2008 Master Gardener's Tour in Ocean Shores

Ok.........this is by far my favorite event of the summer! Every year I plan ahead to make sure I'm free on this date. If I have company that weekend, they just have to go with me! Since I came to the Harbor, I have managed to attend at least 4 of these tours and each one has been a lot of fun even if I find myself doing it alone.

Thinking back, the first tour was in Westport, and then my cousin and I did the tour of the Wishkah Valley. Two years ago, my company and I did the Central Park and surrounding area tour and last year was my favorite and included two wonderful places on the Matlock Road as well as stops in the Elma area. Half the fun is exploring areas you've never been to. How many of Ocean Shores residents have driven through Central Park without ever getting off the main road. I had no idea there was a golf course hidden back in the woods just a few blocks from the freeway.

Last year, about five miles north of Brady on the Matlock road there were two places that were out of this world. The first place was a home made from an old milking barn. The setting was stunning and they had it set up so you could walk through the house and view the taped off rooms that were once stalls or milking stations. The barn conversion had to work of a master architect. It was made into a very comfortable home without loosing the distinct barn features including the very wide center alleyway. This house could be featured in any high class architectural magazine in the country. While I've never been to Europe, but this setting really gave me a true European old world feeling.

Up the road and past the covered bridge was another tour stop that was hidden in the forest. This place has been featured in national magazines. Room after garden room carved out on the wooded hillside with gates, arbors, ponds, garden art, waterfalls, vegetable gardens...........it had it all. A maze of several acres that was easy to get lost in!

The Wishkah tour was also wonderful! What a beautiful valley to explore! The feature that I remember most was the house on the river that you had to cross a swinging bridge to get to. I remember doing swinging bridges when I was a kid and fished with my parents on the Tieton River back in the early ‘50's. However, tackling one now that I'm in my sixties, was more challenging than I had bargained for....but I made it over and back! Now I know why my parents didn't find it amusing when I got to bouncing around on one of those things when I was out of control 8 year old with lots of energy to burn!

The tour this year is in Ocean Shores and there are five stops. The tour costs $10.00 and you need to pick up your passport at one of several retailers. I always get my ticket at Gallery Marjuli in Ocean Shores. However I do believe that they have them several places including Marshalls' Garden and Pet in Aberdeen, Harbor Drug and Gifts in Hoquiam, and Elma Variety Store. Your ticket is actually a booklet with the tour stops and restrooms all mapped out for you. You present your passport booklet at every stop and the hosts will stamp it on the back. A pictures of the booklet for this year, is included in the header of the article. I'm actually familiar with two of featured gardens. Betty Paulson is a distant 5^th cousin and Chuck Watters was an agent at Realty World when I first went to work there.

As you can tell, I've purchased my passport already! Normally, when the tours are out of town, I stop at a deli and get a sandwich and put it in a cooler with something to drink plus some other goodies to snack on. Somewhere along the tour route we find a spot to stop and eat it. With it being in Ocean Shores we have a lot of places to choose from to have lunch. However, being a weekend, finding a place to have lunch can be somewhat challenging, so you might want to consider packing a picnic lunch and eating on the beach, or perhaps trying out the menu at the Community Club. Also, it won't take long to tour 5 places, so maybe this would be a great time to stop by the Interpretive Center since you will be in that area on the tour.

I had a lot of things I wanted to do after retirement. The first and most important goal was selling my home in Selah and finding a new one in Ocean Shores. The second one was to become a master gardener.............yea sure! I spent a ton of money on landscaping and putting in a bunch of flower beds. Then 4 years later, I spent a ton of money tearing out about half the flower beds and putting down sod. It's the weed pulling........namely the #@%^&* Horsetail. I was told that it has been around for millions of years and you can't kill it. After spending tons of money for non toxic weed killer............I found out that "they" were right..........you can't kill it. However, a healthy bunch of thick grass can smother it! So my flower beds are down to a fairly manageable three areas..........but a master gardener I'm not. I do enjoy my time in the flower beds and it's truly eco therapy! Those two pictures at the top of the page are of some of my vines. Below are pictures from the 2007 Tour.