The Christiansons will be opening their own private garden, Ridge Road Farm, for the first time as they join the Skagit Symphony's Gardens of Note. Their historic home, built in 1871 by the Leamer family, was also a school when 15-year-old daughter, Ida, became the first certified teacher in Skagit County. A later family built the landmark shed known as the “Spud House” for selling potatoes.

Toni and John bought the house in 1993 because of the fabulous views and location just minutes from their nursery on Best Road. After restoring the home to its "farmhouse status" they started to design the gardens. The first major planting was a small orchard of apples, pears, cherries and plums. Over time they developed raised gardens for vegetables and a tiered garden of blueberries, asparagus and artichokes. There is now a gazebo and espaliered Honey Crisp apples, a berry garden and space for potatoes and squash. Edible plants like cabbages and strawberries have been planted within the ornamental garden of roses, perennials, and grasses. Behind the house is an all-white garden with fragrant roses, lilies, nicotiana, and honeysuckle combined with delphinium, hydrangeas and clipped boxwood.

A bed of spring flowering bulbs, lilacs, peonies, and osmanthus borders the driveway so that early blossoms and fragrance can be appreciated when walking from the car. In the front, plants favored during the first half of the twentieth century (with a few of John's favorite newer introductions) are combined to create a typical multi-season old farmhouse garden.

Outbuildings include the combination greenhouse/potting shed and the "Spud House" together with a small barn and pasture for the Shetland sheep that are expecting lambs in June, and Rhode Island Red chickens. The gardens produce organic fruits and vegetables for a family of four plus some they share with relatives and friends.

In the family since 1885, this 240-acre farm has supported beef and dairy cattle, hay and a variety of vegetable crops. In 1940 Bob Hart's grandfather, a florist and nurseryman, began growing nursery stock. Sheltered and encircled by stands of poplar, " La Conner Flats", this 11-acre English style country garden was designed and built in 1985 to showcase plants for sale in the adjacent retail nursery. With a continuous display of flowering bulbs, trees and shrubs, especially rhododendrons, blooming from early spring through summer, this verdant garden invites you to stroll the winding pathways alive with color.

In late June, highlights will include the Vegetable Trial Gardens and Rose Garden featuring magnificent blooming Jackson & Perkins roses displayed in a circular pattern around a romantic gazebo as the centerpiece. The Vegetable Trial gardens were planted to investigate vegetable varieties and provide reliable information about growing vegetable crops in the cool damp soils of the maritime climate west of the Cascade Mountains. Originally part of the WSU Northwest Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon, the research is now carried out by volunteers and students of the Seattle Culinary Academy involved in all phases of vegetable cultivation and evaluation.

Of historical interest is the original farmhouse built in 1914 and the over 50 year-old apple orchard with several productive varieties including Gravenstein. An old grain storage building now houses the Granary Café, open weekdays.

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This is a first-time garden open for plantsman John Dixon who is in charge of new product development at Skagit Gardens. He purchased this property in 1996. Initially a two-and-a-half room farmhouse built in 1916, it was known as the "Old Womsley House". The barns were built in the 1920's and were in production as a poultry farm until the mid 1940's. Plans to apply to the Heritage Barn Registry are in process.

As you enter, hundreds of brilliant scarlet and yellow daisy-like flowers of Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Fanfare' greet you from the plant testing fields. Mixed borders of unusual flowering perennials and pots of exciting new annual plant varieties on trial surround the farmhouse. Rare and choice conifers such as Gerrard's Prostrate Deodar Cedar and Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' frame the garden beds along the driveway and large meadow.

Expect to be surprised as you wander this artist's garden, studio and barn. A combined split rail and drift wood fence frame the entry border filled with a mixture of plants chosen for the textural quality of their foliage and color combinations. With an eye for the rare and unusual, the Reims grow the carnivorous plant Sarracenia, giant leaf Gunnera and the dramatic but odiferous Voodoo Lily, Amorphophallus konjac.

