FROM GRIEF TO BLOSSOMS GARDEN TOUR FOR WAR VICTIMS BLOOMS.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE

Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- A woman who created a local charity garden tour that benefits wounded and fallen soldiers and their kin planned Sunday's event from her new home -- in Nevada.

Christi Larsen refused to let 450 miles stand between her and the project so she returned Tuesday to Santa Clarita to oversee it, taking a roadway obstacle in stride.

"There was a huge fire Tuesday -- the Larson Fire -- in Coleville, Nev. -- and I had to drive about a 40-mile detour to get around the fire," Larsen said. "I just considered it driving a new scenic route."

The coincidence was uncanny -- Larsen started the fundraiser after the death of her 19-year-old son, Pfc. Cole W. Larsen, who died in 2004 in a vehicle accident in Iraq.

After his death, Christi Larsen received an avalanche of support from community members -- many of them strangers -- and the avid gardener spun her grief into the life-affirming tour.

Hundreds flocked to last year's 12-garden tour, which raised about $4,200.

Some complained it was too much of a good thing so this year only nine gardens are included. They range from small cottage-style plots to manicured spreads of more than an acre. One participant is offering herb workshops, another invited a harpist.

Catherine Rodrigues, Christi Larsen's former Canyon Country neighbor whose "global garden" is featured, replaced thirsty grass with worldwide drought-tolerant plants.

"We knew Cole," Rodrigues said. "It's a special way to help out."

Beneficiaries will be TAPS, a tragedy assistance program for survivors, and the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps soldiers returning from the war.

"The unfortunate thing is we hear more about the fallen soldiers than the wounded, and they're the ones who are still with us," Larsen said. "This is something they're going to have to deal with the rest of their lives."

According to the Department of Defense Web site, 14,208 service members who were wounded returned to duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom; an additional 11,622 were wounded and did not return to combat. A total of 1,292 have been wounded in Operation Enduring Freedom, fought in Afghanistan and other spots.

Larsen volunteers for TAPS, providing support and encouragement for families like hers who answered the dreaded "knock on the door."

Since the United States launched the attack in 2003, U.S. military casualties in Iraq reached 3,490 as of Thursday, according to the Defense Department.

Christie Larsen recently moved to a ranch-style home on about an acre in Sparks, near Reno. She may duplicate the fundraiser there but has no plans to abandon the original.

"My son grew up here, he's buried here, they're going to be naming a street after him," she said.

Indeed, Brookfield Homes plans to name streets in its planned 499-home Keystone tract in Plum Canyon for three local servicemen who died in 2004, said Adrian Brody, the company's president. The others are Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Slocum, 19, of Valencia and Army Pfc. Jose Ricardo Flores, 21, of Newhall.

Maybe someday the tour will come full circle, with occupants of homes on those streets opening their gardens to the tour.

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Garden tour

For information on the tour, visit www.memorialgardentour.com.

To learn more about the other organizations, visit www.taps.org and www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Catherine Rodrigues works in her native-plant garden, which will be part of Sunday's tour in Santa Clarita. The tour was started as a fundraiser after Pfc. Cole W. Larsen, son of Christi Larsen, died while serving in Iraq in 2004.

(2 -- color) The "global plant" garden of Catherine Rodrigues will be featured in Sunday's tour in Santa Clarita. "We knew Cole," Rodrigues said. "It's a special way to help out."

David Crane/Staff Photographer

Box:

Garden tour (see text)