It’s time to stop and smell the roses at Vashon’s annual garden tour

Vashon Center for the Arts will present its 28th Annual Garden Tour on Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24, featuring five lush properties selected for the ingenuity and mastery of their gardeners.

The event will also include two special events.

At 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 22, garden tour-goers can attend a special garden party in Froggsong Gardens, featuring food, drink and music. And from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 23, foodies can revel in a talk by island author and farmer, Kurt Timmermeister, who will speak at VCA’s Katherine L. White Hall about his latest book, “Farm Food, Volume 2; Spring and Summer.” Following the lecture, there will be a tasting of wines from Andrew Will Winery and Pollard Vineyard.

Throughout the tour, there will also be a garden-inspired visual arts exhibition in the Koch Gallery, as well as an art bazaar in the Katherine L. White Hall lobby, featuring island artists.

“This is an event people from all around the Puget Sound look forward to every year,” said Mary Margaret Pearson, who is this year’s tour committee chairperson. “Every year I think, ‘This is the best collection of gardens we’ve ever had,’ and this year is no exception. We’re excited to have such varied and unique gardens.”

Featured gardens on this year’s tour will include:

Olson Garden

This garden, located in a marine shoreline conservation district, is called Scarlet Oak and is named for the huge oak tree that dominates the first impression of the property. Each of the garden spaces is defined by location and purpose in a relaxed country garden theme.

Laster Garden

When the owner bought the property four years ago, he acquired a house that had been partially remodeled and a vacant half acre lot sloping steeply to the water. The concept that emerged, tour organizers said, has a Japan-meets-Pacific-Northwest-meets-Zen feeling.

Benjamin-Meyer Garden

This property was originally conceived and designed as a Japanese “pond and stroll garden.” The Japanese-inspired rock work and three-tiered pond and stream comprise the central structure of the backyard space. The restoration and unearthing of water features has been central to the renovation of this garden.

Andrew Will Winery Garden and Grounds

The property flows gracefully around a Miller Hull-designed home and a winery, wine storage building and offices. The acreage nestles in a natural setting, surrounded by protected Vashon Island Land Trust property. The garden includes lots of vegetables as well as a collection of Asian pear, peach and cherry trees. The apple tree plantings include rare and historical stock.

LaSalle Garden

This park-like property is designed for many uses, including as a community gathering and retreat space. Large scale sculptural pieces, pools of water and vast Puget Sound views frame this property near Point Robinson on the east end of Maury Island.

Tickets for the Garden Tour are $30. Garden Party tickets are $145. Tickets for Kurt Timmermeister’s talk and wine tasting are $20 for VCA members and $25 general. Buy them at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Betty and Don Olson Photo                                The Olson Garden

Betty and Don Olson Photo The Olson Garden

Barbara and Gar LaSalle Photo                                LaSalle Garden

Barbara and Gar LaSalle Photo LaSalle Garden