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When Barb and Al Calfo want to escape to a recreational resort, they need only to step outside into their 3-acre yard in Peters.

It's like a mini-oasis. Waterfalls cascade into the Calfos' swimming pool and a small goldfish pond. Family and friends grab fishing poles and head to another pond, which holds perch, bluegill, crappies and bass in its blue, 8-foot-deep waters. Behind the pool deck is a 30-foot golf turf for practicing putting skills.

The Calfos' garden provides fruits and vegetables ranging from strawberries to corn to San Marzano tomatoes. The family also rarely eats in the dining room or goes to restaurants. The two-story outdoor patio provides tables, chairs and even a fireplace to enjoy their haven any time of year.

"We eat out every night, but we don't go to restaurants," says Barb Calfo, 41, who with her husband, Al, 48, has two children, Olivia, 7, and Albert, 5. "We literally eat out."

The Calfos' property is called the "Golfer's and Fisherman's Retreat" in the lineup of next weekend's More Than a Garden Tour, sponsored by the Peters Township Newcomers Club. The philanthropic fund-raiser, in its second year, showcases six properties' gardens, which were selected according to qualities such as beauty and individuality.

Carolyn Rinaldi-Lieb, chairman of the garden tour committee for the club, says the proceeds benefit the Washington's Women's Shelter and the Peters Township Public Library. Last year, the club raised more than $3,000 for these organizations, which especially are in need because of government budget cuts, she says.

Other gardens on the tour include "Art in the Garden," which features stained-glass stepping stones and other forms of art. "English Gardens" features a rose-covered arch, multiple annual plants and a waterfall cascading into two ponds. "Changing Seasons" utilizes a system that funnels rainwater from the roof and pours it into cisterns, which spill into a pond in the Japanese garden.

Touring the magnificent gardens, Rinaldi-Lieb says, is a privilege for visitors, who will behold stimulating, educational and inspiring sights.

"Hopefully, they get a visual picture," says Rinaldi-Lieb, whose club will provide hosts at each house -- the owners will be there as well -- to explain garden-building techniques. "They also get real good instruction on how to do it themselves."

In Barb and Al Calfo's case, doing it themselves was among the reasons their garden was selected. Barb Calfo tends to the massive garden on her own every day, without a hired helper. She calls it a full-time job.

"We do it all," Barb Calfo says. "It's work, but it's fun. It's our R and R."

The Calfos are self-taught gardeners who inherited their love for and knowledge of the trade by growing up on large properties where their parents planted passionately. Barb Calfo is from Eighty Four in Washington County. Her husband grew up in Peters.

"I always had a passion for woods, fields and such," says Al Calfo, who owns several laboratories that research sleeping disorders.

Central to the Calfos' garden are the aquatic features.

When people stand by the pool, it appears that two waterfalls in the yard are connected by a single, long stream that ends up in the pool. The waterfalls, which spill into the small pond and the pool, actually are separated by the downstairs porch.

"What we tried to do here was give the illusion of the continuous water," Barb Calfo says. "It's very soothing and very calming. We sit out here a lot.

"We love it," she says. "It just kind of makes you feel like you're on vacation."

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