Located near a Ross shopping center, Alex and Sue Colaizzi’s property manages to feel secluded thanks to its gated entryway and curved gardens filled with Japanese maples, evergreens, hydrangeas and rare trees.
The gardens surrounding their 1929 stone home are among five stops on the 12th annual Shaler Great Gardens Tour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 30. The Shaler Garden Club is sponsoring the event benefitting the Shaler North Hills Library. Garden owners and club docents will answer questions during the self-guided tour.
Sue Colaizzi, a retired interior designer, said the couple spent years clearing the property of overgrown evergreen branches when they purchased it nearly 41 years ago.
The rehabilitated backyard contains a rock garden, koi pond and topiary rabbits.
The Colaizzis own Alexander’s Italian Bistro in Bloomfield.
“I also specialize in dahlias, and I grow about 40 different types,” Sue Colaizzi said.
“ They start blooming usually the end of June. I send fresh ones into the restaurant every day and people enjoy seeing what’s growing.”
She received her master gardener certificate through the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center in 1970s.
“It just gives you a sense of well-being. It’s just total enjoyment. It’s a lot of hard work, but the rewards are just wonderful,” Colaizzi said of her hobby.
The 2018 Shaler Great Local Gardens Contest winner Sharon McAllister will invite visitors to tour her gardens, which she has transformed using clearance items from garden centers.
“The paper birch that’s up in the front yard is one of my $10 clearance items,” she said. “It had two branches when I first got it. One branch fell off, and now it’s probably about 20 feet tall, has three trunks. It’s beautiful.”
“And then in the back, we have a weeping katsura tree that I think I got for $8. It was probably 6 feet tall when I got it, with a few branches and now it’s just spilling beautifully over the patio to create a nice shade area,” the Shaler resident said.
A maple covers a backyard hillside, leading to a waterfall and surrounding plants that McAllister and her husband, Dale, installed prior to their 2002 backyard nuptials.
Dale McAllister built a bench from cherry and maple trees falling down on the grounds.
“We hauled it down to the backyard and positioned it in front of the waterfall. It’s very peaceful,” Sharon McAllister said.
The sense of peace she experiences when gardening has helped her grieve the loss of her parents and dog, Troy, to whom she has dedicated individual plant beds.
“A lot of the sadness that you feel and a lot of the other emotions, it’s just good to be in the garden; it helps,” she said.
Attendees also will view gardens belonging to Tom and Susan Barth, of McCandless, Joe and Sharon Elinich, as well as Gary and Diane Ireland, all of Glenshaw.
Sharon McRae, library director, said she is grateful that the garden club views the library as a valuable partner.
“The Great Gardens Tour is the most wonderful time of the year where we partner with the Shaler Garden Club to showcase the amazing talent that exists in our community. Such artistry and knowledge and we are grateful the garden owners are so generous in sharing their gems.”
A raffle ticket for a gift basket is included with each ticket.
