To the editor:

The soggy 17th Annual Whidbey Island Garden Tour was one for the books!

Despite peek-a-boo sunshine and torrential downpours, nearly 900 garden visitors enjoyed a lovely day. Hand-crafted mermaids swimming in the trees and fawns napping under a dripping hosta leaf didn’t mind the rain, and neither apparently did tour attendees.

Four unique gardens, from the whimsical to the working vegetable garden, gave our many guests much to marvel over. A Tuscan Lady’s Garden (Darla Duchessa), Raven’s Roost (Terra Anderson and Tom Buxton), Primrose Cottage (Kermit and Katie Chamberlin), and Spring Valley Farm (Cindy Smith and Phil Groening) were all in shining glory for the tour.

We thank you garden owners for your diligence in preparing your gardens over the past year. And thank you to Gloria Sherman for sharing her magnificent “one spirit garden” with the volunteers for a post-tour celebration. As for the hundreds of volunteers … you rock! Despite the weather you were friendly and helpful and full of good information about the gardens and our lovely island paradise.

A big thank you goes to all the individuals, businesses and the Port of South Whidbey, who helped in getting the word out to our entire island and beyond, and to all our benefactors who provided our operating funds.

If you purchased a ticket this year, thank you! Ticket purchase monies allow us to fully fund the seven grant requests chosen this year: Calyx Community Arts School, Deer Lagoon Grange, Friends of the Langley Library, Good Cheer Garden, Senior Services of  Island County, Whidbey Institute at Chinook and WSU Extension/Island County 4-H.

Please visit our new and beautiful website (www.wigt.org) to see pictures from the gardens, to get information about how your group could benefit from the garden tour in 2013 and to find out about next year’s tour.

Happy gardening!

The WIGT Board: Nancy Andrews, Sarah Birger, Suzanne Dobrin, Cindy Good, Toni Grove, Penny Harger, Lisa Irwin, Kate LeBaron, Fran Seemann, Pat Smith