Danville Heritage Festival
Garden Tours
Danville Heritage Festival Garden Tours: June 28th 9am - 5pm
Tour public and private gardens located around Danville as part of this year's Heritage Festival. We invite people to celebrate the diversity that gardening has to offer - and we hope visitors will appreciate the passion and vision that has gone into creating these unique gardens and will take away ideas for their own backyards.
The Danville Garden Tours will be the first event for the 2025 Danville Heritage Festival. This year the Danville Heritage Festival will be held September 5th - 7th. We chose the end of June for the Garden Tours because it is closer to peak flower season, and then participating gardeners can enjoy the festivities in September. The garden tours are FREE! Come and enjoy the beauty of nature, enhanced by the hands and minds of local gardeners. Get away from it all and relax!
Follow the self-guided driving tours in Google Maps here:
DANVILLE: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1EZg9HZoSQDs9jR3W7QBwLH7wOk22KxA&hl=en&usp=sharing
Danville/Riverside Tours (June 28th):
1. Bob & Marysusan Umbriac – 538 Chamber St., Danville, PA 17821
This 5 acre property in the borough of Danville has been a work in progress for nearly 50 years, continually revising it with new plants and trees. This year they have added a one of a kind gazebo, designed by Bob's brother Frank, built with help by brother Pat, and delivered from Hazelton by brother Jim and son Joe. You will be amazed at it's design and beauty. They have also added two large raised beds and planted a paper bark maple tree in the same area. Marysusan is in charge of the flowers and does most of the weeding as well as making up all the hanging baskets and flower pots placed throughout the property. Bob has done a lot of the design and building of the many terraces and structures on the property, which include: a covered bridge, a pavilion, fish ponds, waterfalls, a root cellar, a large grape arbor, a working wishing well, along with multiple terraces and stone walls. There are river stones that add to the hardscape and larger stones, some of which came from the old Danville-Riverside bridge. There are evergreens and shrubs, perennials and roses, crepe myrtle and wisteria, fruit trees, including three varieties of fig, a large vegetable garden and numerous flower beds. There is a small tea cup rose arch and a large trumpet vine arch that leads to the rear gardens. The sunroom that houses the annuals over winter and start some of the vegetables will be open for viewing. It contains a fish pond made from an old cistern and also enhances heating of the house in winter.
2. Chas & Tina Bartholomew – 107 W. Market Street, Danville, PA 17821
New to the Heritage Festival Garden Tour is the magnificent Queen Anne-style Victorian Brick Mansion and gardens of Chas and Tina Bartholomew. Built in the 1880's, it is presently known as the Doctor's Inn Bed and Breakfast. Step through the garden gate and discover s serene escape with it's walled garden and beautiful carriage house. Join us for a leisurely tour of our lush outdoor property, where timeless charm meets natural beauty. Wander among blooming flowers, manicured paths, and quiet corners designed for reflection and relaxation. This is a hidden gem located in a historic part of Danville that offers more than just a scenic stroll, you may find yourself envisioning your next outdoor event in our enchanting green space. This truly is a uniquely beautiful part of Danville's history you won't soon forget.
3. Doug & Cindy Knepp – 12 Adam Drive., Catawissa, PA 17820
A truly unique ten-acre permaculture garden that also has flower beds, aesthetically appealing trees, and vegetable gardens but specializes in being a self-sustaining food forest for humans and wildlife. You will have the opportunity to walk paths through the food forest and sample any food that is ripe. Food sources you will see are nut trees (Hazelnuts, Pecans, Chestnuts, Hickories, Walnuts, and Oaks). Fruit trees (Persimmons, Paw Paw, Plums, Apples, Crabapples, and Pears). Berries (Haskap berries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Kousa Dogwood, and Mulberries) and vines (Kiwi berries and Grapes). Doug has planted oven 1,000 trees.
4. William & Mary Vegh – 503 Hillside Road., Danville, PA 17821
This year Bill has made his property even more beautiful by increasing the size of many of the flower beds and added even more. This 8 acre mini farm contains a small orchard, 30' x 90' organic vegetable garden, some raised beds, a 8.5' x 12' gas heated greenhouse where Bill starts many of his plants, and a large composting system from which he adds compost to his gardens every year, and a rain water retention system. He also has a solar panel system that generates 90% of his electric needs. They also raise a couple of beef steers. This mini farm is well worth the short drive from Danville to enjoy.
5. Don & Diane Rider - 505 Jerseytown Rd., Millville, PA 17846
New to the Danville Heritage Festival Garden Tours is the property of Don and Diane Rider. This nearly 6 acre property was part of a 90 acre farm that was in Don's family since 1953. When purchased land was barren and the soil was very shaley. Over the last 37 years, large amounts of topsoil, compost, and building stone have been brought in. That barren land is not adorned with a beautiful home, 13 large pin oak trees, raised stone flower beds, large vegetable garden, and a koi pond. Being a mason and concrete contractor, Don has added many stone and brick features to the house and property. Diane loves her flowers, especially the very rare fern leaf peony, a joy to behold. Together they have created a worthy addition to the garden tour, you wont be disappointed!
6. Martha Kanaskie - 432 Eyersgrove Rd, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Martha Kanskie lives on a picturesque 12 acres along Eyersgrove Rd. Her large spring-fed pond is absolutely beautiful with a fountain in the middle. She has been working on her property for over 34 years, and what looked like a golf course initially, now has trees and perennials strategically placed to make maintenance easier. She has gotten native trees and shrubs from the Conservation District. She has managed to avoid push mowing by planting specific areas that would otherwise be hard to mow. Martha has an extensive herb garden, primarily because she lokes to cook. She also loves to start new plants from her perennials as she weeds and thins them. They are potted, placed in a sheltered spot outside, and then later sold. Another interesting fact is that Martha's home is built underground (although it doesn't seem that way when you look at it). This property is certainly worth the drive to see!
Anyone who is willing to volunteer their gardens for the tour should call Bob Umbriac at 570-275-5308.
Please stay tuned for updates. Follow us on Facebook @DanvilleBusinessAlliance or @DanvilleHeritageFestival and Instagram @turntodanville.
