After some time off and a changing of hands the Garden Tour is returning to the Cody area. 

Pollen Landscapes and Cody Arts (formerly the Cody Country Art League), are bringing back the tour originally hosted by the Park County Master Gardeners, to raise money for a chosen charity on Saturday, July 26, 9 a.m.-noon throughout Cody.  The Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions.

Kendra Morris, owner of Pollen Landscapes, said she got the idea to revive the tour after hearing customers tell her it’s difficult to plant anything in the area.

“I just wanted to show people that yes it’s hard, but you can do it,” she said. 

This year, the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program will be the beneficiary. The program was started last year and helps provide therapy to those who need it at reduced cost. 

“I just feel like, honestly, there’s a mental health crisis in the state of Wyoming that people don’t really want to talk about or address,” Morris said. “And also, I think gardening and being outside has helped so many people with their mental health.”

Bell, from Cody, was a popular country musician who died in 2022 after battling mental health.

Morris landed on the program because she knows the family and talked with others about who the beneficiary should be, she said, also noting the recent documentary about Bell produced by Wyoming Public Media. 

Tickets for the tour cost $35 each. After purchasing a ticket community members will be given the addresses of six gardens including an indoor greenhouse where citrus trees are growing. 

As community members tour, they will see members of Cody Arts painting at each garden. Following the tour, participants are invited to the Chamberlain Inn courtyard for a reception where Bell’s sister Jane Bell will be performing.

There has been some interest in a Powell based tour, Morris said, and she’s hopeful that in the future they can find a weekend outside of fair week.

Tickets can be purchased through Pollen Landscapes in person or online at pollenlandscapeswy.com and at Cody Arts.

For more information on the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program, visit lbmacp.org/.