Vashon Island boasts some of the finest private gardens and nature oases in the Northwest, and every year, for two days in June, Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) and a handful of dedicated garden owners welcome the public to enjoy verdant foliage, fragrant flora, colorful blooms, and masterful designs.

This year’s tour, sponsored by Windermere Vashon, takes place this Saturday and Sunday, June 17 and 18, at several stunning locations.

McConnell Property

Picture a garden bursting with colorful native plants, towering evergreen trees, and tranquil ponds — and strolling through its winding paths, filled with unexpected discoveries.

A paradise of plants and art, the property features two wooden horse sculptures to greet visitors, followed by gorgeous stone and teak gates that lead into the sanctuary of Mike and Liz McConnell, owners and caretakers of the former David Smith property here on Vashon. The McConnells purchased the property in 2019.

The garden features acres of Northwest plants including evergreens, ferns, and Japanese maple trees. Two imported buildings from Asia adorn the property. One of them is a 150-year-old teak house that Smith brought from Java and reassembled on the property. The other is a Chinese pavilion, also imported by Smith. The property is a showcase of garden art, including ancient Asian sculptures, lovely ponds and magnificent views of the Olympic Mountain range.

Forest Garden Farm

Forest Garden Farm is a working flower and produce farm steeped in history and cultural significance.

Visitors can wander the gardens and fields and talk to the farmer/owners Lisa and Chris, who moved across the Salish Sea from Seattle to realize a dream. Visit the fields of peonies, sweet peas and other seasonal offerings planted alongside carrots, lettuces, peas and other spring vegetables and fruits.

The farm has a rich legacy of families who have worked the land, from the Sx̌ʷəbabs Coast Salish peoples, who fished, hunted, and foraged food and medicine from its waters and forests, to the first non-native settlers who homesteaded the land in 1862, to the Fujioka family, immigrants from Japan, who farmed the land after internment during WWII.

Members of the Fujioki family still visit the farm each spring to harvest fuki, a traditional Japanese vegetable.

LaSalle Reserve

LaSalle Reserve is a 19-acre property on Maury Island owned by Gar and Barbara LaSalle. The property — often used as a venue for weddings and other events — boasts sculpture gardens, large ponds, gazebos, waterfalls, a vineyard, and tree-lined walkways.

The landscape was designed by internationally renowned landscape architect, Richard Haag, acclaimed for his design of Gas Works Park and the Bloedel Reserve. The house was designed by the award-winning Northwest architect, Wendell Lovett. The grounds also include a massive Trellis Garden with sculptural columns designed and fabricated by Northwest sculptors, Ion Onutan and Grigoriy Reva.

The Stumpery Garden

Walt Riehl’s magical, hidden forest of native tree stumps — the largest private stumpery garden in North America — is overflowing with fern, epimedium, hosta, woodland plants, and other large leaf plant material. The 10,000-square-foot garden is filled with stumps and roots as the main architectural element.

The idea of using stumps as a major garden element was first used in England in 1856 at Biddulph Grange. The interest in stumperies occurred at the same time as the Victorian fern craze. The first modern stumpery was created by King Charles at his estate at Highgrove.

Inspired by these gardens, Pat Riehl collaborated with British fern expert Martin Rickard to transform a shaded ravine into a magical environment — all of it an understory to Douglas fir towering overhead.

In addition to the stumpery, look for the following: a bright green stump; a red tree; a watering can sculpture, a conifer garden with 75 dwarf and miniature conifers; seven planting beds, and a fern chair and two fern tables.

Goucher Garden

Tucked away on the very north end of the island is Janice Goucher’s secret garden of meandering trails, Northwest natives, and distinctive specimens.

Interesting specimens on the property include a Chilean fire tree (Embothrium coccineum) that will likely be blooming and attracting hummingbirds on Garden Tour weekend. A contorted larch takes center stage in one of the planting areas near the home. Other distinctive trees include a new Dawn Redwood and another more mature sequoia. A large Tetrapanax tree can be found along the driveway. Janice also has several giant Himalayan lilies, which can take four to seven years to bloom.

The property is a certified wildlife habitat, as designated by the National Wildlife Federation, and Janice follows good environmental practices as much as possible, including using no pesticides, and only using nontoxic deer and slug repellent when necessary. Her goal is to create a welcoming environment and provide a habitat for pollinators, birds, and small mammals.

More Tour highlights

VCA will be the central tour stop for Garden Tour visitors to collect their maps for a day of garden gazing — but be sure to give yourself time to check out other featured activities awaiting you on the campus grounds.

Art treasures will be found on display in pop-up exhibits in the VCA atrium as well as tour locations.

At VCA, the debut of Bill Rives and Julie Speidel’s “Monuments to the Past,” an 80-page coffee table photography book, is accompanied by an exhibition of Rives’ large-scale photography of the island’s magnificent old-growth forest stumps, Sales of the book and photography will support the arts center.

A free, self-guided adventure tour with a map and activity guide will also be available to take home so that islanders of all ages can discover some of Burton Acres’ beautiful stumps on their own.

An art show by Harbor School students will also be on view at VCA, along with another long-time, beloved annual exhibit — a display of colorful birds, created by island fourth-grade students, who worked with local artist Bruce Morser on the project.

Vashon Island Quilt Guild will show and sell their hand-crafted quilts, and visitors can also pick up one of Alexander Kamola’s large outdoor ceramic garden sculptures in the VCA Gift Shop.

Brian and Tara Brenno’s pop-up art gallery, with whimsical garden art and pottery, will be at Forest Farm Garden on both Saturday and Sunday.

VCA’s parking lot will have food vendors on hand throughout the weekend for visitors to grab a bite to eat, and tour-goes can also step inside to take a restroom break, purchase a Garden Tour raffle ticket, and browse a handful of garden business booths.

Outside Vashon Center for the Arts, visitors can have a picnic lunch or stroll through Heron Meadow, a protected wetland area that serves as a field office location for Vashon Nature Center. It features the Vashon Audubon Mural, painted by island artist Britt Freda, showcasing birds found in the Judd Creek watershed that are threatened by our changing climate.

Vashon Nature Center staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.

Get tickets to the Garden Tour at vashoncenterforthearts.org or visit or call VCA’s box office from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, at 206-259.3007.

Correction: A previous version of this story did not properly identify the profession of Richard Haag, who designed the landscape of the LaSalle Reserve property on Vashon. Haag is a landscape architect, not an architect. Landscape architecture is a separate and distinct profession from architecture that has its own academic curricula, training, and licensure.