Nearly 100 people came to Ironton this past Sunday to participate in Ironton In Bloom’s “Over the Backyard Fence” yard tour.

The event is a major fundraiser for the volunteer beautification organization and a little more than $1,000 was raised from the tour’s ticket sales.

“(The tour) went really well,” Carol Allen, IIB member, said. “One of the things that was really great and surprising was probably 40 percent of the people on the tour were out-of-towners and that’s good for Ironton when people come in from other areas to see our beautiful city.”

It was no surprise residents of cities and towns in the Tri-State such as Ashland and Flatwoods, Ky., and Huntington, W.Va., made the short trip to Ironton for the tour, but Allen said some people came from as far away as Lexington, Ky., and Chillicothe.

Altogether, it was a great day,” she said.

A member of Ironton In Bloom was stationed at each of the eight stops on the tour, which included the Lawrence County Historical museum where the tour began, the homes of Tina and Mike Compliment, Penny and Steve Dodgion, Tricia and Jackie Fields, Rita and Joe Isaac, Nancy and Larry Kelly and Mary Louise Vanderhoof along with the St. Mary’s walking trail and native plant garden.

“It’s fun to begin showing off the native garden,” Allen said. “It’s not where it needs to be yet but it’s getting there. Overall (IIB) is very pleased with the event’s success.”

The idea for the tour is a result of IIB’s “Yard of the Month contest,” which is also underway. “Yard of the Month” nominations can be emailed to irontoninbloom@gmail.com or mailed to Ironton In Bloom, P.O. Box 4599, Ironton, OH 45638. Addresses can also be given to any member of Ironton In Bloom.

Nominations for the ongoing “Business of the Month” award can also be submitted to the aforementioned addresses.

All proceeds go toward Ironton beautification projects.