Five New Ulm area gardens were open for the public to tour Thursday. Each of the gardens were selected by Brown County Master Gardeners to show off what can be done with a garden.

The five gardens on the tour included the Krzmarzick garden on South Valley; the Buysee garden on North Garden; the Donahue garden on North Payne Street, the Heymann garden on Monument Street and the Guggisberg Farm garden on Grandview Road.

The Krzmarzick garden was selected for the tour for its established perennial garden that features a combination of traditional flowers and wild flowers. This garden also includes hostas, sedums, geraniums, peonies, sage, asters, lilies, clematis, daisies, lavender, ghost ferns and many other specimens. The garden also features glass art topiaries and repurposed items that serve as decorations or flower pot holders. There is even a patriotic seating area among the flower beds.

The Buysse garden is an example of an overgrown backyard transformed into a relaxing hideaway. Heather Buysse said what draws the most attention is the backyard tree house. She said it was originally constructed for her twin daughters. The tree house now serves as a conversation piece and a reading area. The garden also features stone walking paths and multiple colorful flower beds; including a dedicated sedum garden celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

Heather Buysse (left) explains the trial and error creation process for creating her garden to Vivian Solano (center) and Kim Moellenhoff (right) during Thursday’s Master Gardener Gardenfest Tour. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Buysse admits she designed her garden through trial and error. When her family first moved to their home, she had no idea what she was doing in terms of gardening. She ask the advice of her in-laws and research information on Google. It took about six years to get the garden in order and is proud of what she accomplished, but she had no plans to stop.

Buysse said she plans to expand some of the flower beds and make some improvements to the front of the house. She said the front yard is still fairly traditional looking and she wants to try something new.

The Donahue garden was selected for the tour because its use of space. The garden is located on a relatively narrow lot with a slope, but maintains a variety of flowers. At the top of the slope, a bench swing hangs allowing visitors to swing out over the hill with a view of the garden below. The swing hangs from a large rock elm tree that is over 70 years old and was relocated from a farm site generations ago.

A frequent comment from people touring the Donahue garden was, “I never knew this was here before.”

Master Gardener Jackie Schroepfer said the Donahue garden was hidden away from anyone passing by on the Payne Street. Only people traveling through alley were likely to see it. Schroepfer said that was a goal of the Gradenfest Tour, to show the public what is happening in their neighbor’s backyard.

Anne Biebl explores the swing in the Buysse garden during the Gardenfest tour. Biebl said her favorite part of the tour is how each garden was lovely and beautiful in a different way. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Schorepfer said the Donahue garden is impressive for its use of space alone.

The Heymann garden, belonging to Lori and John Heymann, was the opposite of the Donahue garden. Their garden is highly visible to the public because it is located on Monument Street next to Hermann Heights Park.

Lori Heymann said many of the visitors on Thursday commented on how excited they were to see the garden up close after seeing it from afar.

“We appreciate people coming to see,” Lori Heymann said.

The Heymanns said it took a lot of design work to create their garden. They said the staff of River Creek Nursery were instrumental in helping build the garden.

Those taking the Gardenfest Tour Thursday were able to explore the Heymann garden on Monument Street near Hermann Heights Park. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Lori Heymann said she was inspired to create a tropical-themed garden. It features an eclectic mixture of tropical and pollinator plants combined with some colorful annuals. The goal for this garden was to create a place for relaxation.

John Heymann said the garden has become popular with the local deer. He said they see between eight and nine deer in the garden every day in the winter.

Lori Heymann said it is common for a doe to drop a fawn off in their front garden space among the tall plants.

“We’re running a deer day care here,” she said.

John Heymann said one of the greatest challenges is finding plants the deer won’t eat. The Heymanns said they try not to get upset with the deer when they do eat plants because, after all, the deer were here first.

Guggisberg Tree Farm was the final garden on the 2026 Gardenfest tour. The Guggisberg site was the rare garden featuring equal amounts of flora and fauna. Several different animals roam the property including peacocks, chickens, turkey, goats, cats and even a goldfish pond. Photo by Clay Schuldt

The last garden on the tour was located at Guggisberg Tree Farm. The farm is located a few miles outside of New Ulm city limits and features a variety of flowers, vegetables and trees. Tony Guggisberg said there are over 100 species of trees in the garden area.

The first thing most people notice about Guggisberg’s farm is has nearly as much fauna as flora. Several different animals roam the property including peacocks, chickens, turkey, goats, cats and even a garden pond complete with goldfish.

Guggisberg said the most common question he got about his garden is where does he find the time maintain it all.

“If its light out, I am working outside” he said.

Despite being out in the country, Guggisberg said he doesn’t have a problem with deer. The animals keep them away, but he does work to find plants the goats will not eat. The goats are typically kept in pen during the day, but left to roam the property at night.

The Brown County Master Gardeners agreed year’s Gardenfest tour was a great success, in terms of favorable weather and attendance.

Many of those taking the tour came away with idea for their own gardens.

Kim Moellenhoff said she came away from the tour with several ideas for her own garden, but it come down to fitting that idea into a different garden. She said this helped keep all gardens from looking the same.

After completing the tour, Anne Biebl said the thing she liked best was that no two gardens were the same. It made it difficult to identify a favorite.

“All gardens are lovely and all are beautiful in a different way,” she said.