The Petals and Pathways Home Garden Tour, sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Clallam County, will highlight a broad spectrum of garden styles at eight Port Angeles homes from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 25.
Tickets for the self-guided tour include descriptions of each garden and driving instructions. The gardens may be visited in any order. Three of the gardens are located on one block, providing easy access from one parking location.
Tickets, $15 prior to the tour, are on sale from local Master Gardeners and at the WSU Extension office, Airport Garden Center, Green House Nursery and Port Book and News, in Port Angeles, Over the Fence, Peninsula Nursery, Sunny Farms, Nash’s and Wild Birds Unlimited in Sequim, and at gardentour.brownpaperticketstickets.com.
Tickets will be $20 on the day of the tour and will be available for purchase at the gardens as well as the retail outlets.
Proceeds from the tour help to maintain local demonstration gardens on Woodcock Road, west of Sequim, and Fifth Street in Port Angeles and gardening education programs throughout Clallam County.
For more information, contact 565-2679 or see www.mgf-clallam.org.
Here are descriptions of the gardens on tour:
1. 623 E. Fifth St. Owner: Marge Upham
Roses, roses and more roses — Amid traffic, sirens and people in central Port Angeles, this garden is filled with roses, bulbs and perennials, vegetables, berries and nut and fruit trees, providing a full cycle of bloom from spring through autumn. This gardener, with roots from a farm in rural western Oregon, has come to love and value the old cottage-style garden. There are over 140 roses, many of which are selected hybrids, others from old farmstead cuttings, the homeowner’s prize being 1843 and 1854 Moss Roses, the cuttings which came from her great-grandfather’s grave. The garden is enclosed behind cedar fencing; the paths are rustic mica slate; and there is a koi pond on a lower level patio.
2. 1930 Hamilton Way. Owner: Pat Wheatley
Former Master Gardener Challenge — Transformation of this large madrone-tree dominated property began two years ago. The resulting oasis surrounds and complements these trees and creates six large beds filled with evergreens, specimen blooming trees, shrubs and perennials. Wide wheelchair-accessible paths wind through the beds allowing visitors to see drip-system watered vegetable and berry raised beds. A cement table and benches, with Oriental accents and a small pond with water trickling off large cement leaves provide a private spot to dine or to delight in an evening fire. Espaliered fruit trees partially shelter this relaxing spot. A narrow grass strip in back is home to horse shoe pits, the picket-fenced compost pile and the many clematis and other vining plants along the fence.
Rook Drive — Park once and view all three of these neighborhood beauties!
3. 1328 Rook Drive. Owner: Nadine Snover
Hidden Serenity Garden — This tiny gem is a delightful succession of intimate gardens, with borrowed views of trees and landscaping on nearby properties making it perfect for entertaining and relaxing. When purchased in 2010, this property was flat, barren and muddy, with a swamp in the backyard and only a small, sad patch of grass in front. The grass was replaced with river rock. Fencing, decks and large rocks have been installed throughout and layers of lush plants have been slowly added to the landscape. Conifers and ferns form the basic palette, with a phenomenal range of texture and color, from bright lime to darkest green. Daffodils, violas, hellebores and heuchera provide additional color through the seasons. The Japanese maples add shade and a blast of red in spring and summer, turning every shade of orange in the fall.
4. 1329 Rook Drive. Owners: Donna and Lon Kollath
Tranquil Oasis — This English cottage-style garden is surrounded on two sides by wetlands that provide a beautiful backdrop to this calm peaceful yard and home to a wide array of birds. A meandering capstone wall sets off the beautifully landscaped yard with flowering trees, bushes and shrubs, ornamental flowers and moss-edged walking stones. The rock work showcases a wide variety of plants including heather, lavender, tea roses, lilies, hydrangeas, columbine and sedum, interspersed with ornamental grasses, ferns and blueberry bushes producing stunning color from spring through fall. A waterfall oasis surrounded by ferns and shrubs cascades over rocks and ledges disappears into the stones below.
5. 1335 Rook Drive. Owner: Jerry Stewart
Landscape Challenge — The owner wanted to retain his property’s character, complement the neighbor’s landscaping, yet not block the beautiful vista of the wetlands. The south side of the house was the most difficult as it is a very hot spot with little wind or traffic. The design of two dry stream beds on the property actually help pull the water runoff away from the house and drain the landscape to the wetlands area. By extending a new deck with a rock wall ramp access, it blends beautifully with the surroundings. The unique conifer collection and shrubs on the east side of the house, chosen for their beauty and shape, are illuminated with Christmas lights during winter. The west side, landscaped for the many birds in the area, bustles with birdsong delighting in the two water features, a bubbling fountain and standing bird bath.
6. 5323 Mountain Terrace Way. Owners: Midge and David James
Organic Beauty and Bounty — When these organic gardeners moved here from Southern California a year and a half ago, little did they know that their 2.8-acre property would be featured on the next garden tour in Port Angeles. They have had one season to get to know the plentiful variety of landscape plants that came with the property, including more than 60 rhododendrons. They have refurbished the raised vegetable beds at the front of the property, added waist-high veggie beds and reworked the prolific blackberry and raspberry beds. They have propagated many of the new perennials from seed. In addition to their 100-percent organic approach to gardening, these homeowners have maintained the beauty and productivity of their garden while cutting water usage.
7. 1133 E. Ninth St. Owner: Terry Targett
Beauty with water-wise landscaping — This brick rambler home with a view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been in the same family for three generations with several of the plants dating back over 40 years. The current resident began an extensive renovation about four years ago which included the north patio and wall and landscaping on the east side of the house and other small areas. New plants include four dwarf conifers, Oregon grape, evergreen huckleberry, Japanese barberry, lavatera, bunchberry and Hart’s tongue fern. Bulbs include early, middle and late blooming daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops, species crocus and species tulips. Drip irrigation was installed to the new plants. The landscape design blends drought-tolerant plants with the extensive use of rocks and other hardscape materials.
8. 1613 E. Fourth St. Owner: Sandy Ulf
This urban, steeply sloped lot was transformed eight years ago from a construction site into a garden of delight by the hard work of the home owner. The garden features lovely ornamentals, stately trees and a vegetable garden. The homeowner terraced the slope allowing for easier access and multiple beds at various levels. Garden art peeks out at every turn.
