WILL CALL AND STARTING POINT — How It Works, 1014 4th Street, Anacortes
Street parking is available at this downtown location. Music by La Rosa Trio will be played from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm. Lawn, picnic tables, light refreshments, drinks, and restrooms are available. Also offered are a raffle and book signing and sale of Jane Billinghurst’s new book, “The Armchair Book of Gardens.”

1. Victorian Style in Cap Sante
This enchanting garden is a rose lover’s delight and the perfect foil to the 1892 vintage Victorian house it surrounds. After many years in the hands of an avid gardener, it had fallen into disarray by the time the Cochrans bought it six years ago. Carolyn, a Master Gardener with a basic design in mind, set about transforming overgrown beds, removing fallen structures and discarding many old plants past their prime. Paths were laid out and beds were filled in with bulbs, perennials, rhododendrons, a variety of hydrangeas and roses. Self-sowing plants like foxglove add a whimsical effect, softening the overall structure.

Enter through the front gate of the clematis-covered wrought iron fence needed to keep out deer whose wanton dining habits had ravaged most of the old plants. To the left under an old cherry tree discover a new bed of mixed bulbs and perennials with crocosmia, iris and heuchera. Following the path along the fence towards the main garden on the sunny west side of the house the visitor will be drawn to a white gazebo, newly constructed and installed by the owners. Behind the gazebo are self-sowing violas, hellebores and hostas. This marks the beginning of a path, lined with roses, peonies and lilies, that leads to an old arch supporting a very old climbing rose and honeysuckle. Growing behind, along the fence, are delphiniums, phlox, lilies and more roses. Old roses, English roses including a mature R. ‘Graham Thomas’, R. ‘Ballerina’, R. ‘Mutabilis’, and R. ‘Abbaye de Cluny’ name just a few of the many varieties. Trellises bearing climbing roses and more perennials find protection against the house.

The charm of this garden lies not only in its beauty but also in the feeling it imparts of being transported to calm and easy days of yore. The visitor may leave this reprieve by following the main path back to the large gate opening to the parking area in front of the house.

2. Structured Town Garden
This classic Colonial home, purchased by the Heiners in 2005, is at least ninety years old. The original garden was overgrown and much of the plant material was removed to complete necessary drain work. In 2006, work on the new garden began following a fresh design that features a gathering space, a courtyard that doubles as an herb garden, a place to grow vegetables, and no lawn inside the fence. Special plants that remain include the large pine tree along the west fence, a camellia, Korean Spice viburnum (V. carlesii), a few rhododendrons, and the rhubarb patch along the alley.

Among the hundreds of new plantings, there are over 1,000 bulbs. Highlights include a Stewartia pseudocamellia, a Gowdy oriental spruce (Picea orientalis ‘Gowdy’), five different maple species, several varieties of the spring flowering weigelia, fruit trees, and a multi-stem birch. On the north side of the house, an arbor features two types of grapes, Japanese wisteria, evergreen Clematis x cartmanii ‘Avalanche’, and two climbing roses, Rosa ‘Dublin Bay’ and R. ‘New Dawn’. Note the circa 1925 playhouse near the arbor.

Hebe, the Goddess of Youth, a replica of mid-18th century sculpture, is the focal point of Hebe’s garden. This favorite area features four Viburnum x bodnantense circled by dwarf boxwood and numerous spring bulbs. A small heather and heath garden grows along the fence on K Avenue. A hedge of Russian laurels (Prunus ‘Schipkaensis’ and three Leyland cypress can be identified on the 8th Street side. Along the alley you’ll find the original rhubarb patch and two “bean” boxes, perfect for growing fava beans, the Heiner’s favorite.

Bunny does most of the maintenance and manages the smaller plantings. The stone walkway installation and help with heavy work is by Wes Howard of W & L Design.

3. Private Backyard Retreat
About four years ago, with a desire for a more attractive and edible landscape that would also be inviting to birds, the owners decided to take out the weedy back lawn and re-design it. They already possessed a good-sized vegetable garden and fruit trees along the alley including pear, apple, Italian prune, and fig. With the help of landscape designer Maureen Scheetz they created a spectacular back yard retreat that included native plants, small trees to fit the space, perennials, shrubs, areas left to add bulbs, summer annuals, and a location for art. Now, abundantly planted with both ornamental and edible plants, this garden provides wonderful spaces for the owners and guests to sit and enjoy being outside in a lush and verdant environment.

The circular flagstone patio provides an inviting place for eating and the Martini patio, with its comfortable seating, is great for entertaining. The owners have added a grape arbor with bench in the southeast corner for reading. The original vegetable garden was enlarged for growing artichokes, leeks, garlic, kohlrabi, parsnips, rhubarb, or for whatever is their new annual whim. There are two herb areas that grow mint, oregano, tarragon, French sorrel, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Well-designed walkways separate the garden spaces and have effectively increased the area for growing vegetables. The removed sod was used to create berms along the alley and east side of the house where additional lettuces, chard, collards, kales, and sugar snap peas could be planted. Over the years they have incorporated colorful perennials like daisies, lupines, and poppies and some favorite trees such as Cornus kousa and Japanese maples. Birdbaths, birdfeeders, and birdhouses have been placed to encourage these guests. There are also three water sources for birds.

The garden continues to be a work in progress and a lasting delight for both Paul and Vicki. It has been on the Eat Your Yard Tour and is certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat with deer prints and the molehills to prove it!

4. Skyline Master Gardener
This garden began twenty years ago with what then was virtually bare ground with a few rhododendrons, a couple of trees and a rear lawn. Initially, some professional help was needed to install the hardscape, but the remainder of the front garden work was completed by Helga. She has designed an uncomplicated entry garden featuring a maple tree, flowering azaleas, evergreen trees, a stone pathway and a seating area.

