Garden tour to showcase different styles

Published 5:00 pm Monday, June 27, 2005

“The best day of summer in Clatsop County is almost here,” say organizers of the Lower Columbia Preservation Society’s (LCPS) fifth annual Garden Tour. This year’s tour will feature both town and country gardens. The popular event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 9.

On the day of the tour, the tickets may be purchased at 690 17th Street in Astoria from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Admission is $10 per person or $5 for LCPS members.

This year’s Garden Tour will feature two large country gardens, two in-town Astoria gardens, and a series of “street gardens.” According to co-chairwomen KC McGee and Linda Oldenkamp, a key to this year’s tour is diversity. McGee said, “We have a little bit of everything; the gardens are large and small, they are in the Astoria countryside and in Astoria proper.” Oldenkamp pointed to a new feature this year called, “Street Gardens for Street Walkers!,” a series of tiny gardens easily viewed by walking the street rather than driving. Oldenkamp added, “Although diversity is a key, all of the gardens have one thing in common – each garden is lovingly cared for by owners with a passion for beauty and a willingness to share their gardens with others.” The other gardens are:

A Street Garden, PLUS! This garden is bordered by one of Astoria’s signature basalt rock walls and much of it is best viewed from the street. The garden features new roses, a very old rhododendron, a fuchsia, hollyhocks, lilies, lavender and lavatera.

A gardener’s garden! At the confluence of the Walluski and Youngs Rivers lies more than an acre of garden with 15 Hinoki cypress, 25 hydrangeas and 50 roses.

In the historic Lewis and Clark area, overlooking pastures of grazing cattle, a large country garden spotlights conifers, statuesque rocks and wildlife. Look for the numerous birdfeeders, bee house, raised beds, 37 blueberry plants protected under a netted tent, and garden shed.

Tour-goers will receive discount coupons from area nurseries. Raffle tickets for garden-themed items will be sold for $1 each or 15 for $10. The raffle grand prizes are a night’s lodging at the historic Hotel Elliott with gift certificate to the Schooner Restaurant and a garden gazebo from Seven Dees Nursery. The raffle drawing will be held at 2 p.m. Winners are not required to attend the event.

Homemade refreshments will be available on the Flavel House lawn at Eighth and Exchange Streets in Astoria, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Proceeds from the garden tour will be used to promote the LCPS mission and educational programs. For more information about the garden tour, call 325-3981.

Membership to LCPS is $15 a year per person or $25 per household, and includes lectures and workshops for free or at discount, the newsletter, Restoria, and reminders and e-mails of preservation related news and events. For membership information, call 325-1844.

The Lower Columbia Preservation Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “preserve, protect, and promote the historic architecture in the Lower Columbia region.” For more information, visit the LCPS Web site (www.lcpsweb.org)