Crazy Crow Farm is a sprawling, sunny area that feels strikingly private. The fascinating thing about the Garden Tour is seeing how each resident utilizes the strengths of their land and particular biome in order to maximize their specific beauty and potential.

Reunited with my family and refreshed by views of sparkling water and distant snowy peaks unencumbered by the blanketing clouds of the past nine months, we got back on the road, blissfully pedaling toward Crow Valley, not wanting to get there too fast in our enjoyment of all the elements around us. Patricia’s granddaughters sold lemonade in the expansive shaded entrance, and visitors circled around the sunny grounds, admiring fern art and wandering into little specialty vignettes.īack on the saddle, I headed to the marina. Years before, I had walked under the Japanese Tori gate at the entrance to the property and come upon the lily-pad-covered koi pond when the Carpenters owned the place. The dirt road up to her house is an angle that would normally cause some huffing and puffing, but e-biking it was a breeze. We hopped on our rented bikes with extra oomph due to my husband’s allergies acting up, and he and our son headed for what they hoped would be some sinus-clearing ocean breezes along the Deer Harbor Marina dock while I took a detour to the garden of Patricia Flores.

She was a part of our week every time we checked out a sky-high stack of books, so it was nice to see her again. We said a warm goodbye to the beloved Orcas Island Garden Club President Nita Couchman, who was manning the table there, whom we hadn’t encountered since her pre-COVID children’s librarian days at the public library. I had no idea she was logging years in the soil, growing flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees – another realization added to the day’s list! I know of Laura as an exuberant dancer and fellow Salmonberry parent from years past. I love how we all know bits and pieces about each other on this island. The sun beat down on that lovely, large plot of land colored with splashes of deep purples and delicate pinks as my lighthearted garden jealousy took note of how much sunshine her plants get every day compared to mine that struggle under a partial forest canopy. We arrived at Laura Ludwig’s garden without a drop of sweat on our brows. Oh, the summer Sunday beauty along those winding roads was magnificent! To Deer Harbor we went, not once gasping for air or missing the details around us due to strain. WOW, did these electric bikes open up the realization that the world is our oyster more than ever – no hill was difficult on these phenomenal mechanisms, and I now see a whole new life of exploration in my future thanks to an immediate dream of being an electric bike owner someday. My husband and I have been lifetime bicyclists – my husband more than I, as most islanders can set their watches to his morning ride – and we are more than a little accustomed to pulling our own weight up hills and logging mile upon mile thanks to muscle power.

We had never rented electric bikes for long-ish distances before (only tried them once on the crowded streets of Rome), and the moment we began was revolutionary. The idea of driving on such beautiful days immediately took a backseat to the thought of renting electric bikes and pedaling along the sun-drenched roads, breathing in the perfect air and soaking up every sensation on the way to each location. It couldn’t have been a more perfect time for the Orcas Island Garden Tour. The clouds finally parted all day, both days, signalling the true beginning of summer for us islanders.

Island thyme orcas