June 27 and 28: Orcas Island Garden tour

2026 Orcas Island Garden Tour |  Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28 | from 11 am to 5 pm.| Orcas Island

Buy Tickets at https://www.orcasislandgardenclub.org/2026gardentour.html

Explore seven unique landscapes where breathtaking beauty meets practical food production. Discover tranquil retreats and elegant entertaining spaces while mastering resilient gardening techniques for drought and deer. Experience a multi-generational friendship garden. From harvesting vibrant blooms for floral arrangements and wool dyeing to cultivating vegetables and medicinal herbs, each stop offers a new lesson in purposeful gardening.

GARDEN A | WARM VALLEY FARM, JOEL STEWART & ANNIE MCINTYRE | THE SUMMERHOUSE PERFUMERY & BOTANICALS, SHAWNA VILLALVAZO: 7483 Orcas Rd (Eastsound)

Visit this historic working farm, committed to organic regenerative practices. Wander the paths and explore the gardens. We grow a wide variety of vegetables, cut flowers, botanicals, fruits and nuts. View the historic barn and learn about the farm’s early days as bulb growers, and orchardists. Explore the “scent garden” and discover how botanicals are transformed into exquisite perfumes. Learn more about how gardeners can incorporate land stewardship into their own gardening practices. Browse the farm stand, Barn Swallow Vintage, and the Summerhouse Perfumery.

GARDEN B-SATURDAY | 4TH SEED FARM, SUZANNE BROETJE & ROGER BAIRSTOW: 285 Nordstrom Lane (Eastsound)

Located on the historic Nordstrom farm, Roger and Suzanne use diversified farming to restore soil and watershed health for fiber and tea production. Beds by ponds and fields grow diverse berries, dahlias, dye plants, and tea seedlings (Camellia sinensis). Learn about their conservation Clun Forest sheep, explore the heritage barn and original log homestead, see botanical dyeing and wool processing, take home wool pellets, and discover how tea seedlings are cultivated for future green, oolong, and black teas.

GARDEN B-SUNDAY | THE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN, LEITH TEMPLIN: 44 Haven Rd (Eastsound)

When you enter this cheerful garden that gently slopes down a hill, you are rewarded with a lovely view that overlooks Fishing Bay. Explore this cottage style garden that includes natural mixed plantings of roses, clematis, lilacs, hollyhocks and hardy geraniums. Poppies reseed freely and perennials blossom in a delightful menagerie of form and color. Known as the “Friendship Garden,” discover all the plants and flowers shared from special family members and friends. Look for tree peonies, especially one gifted by OIGC cherished member, Hazel O’Brien.

GARDEN C | WEST BEACH FARM HAILEY & NATE AVERNA: 927 West Beach Rd. (Eastsound)

Operated by the entire family, this working farm is based on a commitment to stewardship of the land and the use of regenerative practices to produce nutrient dense food grown in healthy soil. As you wander the garden, look for rows of organic lettuce, vegetables and fruit. Enjoy seeing the edible and decorative flowers. Check out the greenhouses and the historic old barn. Meet the cows, baby lambs, the ducks and a bossy Canada goose. Don’t miss the “how to grow lettuce” demo on Sunday.

GARDEN D | KIWI BASE CAMP, PAUL HOLMES & HILLARY WILLIS: 244 Kimple Lane (Eastsound)

One of the first things you notice when you enter this property is the absence of fencing. A lovely pond surrounded by meadows offers a dramatic focal point for this garden – a perfect place for entertaining and relaxation. Designed to be deer-resistant and drought-resistant, this garden demonstrates how to incorporate colorful, low maintenance plants into garden design. Look for astilbe, viburnum, dogwood, a variety of junipers, a veggie garden and fruit orchard. Enjoy meeting the friendly resident goat.

GARDEN E | WIKSTROM’S GARDEN JO AND CURTISS WIKSTROM: 6586 Olga Road (Olga)

Located on a picturesque hillside with a lovely view of Buck Bay, this garden is surrounded by magnificent forest. This colorful garden consists of many levels of unique mini-gardens that feature different flowers, shrubs, fruit trees, berries and vegetables. Visit the greenhouse and learn how Jo creates beautiful floral bouquets. Look for hostas, peonies, dianthus, columbines, penstemon, camellias, fuchsias, crocosmias, dahlias, roses, columbines, hydrangeas and rhododendrons. Check out the pollinator garden for bees, butterflies and birds.

GARDEN F | WISE OWL WELLNESS FARM, JULE ERON : Corner of Buoy Bay Road and Obstruction Pass Road (Olga)

As you enter this garden, you are surrounded by a wide variety of plants grown for their nutritional value, including medicinal and culinary herbs. Wander through the beds in the two different gardens and look for perennials, herbs, and veggies, including beans, corn and garlic. Check out the young fruit and nut orchard, keep a look out for berries. Learn the many healing properties of easy to grow plants, how to use local sources to fertilize and maintain your garden and sample herb tea.

Add-on: Goat & Co and Orcas Isle Cider Farm warmly invite you to support the Garden Club and its work enriching the community through educational programs and grants. For every $50 donated above your ticket, enjoy a pre-order only thank-you gift of a gourmet cheese box and a glass of cider at Kiwi Base Camp during this year’s 2026 Garden Tour available for pick up between 11:00 – 5:00 each day.