Lavone's studio was originally a small cabin and home of Tillie and Otto Larson, Swedish immigrants who first farmed this land. It was built in the 1860's on the outskirts of Skagit City, a town that no longer exists. The dairy barn was constructed 1910. Two apple trees, one a Wolf River, and an asparagus patch remain from that era and continue to produce today, nearly 100 years later.

Two cabins were moved across the fields of Fir Island by sleds and animal power to be joined with a third to make the "original" structure. Purchased in 1972, it required years of effort to reinforce and rebuild. A massive fireplace was erected of green schist stone on a hearth base from the keel of a sunken oyster barge. A variety of interesting recycled materials including windows, log chains, cedar shakes, and textured wood panels salvaged from a shipwrecked steam tugboat named Intrepid, have been incorporated into the design of this unusual home.

After touring this unique home and garden, you will have the opportunity to hear Glen Turner read poetry from his book, Lemonade Days; and listen to live Jazz throughout the afternoon, played by Earl Angevine and friends.

This elegant garden has been featured in numerous local and national publications including Seattle Homes and Lifestyles, Metropolitan Home, and Val Easton's A Pattern Garden: The Essential Elements of Garden Making. Originally a 51-acre homestead and dairy farm, the property includes a barn, numerous outbuildings and a circa 1920 farmhouse. Descendants of the original pioneering families still live in the area. In 1995, Rod and Mari Juntunen purchased the property to grow unusual ornamental landscape trees. Once production was underway, the couple began creating gardens around the farmhouse. Rod runs a landscape design/build business on a full-time basis. Mari is in charge of the farm and gardens in addition to her work with several Children's Hospital Guilds and the Museum of Northwest Art.

European-inspired themes have been incorporated into this nine-acre garden. There is a formal "Sissinghurst"-inspired White Garden enclosed by a hedge of hornbeams featuring an arbor supporting white Rosa 'Mulliganii'. An espaliered apple and pear "allee" border the drive that separates the "Tussie-Mussie" cutting garden from the "Kids' Garden". Paths, roads, grass swaths and transitional gardens connect the numerous garden spaces. As you pass through the spaces, you will appreciate the spatial design and carefully chosen woody plants used to create rooms and provide the structure that make this garden so magnificent.

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The charming Tudor home was built in 1935 on what was once farmland. Sarah and Sam Stewart bought the property in 1943 and later sold 2.5 acres to the Skagit County fair grounds. Of historical interest is that Sarah and Sam started the first bulb growing business in Skagit County in the early 1930's. By the 1940's they were raising and shipping daffodils across the country first by rail, then by air from a Bay View pasture that later became the regional airport.

As you step through the rose and wisteria covered arbor you'll experience the front garden planted with peonies and shade-loving perennials. Japanese Maples and several dramatic Deodar Cedars complement the age and scale of the home. The gardens reflect decades of Sarah's effort with flowering magnolia trees, camellias and over 80 rhododendrons extending across 2.3 acres. There is a large open meadow to the east surrounded by poplars with brightly colored large shrub plantings, visually pleasing from a distance.

Purchased by the Freys in 2003, the home has undergone extensive renovation to restore its original character. Currently the Freys are modifying the remaining milk barn to use as a picnic pavilion for large groups.

Overlooking the Skagit River in old Mount Vernon, this 1934 French-style “town” home was designed by noted theatre architect Bjarne Moe. Architectural details are mirrored in the layout of the garden and large grounds. Shallow arched dormers exiting from the Mansard roof, and curved walls of windows overlooking the woodland all find complements in the curved patio and terrace with its lowered pool. The structured setting is one of serenity, balance, and formality, while drama is added by the breathtaking views of the valley and Olympic Mountains beyond.

Since the Rozendaals purchased the property in 2004, Joyce has been busy renovating the gardens, removing lawn areas and bringing in new and interesting plant material. Committed to preserving the important mature trees and shrubs, she has created a colorful mixed border along the circular driveway. A perennial garden has been planted along the new flagstone path connecting the upper terraces that lead to the swimming pool below. Artistically designed plantings in large pots are strategically placed throughout for dramatic effect.