Behind the home is where this Master Gardener has focused her energy, creating a tapestry of color using interesting shrubs, a vibrant display of flowering perennials and rock garden plants. Perennial mainstays include helleborus, penstemon, phlox, catmint, gaura and liatris. Peonies, crocosmia and Asiatic lilies give an added punch. Woody plants such as blueberries, Skimmia japonica and Globe katsura trees add to the structure. A low rockery provides the environment for rock garden plants that require sharp drainage.

An assortment of pots bursting with geraniums, lobelias, asters and other annuals highlight the back areas. Also of interest, visitors will find a wooden bird feeder from Germany, several other birdfeeders, birdhouses and an assortment of plaques hanging on the walls.

5. Japanese Style Garden
While the Hall’s Northwest Contemporary home is sited on a spectacular stone bluff overlooking Burrow’s Bay, this classic Japanese garden is focused inward, setting this lovely space a world apart. Set amongst towering fir, cedar and a collection of mature Japanese maples, the renovation of this thirty-year old garden started with a Koi pond designed in recent years by Terry Welch of Seattle. Phase two began only two years ago when the Halls contracted Sadafumi Uchiyama, the famed Curator of Portland’s Japanese Garden, to create the garden design. Schwiesow & Drilias Inc., of Bellingham, completed installation just one year ago.

The fences and gates are an integral feature of this garden, separating the visitor from the outside “world”. Stone pathways slow down the stroll as you enter. A covered entry gate, crafted of bamboo, fir and cedar using traditional Japanese joinery is anchored with the timeless quality of large cut stone steps. Water is an important feature of the garden. A gently flowing stream that winds and curves throughout the garden is punctuated by well placed pines, groundcovers, stones and a gravel pathway. The large, handcrafted granite lantern and a machiai, a small structure traditionally used for guest seating in a tea garden, add artistic grace and refinement. New plantings blend flawlessly with native trees to create a tranquil and peaceful setting that provides year-round beauty in a microcosm of nature. The garden offers several areas to stop and observe, listen and reflect, relax and enjoy. Take the time to appreciate the skill and care that was taken to create this exquisite garden.

Shuttle service to the Hall garden is required due to limited parking space. Please use the parking area specified at Lakeside Industries on 11497 Havekost Rd. and the attendants will direct you to the available shuttle vehicle.

6. Hillside Garden
This extraordinary hillside garden dates back to 2000, when the first owners bought the house and landscaped the garden. Wanda, an avid and knowledgeable gardener, and her husband Lindsey have maintained and added to the garden in the five years that they have owned the property. No outside landscapers were consulted. This year, deer have been particularly fond of the garden’s vegetarian menu, and the owners have worked hard to contain the damage.

After viewing the lovely front garden plantings, you enter the Hillside Garden through a vine-covered pergola and gate. There is an arbor just inside the garden. From this terrace, you can view the garden spreading down the steep hillside flanked by large forest trees, Western red cedar and Douglas fir. Follow the winding paths down the hill between planting areas filled with annuals and perennial geraniums. At the bottom of the slope you may wander the large lawn area that gives a special park-like feel to the property.

Other plantings include clematis, roses, hostas, peonies, and several kinds of conifers, including the dwarf variety of Hiba cedar (Thujopsis dolabrata). The twelve Japanese maples are Wanda’s favorite trees. There are many native huckleberries and forty rhododendrons.

Parking for this garden is on Bay Lane. Visitors walk up the driveway and start the tour at the front of the house. The garden entrance is to the left.

7. BooShoot Garden owners’ private garden
A massive Chinese gate welcomes you into this Asian inspired seven-acre garden on the shores of Lake Campbell. Discover magnificent groves of various species of Bamboo that create a backdrop to the garden and nursery where the world-renowned BooShoot Gardens was conceived. From the parking area, you may wander the gravel pathways of a garden radiating from a tall and elegant central urn. Designed by Guy Thornburgh, this area features ornamental grasses, unusual trees, and Black Bamboo. Further west, vegetables and cutting flowers are planted in raised planting beds, once test plots for numerous types of bamboo. Note the Chilean Feather bamboo under-planted with strawberries.

The bright yellow benches welcome you onto the gravel of the Tropical Garden. The unusual tabletop fountain is a delight for birds. Well-built rock walls create the circular base for a sizeable Fan Palm (Tracycarpus fortunei). Wander up the steps or around to the right towards the Japanese Tea and Guest House. To the right of the bridge is a Dry Garden. Here plants requiring sharp drainage such as the eye-catching Lewesia are mulched in gravel.

Experience the change in elevation as you stroll over the pond on the dramatic arched bridge to the Tea House. Carved lions, monkeys and elephants adorn an entry door from India. Inside, you will appreciate the heavy timbered construction and Japanese architecture of this delightful space with the warmth of woven bamboo on the ceilings, bamboo flooring, and Shoji sliding doors. The furnishings and décor including a circular bamboo window shade are from Japan. Stroll by the bath and shower room with a large circular window into a private garden where you will find a rare White Striped Bark Maple and an interesting pattern of Fraser River rock on the ground, all surrounded by screens of Rain-glass.

Nearer to the house, specimen trees that grow well in the Pacific Northwest such as Mountain hemlock, Dawn redwood, Cedrus deodora and C. atlantica, Katsura, Giant sequoia and Weeping larch enclose a gated entry courtyard. Inside, vertical apple trees, Edgworthia, Magnolias, and a Japanese maple under-planted with shade loving perennials and snowdrops create year-round interest and an inviting welcome to the home.

There will be refreshments for purchase and tables and chairs available near the musicians.