MILL CREEK PARK Event illuminates garden in winter

Visitors can see some plants still in bloom.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Area residents young and old listened to talks about gardening and bird-watching during a candlelight walk Sunday evening through Fellows Riverside Gardens .
Gardens by Candlelight, taking place for the third year in the gardens at Mill Creek MetroParks, was expected to attract about 1,500 visitors during it's three-hour run.
"I saw it last year, and it was beautiful," said Barbara Novicky of Boardman, a home herb gardener eager to go on the walk again. "This is wonderful."
"We're so lucky to have a garden park like this in Youngstown. It's fabulous. I came with my wife, daughter and granddaughter," George Guju of Diamond, a member of the Youngstown Garden Club, said. "I have a vegetable garden, but I enjoy taking care of plants, flowers and roses in my yard."
"I'm amazed at how this place has improved over the past several years, including the visitors' center," said Mary Ann Trimboli of Campbell. "I brought my two granddaughters to go on the tour with me."
Key features
Keith Kaiser, horticultural director at the gardens, said visitors to the gardens can see heather and roses still in bloom and various trees, plants and shrubs dormant but ready for spring.
In addition to touring the gardens, Kaiser said visitors can also learn about winter gardening from a series of displays in the center, including one devoted to such plants as holly, winterberry and boxwood and another focusing on poinsettias, birds-of-paradise and other tropical plants.
He said the candlelight tour, guided by 1,000 luminary bags spread along walks and lawns, was just for Sunday evening, but holiday decorations at the visitors' center will remain in place through Jan. 2.
Visitors to the center, open year round, may also view displays of woodcarving presented by the Western Reserve and Round Table clubs as well as an exhibit of decoys created from wood and canvas by Ken Yacavone of Poland.