A beloved Island tradition will take place this weekend, as Vashon Allied Arts presents one of the most popular events on its annual calendar — a tour showcasing five exquisite gardens.

The Garden Tour, now in its 20th year, will include live music, displays of garden art by local artists, a silent auction and two seminars by landscaping experts.

In anticipation of all this, it’s go time now for the event: Foliage is being fluffed, plants are being pampered, and weeds are being pulled in anticipation of bustling crowds of garden-gawkers who will descend to take the tour.

Nancy Miracle, co-chair of the event, said months of preparation have gone into making this year’s tour memorable.

“The tour is a lot of fun to put together,” she said, adding that she and other tour planners began work on the event last fall by looking at more than 30 Island gardens.

Several of the gardens that were chosen, she said, will be particularly inspirational because they spotlight the achievements of do-it-yourself gardeners who work largely on their own to create verdant paradises in their backyards.

“Their gardens represent what normal people, who don’t have a lot of professional help, can do,” Miracle said.

One of the gardens that fits this description is the creation of Colleen and John James, who have toiled for the past four years to create a lush spread on their property in Burton.

“It’s a labor of love,” Colleen James said, as she led a visitor down twisting stone paths surrounded by a profuse mix of blooming plants, leafy trees, delicate ferns and exotic ground cover. “It’s so much fun watching seeds come up and grow.”

James recalled how the waterfront property, when she and her family bought it, was nothing but a grassy lawn perched above Quartermaster Harbor.

“It was almost like a blank, prepped canvas,” she said.

James has been certified as a master gardener by King County’s acclaimed Master Gardener program. She’s also a co-leader of Vashon’s group of master gardeners, people who often make themselves available at a table in front of True Value and at the Farmers Market to answer Islanders’ tough gardening questions.

“This is my passion,” James said, as she described how the Garden Tour had collided with other important events in her life, including her three children’s graduations from high school, eighth grade and kindergarten.

Still, she said, being in the tour was worth it and a dream come true. “I think most gardeners aspire to being on a Garden Tour level,” she said.

Another garden in the tour belongs to Greg Elliott, who carved his garden out of a tangled blackberry patch. Elliott, in a phone interview, said he was hustling to prepare his garden for the tour.

“The weeds don’t care, they just keep growing,” he said.

The tour marks his garden’s debut, he noted, even though it has been years in the making. “Everything here happened slowly,” he said. “I just focus on the one spot I’m working on and keep plugging away at it.”

Another garden on the tour features a very personal meditation path created by Sherene Zolno and Rick Skillman, while yet another, belonging to Jonathan Morse, presents a series of connecting “garden rooms,” some of them nestled in deep shade.

The final garden on the tour, belonging to Islander Kay White, is an expansive, park-like setting White and her late husband Bill developed after purchasing the property in 1977.

Tour co-chair Nancy Miracle said ticket sales have been strong, and that she is hoping for a sunny weekend to ensure big crowds.

But she noted that the tour will happen regardless of the weather.

“We’re prepared if it is a little bit drippy — we have canopies,” she said. “We’ll go on, rain or shine.”

Music and art in the gardens

The James garden will host guitarist Mark Wells from 1 to 3 p.m. on both days. Glass works by Kasia Stahancyk will be on display. A plant sale will also be held in the garden.

The Skillman/Zolno garden will host harpist Leslie McMichael from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The White garden will host Geordie’s Byre from 1 to 3 p.m. on both days. Sculptures by Mike Urban, George Schaier and Robert Fairfax will be shown, along with totems by Dean Hanmer.

The Morse garden will feature guitarist Will Van Spronsen on both days. Artwork will include Jane Howard’s fish, Brian Brenno’s fused glass sculpture, Hans Nelson’s wood bench and Steve Zartman’s sculpture. It is also the location of the garden market.

The Elliott garden will feature sculptures by Barbara Wells, Al Bradley, Dave Erue and Carol Lux. The garden will also be the scene of a silent auction of colorful wooden planter boxes, handcrafted by Island artists.

Tickets and times

Friday, June 25

Garden Connoisseurs, 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person or $60 including a weekend Garden Tour ticket. The Sunset Garden Gala is sold out.

Saturday, June 26

Garden Tour, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, are valid both days and include two talks: Planting Roofs and Living Walls, a seminar by Sylvia Matlock, 10 to 11 a.m. at Dig Floral & Garden; and Gardening with Native Plants, a seminar by Greg Rabourn, 1 to 2 p.m. at Blue Heron.

Sunday, June 27

Garden Tour continues, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Carpooling is encouraged. For information and tickets, call 463-5131 or visit www.vashonalliedarts.org.

For an in-depth look at the Garden Tour, visit Karen Dale’s Garden On, Vashon blog at blogs.vashonbeachcomber.com/gardenon.