The Garden of Patti Jacobsen at the Music in the Gardens Tour

Last Saturday, I drove down to the Long Beach Peninsula on the southwest coast of Washington, just across the Columbia River from Astoria, Oregon, for the Music in the Gardens Tour. I met Photographer and Blogger Debbie Teashon there (she writes the invaluable website and blog Rainy Side Gardeners) and we toured together, ending our day at the garden and home of another blogger and Long Beach denizen, Skyler Walker, and her husband Allan Fritz. Skyler and Allan both contribute to the blog Tangly Cottage Journal, and last year on Labor Day weekend Nigel and I vacationed there, where I met Skyler, having befriended her on Facebook. I blogged about her garden here.

Debbie and I saw 8 gardens on Saturday, which is a lot in one day! My favorite was the very first one we saw, the cozy cottage garden of Patti Jacobsen.

From the Music in the Gardens tour handout: "Patti's vintage, turn of the century Seaview cottage anchors her compound which includes a variety of gardens and seating areas that will invite you to stop, sit, and relax for a time. Included are raised vegetable beds, annuals, perennials and roses. Within its well manicured borders are a shaded terrace garden with a bubbling pond, a deck with a fountain and a multitude of containers bordering the rose bed."

We saw a lot of Crocosmia 'Lucifer.'

Love this porcelain elephant -- I think it would be right at home in my Folly!

A corner decorated with functional birdhouses, one of which was inhabited by a bird with babies

A small water feature by the back deck

I admired this black and white combo

The colors on this arbor match the surrounding buildings

Fabulous driftwood bench

Every garden on the tour included live music from a local musician -- here, a harp player

Crocosmia

Debbie Teashon, lining up a shot and/or waiting for all the people to get out of the way. She says being a photographer has taught her to be patient!

Tomorrow I'll share some of my pictures from some of the other gardens on the tour.

For an excellent blog post that shows more of how this garden is laid out, and offers historical information about Patti, check out this post on the Tangly Cottage Journal blog.