It’s time for one of my favorite events of the year: the Snoqualmie Ridge Garden Tour. Right about now I was getting ready to proclaim that I love gardening, but now realize I love certain parts of gardening; more specifically I love the end result of the sometimes tedious work that consumes gardening.
I do love beautiful yards, though. Sometimes our neighborhood walks are dictated by the yards on certain streets and the desire to see what’s blooming during spring or summer. Actually, I am kind of a yard stalker. My husband has had to give me that disapproving look over the years. It’s the look I get when I like a home’s front yard so much that I try to peak through gaps in a fence to see what the backyard looks like.
So for me, the garden tour is the one time of year I get to legitimately stalk the backyards of those houses. I am referring to the homes whose front yards leave you curious, wondering what all the landscaping trucks and machines created in the backyard.
One house on this year’s garden tour fits that bill perfectly. It’s located in my own neighborhood and for the past two summers they’ve been working on the backyard. I’ve seen the trucks during my numerous mom “taxi runs.” I’ve even heard and seen some of the construction on my walks and jogs. Now’s my chance. They will let in the busy-body yard stalker in!
This Saturday, July 21st, from 11AM to 3PM you can stop by six Snoqualmie Ridge homes with amazing backyards and just wander, admire, ask questions and dream about what you can do with a few thousand dollars and your own backyard.
Three of this year’s tour homes are on Carmichael Loop near Azalea Park – not sure if they are competing on Carmichael Loop or what. Maybe they were all inspired by past garden tour participants, The Pattersons? Whatever the case, three house on the same small street makes the tour even easier when Snoqualmie Ridge is as big as it is now.
Two of the homes are in the Deer Park neighborhood. You enter Deer Park on Swenson Drive from Snoqualmie Parkway. The final home is on Heather Ave in the Dogwood neighborhood off of Fairway Ave between Snoqualmie Parkway and Ridge Street.
Water features, cobblestone paths, mature plantings, gazebos, stamped concrete, blooming flowers – it’s a garden enthusiasts dream afternoon. The Carmichael Loop homes will even have a Master Gardener on hand to answer your questions.
You can visit the Snoqualmie Ridge ROA website for a listing of the 2012 Garden Tour homes or stop by Snoqualmie Community Park, 35016 SE Ridge Street, on the day of the event for a garden tour map.
