2013 Petals & Pathways Garden Tour

2013 Petals & Pathways Garden Tour
Event on 2013-06-29 10:00:00
This year's Clallam County Master Gardener Garden Tour, Petals and Pathways 2013, will feature seven lovely gardens in the Sequim area. They range from high hillside viewspots with yard art and splashing water, to pocket sized gems which are havens for their owners and for birds and butterflies. Garden #1, in the Owl Creek area, is a very tranquil, tucked- away garden with numerous water features, expansive lawns and a variety of orchard trees. The entry to the property features a beautiful long serpentine wall made from stones found on the property. The wall curves along the driveway, and beside it runs a pump-fed stream which feeds into a pond accented with flowering cherry trees. A display featuring barn owls sits near a 70-year old barn. There is an extensive composting system that nurtures the flowering annuals and perennials, and the variety of vegetables grown in the attractive contoured raised beds. In front of the house are two espaliered hydrangeas. Garden #2 overlooks the Strait, and has been developed over the last 6 years, beginning from a 3-acre parcel of pasture grass. The homeowners have created a large, inviting garden, with an extensive collection of dwarf conifers, an attractively enclosed orchard, a blueberry garden, and an eye-catching collection of colorful yard art. There are mounded planting beds for visual interest, and a meandering dry creek bed disguising a drain pipe needed due to the high water table. A variety of vegetables are grown in raised beds. As you leave this garden, look for the eagle nest perched in a snag, and enjoy the view of Victoria across the Strait. Garden #3 is a little gem in the Sunland area. The homeowner began with what was solid clay, and has worked for nine years bringing in soil and compost to create a woodland garden with deer resistant plants. There are 45+ Japanese maples, rhododendrons, ferns, hellebores, Ligularia, clump bamboo, Agapanthus, grasses, and much more. Notice the dramatic birches in front, with their white bark set off by variegated iris and white stone mulch. Garden #4 is small, beautiful, and bird-friendly. The owners have designed their space to be charming, low maintenance, and earth-friendly. The focal point is a 40+ year old bridge surrounded by Colorado columbine. A drip system with timer serves the entire garden, including the waist-high "earth boxes" that house the vegetable gardens. Companion planting is used to minimize the need for harmful chemical pest control, and copper bands discourage slugs. Quail, goldfinches and hummingbirds abound. Garden #5 is on steep terrain, so shoes with traction are a must. This panoramic hillside setting is an artist's playground, a garden of color and whimsy. When you arrive, you will be greeted by Santa/Rufus, a tree-trunk carved by the late Tim Quinn. The pathway from the drive leads through the custom-designed gate to an array of annuals, perennials, and ground covers that provide seasonal color, and waterfalls that trickle down into 7 pools. A decorative wrought-iron fence protects the inner garden from deer. The pools are accented with a coral bark maple, flowering plums, Cryptomeria, black mondo grass, a weeping white pine and a blue Atlas cedar. Angles of the dwelling are softened with Hinoki cypress and Japanese maples. The lower area features a face garden, glass totems and specimen madrone. Garden #6 is laced with many winding paths that wrap around 3 ponds and over the creek bed among a variety of specimen trees and shrubs. Bulbs and perennials provide color, and garden art adds a note of whimsy. Sages, fuchsias and other nectar plants attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Pines, spruce, sequoia, and a monkey puzzle tree provide year-round interest, privacy, and wind protection. The views to Protection Island and Mt. Baker are unsurpassed. Garden #7 is another steep one. An expansive deck overlooks a serene garden of Bonsai, colorful containers, and potted rose bushes. Stunning views of the San Juan Islands, Victoria, the Strait, Dungeness Spit and the Lighthouse will make you want to linger on the deck. But meandering pathways invite you to view this hillside garden up close. An assortment of Japanese maples, a golden chain tree, rhododendrons, heathers and evergreens thrive amongst native plants. It is tempting to relax and enjoy a book on the lower deck, while listening to the splashes of the fountain, filled with water flowing from a hillside brook.

at Seven gardens in Sequim (pick up tickets at the first garden on the day of tour)
102 Owl Creek Lane, Sequim, 98382
Sequim, United States