It wasn’t long ago that Marilyn Knapp’s backyard was nearly bare. A few plants here and there darted the landscape, but nothing special.

Then, the long-time member of the Pine Lake Garden Club heard of a fund raiser for Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland.

Suddenly, an idea began to bloom. Today, her garden, which she describes as an “explosion of colors,” is now filled with orange and purple plants, and homemade sculptures.

For Knapp, 75, the gardening experience is calming because you can depend on plants like few other things in the world.

“You put them where you want them and they stay there,” she said. “And that’s a very satisfying thing because life is not like that.”

Her garden along with nine others, will be part of a tour this weekend in Bellevue and on the Sammamish/Issaquah Plateau. Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 28, people will have a chance to tour 10 gardens for $10. All of the proceeds will go to the Lake Washington Institute of Technology Environmental Horticulture Program.

Don Marshall, head of the program, has been a fixture at the club’s meetings, and a supporter for more than 18 years. The club – and others throughout the area as well – has supported the program through scholarships. Marshall said more and more students are declining to take classes because of money problems.

The club, which has about 30 members mostly in Sammamish, is hoping to raise $3,000. The club will match that total.

The genesis of the idea came a little more than a year ago. After hearing from Marshall that students were having problems finding financial aid, the gardeners, lead by club chair Barbara Flynn, planted seeds for the fundraiser.

Flynn of Sammamish, gardening has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. The love affair with plants began as a child in England, and has followed her across multiple continents, and now to Sammamish.

Flynn’s backyard is a reminder of where she comes from. Her garden represents the style of an English cottage, with billowy bushes, colorful flowers and a woods-like feel. It gives off a feel of chaos, though everything has been painstakingly cared for.

For Flynn, now 80 years old, gardening is not just a peaceful outlet for good exercise, it’s a way to make a difference.

Flynn, whose garden also will be featured, said the club is helping out because the program doesn’t have the fundraising capacity of traditional schools.

“K-12 has PTAs who can fundraise, and the Universities have alumni donors,” she said. “The trade colleges, they don’t have that base.”

TAKE THE TOUR

Tickets for the tour cost $10 and are available for purchase at John L. Scott Realty, located at 718 228th Ave. NE in Sammamish. For more information, contact pinelakegc@hotmail.com