue, we have three neighbors in a row who all have their gardens on the tour,” Marina Nielsen, senior library assistant and tour coordinator, said. “On Longridge Drive, we have two neighbors who are across the street from each other.”
The tour also will highlight the work of two community organizations.
The Mt. Lebanon Arboretum, which has the mission of increasing species diversity and specimen tree plantings throughout the municipality, is showing the variety of growth along Spalding Drive. Of interest will be examples of Kentucky coffeetree, profusion flowering crabapple, Eastern red oak, Japanese stewartia, Princeton American elm, bald cypress, Cornelian cherry dogwood and ivory silk tree lilac.
Marina Nielsen’s birdhouse
In Bird Park, members of the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy will showcase the restoration work they have done in ridding areas of non-native, detrimental species of plants.
“My hope is that we’re going to have people who come to the tour who end up getting involved in some of these other organizations,” Nielsen said.
The Stardust Swing features a variety of desserts that can be paired with a scoop or two of Mt. Lebanon’s own Betsy’s Ice Cream, along with plenty of premium beverages. Performing music will be a jazz combo featuring Subha Das, who has been an instructor in the Mt. Lebanon High School percussion program for 20 years, and guitarist Gavin Horning.
A special opportunity is available for Stardust Swing guests: They can bid through a silent auction on 20 birdhouses that have been decorated by local artists, library staff members and community leaders including Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Kelly Fraasch, school district Superintendent Tim Steinhauer and state Rep. Dan Miller.
Tour tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the tour. Stardust Swing tickets are $30. Tickets can be purchased at the library and online through www.showclix.com.
For more information, visit www.mtlebanonlibrary.org or call the library at 412-531-1912.