Submitted by the Orcas Island Garden Club.
Gardeners are natural teachers and learners who love to share what they know about growing plants. This year’s garden tour theme highlights Orcas properties that offer beauty, bounty and sanctuary that enhance the natural environment for plants, animals, insects and people.
The Orcas Island Garden Club invites you to join us at our 2025 Garden Tour on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets for the tour cost $25 per person and can be purchased in person at Darvill’s Bookstore in Eastsound or online at www.orcasislandgardenclub.org.
Gardens on the 2025 tour
As you enter Tekla Farms, look for a variety of heirloom highbush blueberries, including Spartan, Jersey and Rubel. Adjacent to the blueberry field, wander through the field of lovely early summer flowers that may include ranunculus, peonies and sunflowers. Explore the medicinal herbs, including chamomile, lemon balm, feverfew and anise hyssop. All the fruits, flowers and herbs are available for U-pick when in season. Learn about how they utilize wool for seed starting, fertilization, water retention and crop rotation. Create your own wool seed bomb for your garden. Visit their garden helpers: friendly Valais Blacknose sheep and resident bird floc ‘The Muster Marans.”
Located in a picturesque valley, Orcas Isle Farm surrounds you with over 1,500 cider-specific apple trees. Learn how to create a sustainable orchard using compost and foliar sprays that keep pests and diseases at bay. Look for the beaver lodge that houses one of the few beaver colonies living on the island. Enjoy a taste of cider.
As you approach the Barefoot Nature Trail property, you are welcomed by Harry, a giant “Bigfoot” and you know that a unique experience awaits you. The Barefoot Nature Trail invites you to use all your senses as you explore the native habitats of open fields, forests, wetlands and ponds. Walk this sensory-rich 1-mile nature trail that is used by students at Orcas Island Public School Outdoor Education program. Learn how to create your own barefoot trail. Visit the Art Barn where you can see Inese Westcott’s landscape artwork.
Located at the north end of Doe Bay, Fir Peace Farm is a member of the Salish Foodraising community garden network. Tucked in an open area surrounded by forest, this farm hosts more than 10 families growing their own food together. This community garden provides volunteer participants with abundant organic vegetables, fruits such as apples and peaches, herbs and flowers as they work and learn together throughout the growing season. Stop at the outdoor kitchen and sample some soup.
Situated above Doe Bay hamlet, Orcas Farm produces an abundance of fruit, flowers and vegetables using natural and regenerative methods to enhance soil health and provide pollinator and beneficial insect habitat. Wander the paths of this diverse market garden filled with veggies and assorted annual and perennial plants. Tour the greenhouses and learn about the nursery operations. You can purchase a wide variety of plants.
