By Margaret Payne
The McCoy Homestead featured at the June 23-24 Garden Club tour, seen through a gate of recycled materials.
Three of the homesteads on the Orcas Island Garden Club’s “Homestead Tour,” June 23 and 24, date from the 1880’s. However, two more recent homesteads demonstrate that today’s islanders are no less resourceful than its original settlers.
Kevin and Carol McCoy’s garden is testimony to the reuse, recycle, re-gift island spirit. Kevin welded the fence from reels that once held conduit for OPALCO; the trellises are made from rock screens from Dolphin Bay Quarry; and the fire pit is a recycled propane tank. Many of the trees and plants were also gifted or rescued.
A few miles down the road, Seaview Farm dates from the “back-to-the-land” movement of the 70’s. Named “Walden Cabin” by the original homesteaders, the homestead has been expanded by the Gainor-Kos family to include outbuildings constructed in the “wood-butcher”style from island-milled lumber. Hot and cold tubs were built with native rock by neighbor Pat Boehm, and the greenhouse and orchard were installed by the Bullock Brothers.
Tickets for “The Homestead Tour” are $20 at Driftwood Nursery and Darvill’s Bookstore or online at brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit orcasislandgardenclub.org.
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