They love the birds outside in the trees, and the cat in their house.

But they hate, currently, the deer in their yard.

A particular deer.

Specifically, animal lovers Bert Wheeler, 84, and Iris Schoregge, 80, are currently not on friendly terms with the specific deer spotted by neighbors that opened its mouth and consumed many of the couple's moss roses and balloon flowers.

Flowers integral to a yard that's on Sunday's Theo Art School's 14th annual Garden Walk, the school's biggest fundraiser.

But for those who would bypass the Wheeler-Schoregge yard for the other four yards on the tour in hopes of finding a moss rose - that's not necessary.

The couple, married 23 years, who built this house next to the Missouri River 23 years ago, and made this yard what it is today, already spend about 10 hours a day out there keeping the yard up, they said.

'The days aren't long enough … in the sweet springtime,"Wheeler said.

But now they're squeezing more into those days. The deer's razing-by-grazing deed made things a bit more challenging. But the gardening couple has remedies.

Wheeler, who just got a pacemaker a couple of weeks ago, said that, except for mowing, the couple still do everything on the about 110-foot-by-300-foot lot.

The biggest job, weed-pulling detail, is a constant, especially with all of the recent moisture.

Schoregge, a retired nurse, said she's always been a yard person. Even as a child, she would work alone to improve her family's yard.

"I just think (yards) are so pretty," she said.

Wheeler, a retired attorney - the Wheeler in the Wheeler Wolf Law Firm in Bismarck - was a vegetable gardener when he married Schoregge.

"I grew enough for the whole precinct," he said about his vegetable garden in Highland Acres.

But Iris, with the right name, likes flowers.

So the couple have flowers.

He presses for vegetables. But a bigger lobbying effort of his is on the issue of retirement - from gardening. From their 33,000-square-foot lot. He's ready for a townhome. She said that will happen when they have to wheel her out.

So the couple have flowers - and a house.

He said their gardens change all the time as new plantings are put in, new projects undertaken.

In the front yard, there are aspen trees, perennials, rock beds and gravel paths.

In back, the river is the backdrop for several elements. On the back of the brick and frame home are porches: an enclosed porch, a screened porch and an outdoor veranda area that look out at an expanse of lawn, flower gardens, a "poodle" tree, Maltese crosses, dogwood, bluebells, peonies, hibiscus and a river birch tree with a rough trunk that looks like a discarded snake skin. There are a rock garden, a fire pit and a fountain with a pixie the couple calls "Wildflower"- a statue-child whose hands block two streams of water that constantly spurt skyward.

On a stepping stone:"All things grow with love."

There also are condo units of birdhouses for swallows and various birdfeeders. The couple have waxwings nesting along the river, and see birds such as goldfinches, grackles, sometimes orioles and hummingbirds.

Next to the river is Wheeler's happy hour place. Schoregge joins him when possible.

It's at the yard's edge next to the river - a deck with patio furniture, a two-seater with a canopy. Behind the seats, clematis vines climb up wrought iron frames. From Wheeler's spot, he's midway between two bridges.

Bridges that have been in his life, all his life. The old railroad bridge is to his left. And to his right is the Memorial Bridge, which was a brand-new bridge when his dad drove over it with his wife and infant son, Bert.

The Garden Walk will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Refreshments will be served at the Wheeler and Schoregge home until 4 p.m.

Other local gardens featured:The gardens of Diane and Daryl Gronfur; Del Rae Martin, Peggy and Al Gustin, and Kathy and Laif Olson. Addresses of the homes are provided with the purchase of tickets.

Kim Jondahl, president of Theo's board of directors, said visitors will see such things as creative containers, arbors and trellises, ponds, fire pits, and a rock, concrete and steel gazebo.

"Thanks to all the rain we've had this spring, the Garden Walk promises to be a spectacular journey of color and lush greenery," said Jondahl.

Jondahl said Theo is the only year-round art school in the community.

"It's just a wonderful opportunity for kids to explore a lot of different mediums, find what they like to do," she said.

She said money from the Garden Walk is used to help fund scholarships for kids in need and to pay teachers and fund general expenses.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 in advance, and are available at Herberger's, Hoskins-Meyer Floral, Urban Girl, Plant Perfect, Classic Yard Lawn & Garden Center, Cashman Nursery & Landscaping and Theo Art School. Theo members will receive complimentary tickets for free admission.

For more information, call Theo Art School at 222-6452.

(Reach reporter Virginia Grantier at 250-8254 or at virginia.grantier@;bismarcktribune.com.)