Where: Throughout the greater Gig Harbor area. New venues every year.
When: Late June. Tickets go on sale Memorial Day weekend.
Cost: $25 ($20 each for groups of 10 or more)
An example of the strong Gig Harbor garden culture, this popular weekend-long event that takes place annually around the end of June has grown into a tradition that draws garden fans from around the Northwest. One of the things I love about living in Gig Harbor is the pride and care that people here put into the land and their properties.
What You Need to Know
Tickets go on sale Memorial Day weekend at numerous venues in the Gig Harbor and Tacoma area. You can find the list of ticket outlets here.
Tickets are $25 unless you have a group of 10 or more and then they are $20 each. The Garden Tour is a non profit that supports children and adult literacy in Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula.
When you purchase a ticket at one of the ticket outlets or online you will receive a ticket booklet that will include descriptions of and directions to the gardens. Ticket booklets will be mailed to online ticket purchasers. Your ticket will admit you to both days and to multiple visits to the same garden.
The tickets will give you access to the gardens on a self guided tour both Saturday and Sunday. Check out the weather ahead of time as it can be very changeable in June. By late June it usually settles down some but there can be rain showers up until the first week of July so plan accordingly and wear comfortable shoes.
At the different tour locations, there will be garden-themed vendors, mainly artists and nurseries.
History
The garden tour has been going since 1998 only skipping 2020 & 2021. At that time a group of passionate gardeners came up with the idea to showcase the many wonderful gardens in the area so that the community could appreciate and enjoy them.
When one of the founding members realized that her gardener was unable to read it triggered the group becoming interested in adult literacy and they chose to make the tour a fundraiser for adult illiteracy resources. They partnered with the Adult Basic Skills program at the Gig Harbor Branch of Tacoma Community College to fund programs for literacy in adults of all ages.
In 2011 the Gig Harbor Garden Tour incorporated as a non-profit and in 2013 when TCC discontinued the Adult Literacy Program, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour Association began funding a variety of literacy programs in local schools and community organizations including the library and boys and girls club.
This is a great opportunity to experience the inspiring design, variety, artistry and color that these individual gardeners have cultivated in their unique spaces.