Gardeners seem to be some of the happiest and nicest people on Earth. There is something euphoric about getting one’s hands in the soil, planting little sprouts and seeds, and watching them become beautiful, living things. As if that weren’t enough to make the happy endorphins emerge, gardening also produces a strange desire in the […]
Patti McFerran
A garden writer and tour director from Boulder, Colorado and an Emeritus Master Gardener, she is actively involved in many local gardening organizations including the Gig Harbor Northwest Perennial Alliance, the South Sound unit of the Washington Park Arboretum Foundation, and Horsehead Bay Garden Club. She is on the Master Gardeners' speakers list; her programs include shade and herb gardening as well as garden travelogues. She has worked with the Gig Harbor Garden Tour for 7 years and has been the garden selection chair for the last four years. She and her husband, John, retired to the Northwest in 2003 to be closer to their daughter, Molly, and their three wonderful grandchildren, Sarah, Jasper and Rosemary.
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Solar Energy Enhances Northwest Gardening
Did you know that in Washington state, owners of solar panels get paid extra for the electricity their systems generate? To make the deal even sweeter, they can save by not needing electricity from the power company in the first place. The Northwest has a great deal of sunlight for about seven months of the […]
Posted inGarden
Gardens — Oh, the Stories They Tell
This year’s Gig Harbor Garden Tour is going to tell some enticing stories about gardens and how they came to be. Each garden, no matter how small or large, simple or exquisite, has a story to tell. Now in its 21st year, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour has recruited seven local hosts, who are opening […]
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A Personal Retrospective on the Gig Harbor Garden Tour
This year, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour is celebrating its 20th anniversary. During the years of my involvement with this event, I have met many generous gardeners as well as volunteers who have dedicated many hours to the tour’s success. On one of my first garden tours, I remember introducing myself to Sue Goetz. It […]
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Gardens Promote Literacy at the 19th Annual Gig Harbor Garden Tour
“If you’ve got a cause, you can find a way!” This is a motto adopted in 1998 by a group of gardeners dedicated to making sure that everyone has a chance to learn to read. From the start, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour had its roots (no pun intended) in helping the cause of literacy […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Gardens Promote Literacy at 18th Annual Gig Harbor Garden Tour
It’s an appropriate saying for this year’s Gig Harbor Garden Tour from an 86-year-old gardener who has opened her magnificent garden to thousands of viewers over the last 15 years. For the last 17 years, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour has dedicated its profits to helping people of all ages gain the gift of literacy. […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
Gardening and Literacy Connect at The Gig Harbor Garden Tour
Cicero once said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Those words still ring true today and are especially applicable to the Gig Harbor Garden Tour. For the last 16 years, the tour has dedicated its profits to helping people of all ages gain the gift of literacy. When […]