e-Biking to beautiful gardens on annual tour

||| BY EDEE KULPER, theORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

This past weekend was stunning. The clouds finally parted all day, both days, signalling the true beginning of summer for us islanders. It couldn’t have been a more perfect time for the Orcas Island Garden Tour. 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.

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. 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. 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. (Will work for e-bike!)

To Deer Harbor we went, not once gasping for air or missing the details around us due to strain. Oh, the summer Sunday beauty along those winding roads was magnificent!

We arrived at Laura Ludwig’s garden without a drop of sweat on our brows. 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.

I love how we all know bits and pieces about each other on this island. I know of Laura as an exuberant dancer and fellow Salmonberry parent from years past. 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!

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. 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 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.

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. 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. 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.

Back on the saddle, I headed to the marina. 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.

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. Crazy Crow Farm is a sprawling, sunny area that feels strikingly private despite the acreage it inhabits. Permaculture in the form of an orchard of beautiful fruit trees and raised beds with various vegetables is maintained thanks to a water catchment system and thrives beside a large stand of solar panels, maximizing the saturation of sunlight in that beautiful valley. What a gargantuan greenhouse, too! The heat inside that place was almost inconceivable.

We had gotten so caught up in enjoying our new-found appreciation for battery-powered bicycling that by the time we arrived back in Eastsound, the time frame of the Garden Tour had passed. Thankfully, we get to see the Orcas Christian School’s Food Forest every day during the school year as its circular orchard matures through the seasons and its vegetables and edibles flourish each summer – an abundance that is shared with the community at harvest times announced weekly online.

A final stop at the sun-bathed Public School Garden gave the feel that it was hours earlier in the day. This garden has been lovingly maintained and harvested over the years by staff and students who work, learn, craft, and eat thanks to the bounty of that wonderful plot of land and the knowledge of its caretakers.

My apologies to Stephanie Susol, as we did not make it in time to her garden. I’m sure the Garden Club will have photos you can soon view on their website, showing this year’s six gardens.

With a few more bars of charge left on our bikes and plenty of light left in the sky, we decided to get one last adventure in our afternoon, heading along the opposite side of the Orcas horseshoe up to Cascade Lake. Flaherty Hill never felt so effortless! The summer day up there seemed infinite.

I finally ran out of electrical assistance back in town on Mt Baker Road, headed toward Dan’s Wildlife Cycles shop – 30 miles and endless smiles after starting our half-day rentals there earlier in the day.

What an unforgettable time experiencing the gardens and the serene terrain of this island, bathed in unencumbered sunlight its first whole weekend since perhaps last October.

Thank you to all of you who make the Garden Tour possible, and we’ll see you next year!