Petals & Pathways Home Garden Tour

Published 4:46 pm Friday, March 21, 2014

This year, the annual

Petals & Pathways Home Garden Tour, sponsored by the Master Gardener

Foundation of Clallam County, is in Port Angeles from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday,

June 26.  Homeowners with an asterisk are

Master Gardeners. The gardens may be visited in any order.

808 Golf Course Road
Larry and Nancy Lang*

A backyard wildlife sanctuary is only one of the attractions

of this garden that contains many different “rooms.” Included are raised and

“lasagna” beds for vegetable gardening, shade and rock gardens, stone paths,

steps and walls, a stream and pond, and a variety of aromatic flowering plants

that enhance this in-town garden framed by mountain and ocean views. Young

children love to explore for secret hiding spots, looking for gnomes and

pixies. This garden features many green gardening techniques such as minimal

lawn areas, rain gardens to capture runoff, use of native plants, reused

building materials, container gardening on the patio and a roof deck.

522 N. Liberty St.
Bill Fitzsimmons* and Jerry Ring

This unique urban garden is situated on the smallest size

buildable lot allowed in the city of Port Angeles, yet is proof that even with

little space and a limited budget, the do-it-yourself gardener with a bit of

imagination can create an attractive, productive and satisfying outdoor living

area. Fitzsimmons and Ring have opted for a basic theme of edible landscaping

and have relegated ornamentals and flowers to shaded or less desirable soils.

Raised beds in sunny areas provide year-round harvests.

Plantings are grouped with water requirements in mind. All

vegetables and root crops are grown in raised beds that allow for early season

soil preparation and planting to maximize the yield per unit area and minimize

water consumption. The bounty is further enhanced with day-neutral

strawberries, apples, pears, plums, raspberries and blueberries. A retro

Victory Garden at its best.

430 W. Fifth St.
Bob and Kristina Lawrence

Local landscaper Kristina Lawrence and her husband, Bob,

spent the past nine years sculpting their backyard, nestled snugly against the

Valley Creek ravine, into a secluded haven where troubles melt like lemon

drops. Follow well-placed paths through tranquil flower gardens where an eclectic

mix of plants weaves a tapestry of color, texture and aroma. As bird songs and

cascading water quietly serenade you, pause to admire the view of Klahanie

Ridge framed by big leaf maples and Douglas-firs where eagles often perch.

But it’s not all form here; there’s function, too. In the

kitchen garden are the unique raised beds built by the homeowners. Around the

corner is Bob Lawrence’s enormously productive worm bin/composter and don’t

miss his rain barrel system. This garden truly provides inspiration at every

turn.

429 W. Sixth St.
Jodi Riverstone
Note: Access this garden through the Lawrence garden.

This secret garden, nestled against a bend along the bluff

overlooking the Valley Creek ravine and the Olympic Mountains, offers a private

sanctuary to all who enter. Graced by rare and unusual azaleas, rhododendrons

and dozens of Japanese maples established by the previous owner, the landscape

has undergone a metamorphosis in the past three years.

Using a variety of perennials, shrubs, grasses and native

plants has enhanced color and movement in the garden. Elements of stone, wood

and metal also are used, as well as delightfully creative “garden totems” to

punctuate the garden scenery and add visual surprise. Also included are raised

vegetables beds for gleaning of garden greens and other organic produce.

1137 W. Fifth St.
Dan Blood

Designed and installed by Dan Blood, this garden represents

a rare opportunity to see a design professional “gone wild” in his own home.

Blood’s garden, like all his projects, is subject to “Wait a minute, I’ve got a

better idea,” and as a result is ever changing for the better as new boulder

shapes, plant specimens, waterfall ideas, etc., present themselves. See the

Jurassic Park fire pit, pick and eat strawberries along the trail in the

Northwest native landscape that is spiced with exotics.

Blood believes all garden owners should have a long-term

vision and this ideal certainly is reflected within the ponds, streams and

waterfalls that surround three sides of his water and mountain view home.

Situated on a double city lot, all this was achieved with good design and planning

over a five-year period.

