Oak Harbor Garden Club Tour and Tea returns June 27

Eight private gardens will open to Oak Harbor visitors June 27 as the Garden Club brings back its Tour and Tea for the 23rd year. The $35 ticket covers morning refreshments, access to all eight sites and an after-party at Mailliard’s Landing Nursery, turning the day into both a fundraiser and a look at how neighbors are shaping yards for island conditions.

The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Early-bird tickets were sold online only for $30 from April 10 through May 12, and regular-price tickets began May 13 at $35. Tickets are available online and at three Oak Harbor locations. Club officials say the eight gardens will show a wide range of approaches, from a small French-style garden to a 100% self-sustaining estate, and four of the properties belong to neighbors whose yards flow together down a wooded bluff.

One of the featured gardens took two years to complete and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the club. Evergreen Landscape and Construction built it for an older homeowner who wanted something whimsical, accessible and easy to maintain, so the design uses no grass and plenty of walkways. The property also includes a stained-glass tree design on the front door, a climate-controlled greenhouse, privacy plantings that still keep the yard open, a broad mix of fruits and vegetables, rainwater collection, a thermal heat grid under the property and solar panels on the roof.

The club canceled last year’s tour after it could not find enough gardens to include, and Robin Boyle said the event needs at least five gardens to go forward. Boyle also said the tour gives gardeners a controlled way to draw ideas from other people’s backyards, which is part of why the event has endured as a local favorite.

The Oak Harbor Garden Club says beautifying the city is its mission, and the Tour and Tea is one of its three main fundraisers. Money raised supports community grants for new landscaping, maintenance of existing gardens and horticulture education. The club also holds monthly work parties on the last Wednesday of each month to care for city parks and the blue planters along historic Pioneer Way.

The organization traces its roots to 1923 and marked its 100th anniversary in 2023. Its work has helped shape places many residents know well, including Smith Park, the Oak Harbor Marina, Pioneer Way, the Whidbey Playhouse and the post office, making the tour less a simple open-house event than a window into how Oak Harbor keeps building its public life through private gardens.