GARDEN TOUR 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Sunday, July 10. Tickets for the Garden Tour will be available in advance at the library for $15 starting in mid-June or  $20 on the day of the tour. The self-guided tour showcases six diverse and beautiful Mt. Lebanon gardens. Good quality perennials will be on sale at the library during tour hours at discount prices.  All plant specimens are donated from local gardens, appropriate for our growing conditions in  Western Pennsylvania.  Penn State Master Gardeners and a Pittsburgh Rose Society consulting rosarian will offer free consultations. Gardens on this year’s tour:

Kathy and David Root‘s Hoodridge Drive garden blooms all summer thanks to deer-resistant annuals as well as roses and a 10-year-old geranium.
The Larchdale Drive garden of Trish and Carl Orangis is a peaceful oasis of rose bushes, verbena, creeping juniper, Japanese maple trees, and ornamental evergreens. The back patio features a stone fireplace, fountains and a host of potted flowers.

Anne Neel follows the mantra: “if it grows, is pretty, and not invasive, let it be” in her organic Neulon Drive garden.

The Children’s Butterfly Garden and Nature Trail at Foster Elementary School are maintained and supported by the PTA members and families. Butterfly- and hummingbird-attracting perennials and annuals abound.

Margaret Hamstead’s Mohawk Drive garden was transformed from a sloping backyard with a lawn to space in which the only grass is ornamental. Trellises, curving granite paths, a meditation area, and a fenced-in vegetable garden complete the yard.

The two-leveled courtyard at Rose Court Condominiums, Roselawn Avenue, blooms from early spring to late fall thanks to 20-plus varieties of perennials including roses, cone flowers, hostas, lilacs. The property also features a rock garden and a fountain.

PARTY IN THE COURTYARD   From 6 – 8 p.m., Saturday, July 9, the library board will host a pre-garden tour party in the library’s garden courtyard. The night includes wine, beer, hors d’oeuvres, sweets, music, and gift baskets. Tickets are $30 in advance or at the door.

PET SHOW Show off your furry, feathered, or scaly friend at Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s annual Pet Show, 7 p.m., Monday, August 15. Pre-registration is required starting July 18 in the Children’s Library. Every pet goes home a winner!

SUBURBAN HOMESTEADING The library will host a series of workshops on homesteading in suburbia. Learn about backyard beekeeping Wednesday, July 6, at 7 p.m. and  about raising chickens  on Tuesday, July 12, at 6:30, when the Uniontown Poultry Association will present a talk on the basics of raising chickens in your backyard. Learn about choice of a chicken breed for a specific need (eggs, pets, etc.), what chickens eat, how to keep chickens safe, housing needs, health issues, and a wide variety of available resources. Other discussions are Composting, Monday July 18, at 7 p.m.; Preserving the Harvest, Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m., focuses on choosing the right plant varieties to preserve, and the basics of canning, drying, and freezing. On Tuesday, August 23, at 7 p.m.,  learn how to make your own kombucha at home. Kombucha, a fermented tea drink that originated in Japan, is made in a six-step process. Participants will learn the process and will go home with a kombucha starter kit. Register for all these programs online at www.mtlebanonlibrary.org or by calling 412-531-1912.