Lyndonville home will welcome public to see expansive garden, artwork on July 9

Garden soiree annual event planned by Cobblestone Museum

Photos courtesy of Beth Carpenter Dorf: Joyce Chizick, left, and Shirley Bright Neeper, co-chairs of the Cobblestone’s garden soiree, look at vegetable and flower plants started in containers in back of the Dorf’s house. At right, Georgia Thomas of Medina checks out the vegetable plantings. Thomas will serve iced tea and dessert at the soiree.

LYNDONVILLE – The Cobblestone Museum’s annual garden soiree this summer will feature not only an abundance of flowers and plants, but an artistic touch, as well.

Scheduled from 4 p.m. until dark on July 9, soiree will take place at the home of Rick and Beth Carpenter Dorf at 10436 Lakeshore Rd., Lyndonville. The flower gardens, kitchen garden and Very “She” She Shed explode with color, texture and creativity, interspersed with Beth’s artwork. Beth, however, insists she is not an “artist,” but examples of her paintings can be spotted on the barn, a shed, garage and in the She Shed.

Beth Carpenter Dorf, right, chats with Joyce Chizick of Lyndonville, who provides a variety of desserts for the garden tour. They stand in the container garden, under a painting Beth did. She tried to plant flowers which brought out all the colors in the painting, she said.

She shares her artwork with greeting cards she designs and sells under the label of “O, My Soul” at a shed Rick built for produce and at Herbalty Cottage in Medina. She also painted a barn quilt on their barn and a painting on her She Shed, which copies Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, in which she used rhinestones to create sparkle.

“Everything has a theme,” Beth said of their gardens.

There is a container garden, meadow garden, gnome garden, picking garden and a patriotic corner.

Flowering shrubs and bushes flood the front of the home of Rick and Beth Carpenter Dorf at 10436 Lakeshore Rd, Lyndonville. The couple will host the Cobblestone Museum’s ninth annual garden soiree, “Flowers, Friends and Fantasies,” on July 9.

Beth has always loved gardening. After her first husband was killed in a motorcycle accident and she bought the house on Lowerlake Road, the first thing she did was renovate the house. Then she threw herself into gardening. When she met Rick she discovered he also liked to garden and was a handyman, as well. That resulted in his building Beth a She Shed and a selling shed in front, from which they sell strawberries from Rick’s field, his potatoes and her artwork.

Rick also built a sidewalk alongside the She Shed, in which he placed colored chips of changing colors in the cement to resemble walking into the sun. Beth’s Very “She” She Shed houses stuffed furniture, a table and walls covered in artwork – some hers and some of other artists.

Tulips bloom in the spring garden of Rick and Beth Carpenter Dorf. Their yard boasts a garden for every season.

“Beth will be able to advise people on planting, starting seeds in January and February, what blooms at what time of year to ensure color all the time, and how to thwart predators from the bluebird feeder,” said Shirley Bright Neeper of Medina, who co-chairs the event with Joyce Chizick of Lyndonville.

Beth said their typical day is to get up, have their coffee and then head outdoors. Often she doesn’t come back in until dark, she said.

The Cobblestone Society also wants to express their thankfulness to the family of Beverly Winters of Medina, who died recently and requested memorials to the Cobblestone Society Garden Soiree. Beverly was a member of the Garden Gals Garden Club and a gardener extraordinaire. She was also an accomplished floral designer. The Cobblestone Museum is honored to dedicate this year’s garden soiree in her memory, said Cobblestone director Doug Farley.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Beth Carpenter Dorf sits in the selling shed her husband Rick built to sell their garden produce and her line of greeting cards.

Guests at the Garden Soiree will enjoy fabulous delicacies prepared by Chizick and Georgia Thomas of Medina. Wine and iced tea will also be served and music will be provided. The event will take place rain or shine.

This will be the ninth year the event has been co-chaired by Shirley Bright Neeper and Chizick.

Tickets for the garden soiree may be purchased at the door for $10, however, reservations would be appreciated by contacting the museum online at CobblestoneMuseum.org or by phone at (585) 589-9013. Parking is available onsite and a golf cart will be available for anyone needing assistance.

Beth Carpenter Dorf points out the measures she has taken to make her bluebird feeder safe from predators, such as sparrows.