1706 Lower Elwha Road
Linda Johnson* and Del Johnson

When the Johnsons purchased their four acres in 2005, the

land was heavily forested. Today their home is a serene ranchette that

showcases their combined talents of custom home builder and Master Gardener.

Their land is a delightful mix of cultivated garden beds and fenced pasture for

their horse, Amber, with a backdrop of forest.

Enjoy sitting a few minutes at the hanging bench within the

wisteria arbor, listening to the cheerful song of birds. Visit the rose garden

and stroll along the raised beds featuring herbs, blueberries, flowers and

vegetables. Many of the perennials came from previous Master Gardener plant

sales. Visit the water feature in the backyard, which is home to several frogs.

Note the interesting collection of sedums and succulents and don’t miss the

bird of paradise in the greenhouse.

Portable toilet available at this location.

530 Elwha Bluffs Road
Barbara Baker* and Bob Baker

Note: There is no parking at

this garden. Take the wheelchair-accessible shuttle between the Johnson and

Baker gardens.

To enter the Baker garden is to enter a sanctuary rich with

native plants, alive with wildlife and serene with a sweeping view of the Elwha

Valley through brilliant madrone trees.

Elaborate owner-built wheelchair accessible paths wind

through a rose garden, a vegetable plot with columnar apple trees, a shade

garden and over a soothing waterfall and pond. A grove of cedars shades a cozy

seating area and transports you in the warmth of summer to a cooler place

filled with bird songs. There are 630 labeled plants that grace this half-acre

haven, representing 230 genera. Look for labels marked LC to see 23 plants

first documented by Lewis and Clark on their 1803 western Trip of Discovery.

Master Gardener home garden tour
Saturday, June 26

The 17th annual Petals and Pathways Home Garden Tour, sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Clallam County, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 26, offers local gardeners an opportunity to enjoy seven local creative landscapes and to take away ideas that they can apply or adapt to their own gardens, according to tour chairman Joni Johnson.

She said the tour includes a diverse array of plant species, cultivation methods and aesthetic settings.

Models for vegetable growing and edible landscapes are at all of the gardens.

The gardens feature green gardening techniques such as minimal lawn areas, rain gardens to capture runoff, use of native plants, reused building materials, container gardening and a rain barrel system.

“Lasagna” layering and raised bed methods demonstrated on the tour reduce muscle and joint stress and fatigue for gardeners as well as create good growing conditions.

Water features, ranging from calming fountains to running streams and ponds, can be seen at six of the seven gardens. The use of garden art, driftwood and stones, and diverse color, texture and design of foliage reflect the individual personalities of the homeowners.

Johnson said that all of the gardens on this year’s tour are maintained by the home-owners. Four of the seven garden owners have received Master Gardener training. The homeowners and Master Gardener volunteers will be on hand during the tour to answer questions.

Advance tickets are $15 at Airport Garden Center, Gross’s Nursery and Florist, The Greenhouse, Port Book & News, Country Aire Natural Foods, The Red Rooster, Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm, Henery’s Garden Center in Sequim and Port Townsend, McComb Gardens, Nash’s Farm Store, Over the Fence, Co-op Farm and Garden, Sunny Farms Farm Store, Vision Landscape Nursery, the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Clallam County Extension office and from Master Gardener volunteers.

Tickets will be $20 on the day of the tour and will be sold at the gardens as well as the ticket outlets.

Tickets include a description of each garden and driving instructions to each location. Johnson said that the gardens may be visited in any order. The location of each garden will be marked by a colorful pink banner.

Proceeds from the tour help support the Clallam County Master Gardener plant clinics, educational programs, including the Green Thumb Gardening Tips Brown Bag and Class Act at Woodcock series and Youth Enrichment Program, and demonstration gardens that are open to the public free of charge. The gardens include the well-established Woodcock gardens, the Olympic Peninsula Demonstration Garden being developed near Carrie Blake Park and the garden at Robin Hill Farm Park, which supplies fresh vegetables and fruit to the Salvation Army soup kitchen in Port Angeles.

Clallam County Master Gardeners, a cooperative program between Washington State University and Clallam County, provides up-to-date information on sustainable gardening practices.
For more information on the tour, visit Web site www.petalsandpathways.com.