Many East Grays Harbor gardens capture elements of practicality, whimsy and quirkiness — think neatly-tended vegetables, miniature fairy sculptures and seats made from bathtubs — along with an easy-going country charm. And this Saturday, a select few are on display.
Visitors will have a chance to tour seven private gardens during the 17th annual garden tour, hosted by the local Washington State University Extension Master Gardeners. The tour is an all-day event, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are already on sale for $12 at several Grays Harbor locations.
natural retreat
Chipmunks, red squirrels, wild rabbits, robins and bumblebees alike are all welcome in Robin Valentine’s relaxed, no-fuss garden. She even allows the occasional weasel to pass through the property.
She avoids finicky plants that don’t fare well in drizzly Grays Harbor County, instead sticking to perennials that bounce back each spring and provide a bright, colorful contrast to the dark woods surrounding the family home.
“You’ll notice a lot of chartreuse plants around here,” Valentine said. “That’s because we have so much dark green, so the brighter colors really pop.”
Her current favorites, Japanese seagrass and lamium, are both hardy and grow in the perfect greenish-yellow hue.
Valentine’s garden, located west of Elma, is relatively new. While the family has lived on the 11-acre property for decades, she only picked up the hobby about seven years ago with the help of her sister.
“I’ve always liked the idea of gardening, but I didn’t know how to do it right,” Valentine said. “For me, it was taking a plant and sticking it wherever. But my sister came to visit and she really got me going. We tackled a lot of things together, removing plants that I didn’t think I could take out. That’s when I really got the hang of it.”
Since then, she has enjoyed taking “blank spots” in her yard and converting them into places to enjoy bird watching, entertain her seven granddaughters or simply showcase her favorite plants. The hardest part is knowing where to stop, making sure that her garden doesn’t keep growing and growing.
“I need to create edges, I need to create boundaries,” Valentine said. “That’s the hardest part for me.”
As a result, the property is divided into several areas, each striking a different tone but linked together by common plants and colors.
The beds surrounding her lawn, for example, are filled with plants that fare well with more sunlight and attract birds and insects. Her “mushroom trees” — tall tree stumps topped with ivy — were designed as a nesting place for small animals.
“We have a bird book and a pair of binoculars that the granddaughters use,” Valentine said. “They’ve gotten good at identifying all the birds that come through.”
The Valentines stop feeding the birds in mid-summer so the chicks can learn to forage before winter. Even the family’s pets — a rescued cat named Tessie, a Boston terrier named Isabel and a Turkish kangal named Turk — respect the visiting animals, she said.
A rock-surrounded fire pit and seating area is one of Valentine’s newest garden features, showcasing more Japanese seagrass, petunias added for color and a delicate Japanese maples. Guests access the area — which Valentine affectionately calls the “rock pit” — by walking under a wooden arbor
“We only put that in two years ago, and it will be better once the plants are full-grown,” Valentine said.
She and her husband, Steve Valentine, will spend the next few days weeding flowerbeds, watering plants and mowing lawns in preparation for the tour.
“When you know someone’s going to be walking through, you notice every little weed,” Robin Valentine said. “There’s always more work to do.”
For more information about the tour, contact Terri Small at 206-795-178.
Amelia Dickson: 360-537-3936 or adickson@thedailyworld.com and @DW_Amelia on Twitter.
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