Staff Writer

It’s summer. The bees are buzzing and the flowers are in full bloom at Paul Parent’s home in Kennebunk.

Parent, something of a local celebrity and host of the Paul Parent Garden Club radio show, has been working with Child Abuse Prevention Council of York County for three years to help raise money for the council by giving tours through his garden.

Denise Dion-Sullivan, community outreach coordinator for the council, said the partnership began after one member of the council asked Parent’s advice on who to call for local gardeners who might be interested in hosting a tour.

“He said ‘I’d love to,’” Dion-Sullivan said.

Parent opened up his garden recently for a preview before the July 17 tour.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Parent said.

So far this year, Parent said he has planted a ginkgo tree, lilacs and more fruits and vegetables than he ever has in the past.

“The ginkgo tree is the oldest tree known to man,” Parent said. “When they find dinosaur fossils they find the fossils of the ginkgo tree leaves nearby.”

Parent’s property is divided into a number of different gardens, including the Ruth Garden named after both his aunt and mother-in-law, who loved daisies, a fairy garden for his wife and a saint’s garden with the patron saint of gardening, St. Fiacre. There are enough fruits and vegetables, including four new apple trees, raspberries and a 1-year-old giant rutabaga plant, to feed an extended family. Parent said that’s exactly how he uses the brussels sprouts during Thanksgiving.

“Don’t harvest them until the first frost hits,” Parent said. “It brings out more flavor.”

He said a few years ago he picked brussels sprouts to take for Thanksgiving with his family and everyone refused to eat them. After some convincing, Parent’s family tried to vegetable and now every year he has more and more requests for larger quantities.

Last year Parent did not show his garden but stood at the concession tent at Lucas on 9 in Cape Porpoise to give gardening tips and tricks. Parent said he is happy giving tips this year from his own backyard.

Some of Parent’s tips include buying a black plastic cover for vegetables to keep soil warmer earlier in the season, which especially helps peppers. He also suggested planting trees and bushes with leaves people enjoy seeing because the flowers will only last six weeks, but the leaves last most of the year.

The event marks the 16^th year for the garden tour. As part of an old obligation to remain a board member, everyone on the board had to raise at least $200 for the council. In 1995, former board member Shari Lewchanin decided to host a garden tour to fulfill her obligation.

Since that time, the garden tour has grown to include 10 gardens in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

This year, the council set a goal to sell 800 tickets to raise more than $18,000. As of last week, the council had sold 300 tickets and 95 percent of those sales were from away because of exposure the tour has received from Parent’s radio show, Dion-Sullivan said.

Fundraising makes up 13 percent of the council’s nearly $300,000 budget. The rest comes from grants and donations.

Money earned during the garden tour will be used for a host of other programs the council provides, including professional training for those who work with youth, family support and school programs such as computer-simulated babies used in schools to teach students safe baby care for infants.

Tickets are sold at Estabrook’s in Kennebunk, Kennebunk High School, Blooms & Heirlooms, Marlows in Kennebunk, Carrots & Co., in Kennebunkport and the council’s Kids Free to Grow center in Kennebunk. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 17, rain or shine.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.