To the editor:

With summer solstice, the sun arrived to shine on the 13th annual Whidbey Island Garden Tour. The WIGT Board of Directors wishes to thank the community for enthusiastic support of our 2008 tour. More than 1,000 guests visited five beautiful Whidbey gardens.

Each year, the Whidbey Island Garden Tour happens through the generosity of garden owners willing to welcome visitors into their private gardens. We gratefully acknowledge this year’s garden owners: Anne Davenport and John Holbron, Laurie and Hershel Freeman, Robert and Sharon Jangaard, Marie and John Plakos, and Peter and Roz Schott.

In addition, we thank our 2008 Patrons: Gail Adams, Stanley and Nancy Andrews, Charlene Arnold, Bayview Farm & Garden, Barbara and Lee Cornelsen, Susan Lindsey Cohen and Ken Cohen, Gemkow Construction, Diane Kendy and Michael Nutt, Bill and Gloria Koll, Louise Morgan, Cee Schacker and Fran Spicer, and Whidbey Island Bank.

Special services were provided by WIGT Friends: Donna Andersen, Bayview Farm & Garden, Boomerang Corner, Marianne Brabanski, Steve Ford, Kay Lagerquist, Louise Morgan, Michael Morgan, MUSEO Gallery, Cynthia Tilkin, Trinity Lutheran Church, David Welton, and WSU Master Gardeners of Island County.

Also important to the success of the tour are our advertisers: Bayview Farm & Garden, The Braeburn, China City, Chocolate Flower Farm, The Cottage Garden, Cultus Bay Nursery, Flowers by the Bay, Freeland ACE Garden Center, The Greenhouse Florist & Nursery, Harbor Arbors, Kirk’s Nursery & Garden, Mike’s Place, Pickles Deli, Prima Bistro, Sally’s Garden, Whidbey Coffee Cafe and Whidbey Pies Cafe.

Master gardeners, docents, parkers, party workers, and other volunteers, too many to mention by name, were crucial to the tour. Thank you all for creating this beautiful community event.

The proceeds of the garden tour support community educational projects and public space enhancement. This year’s beneficiaries are Bayview School, City of Langley Public Works Department, Coupeville Middle School, Friendship Force of Whidbey Island, Friends of the Clinton Library, Greenbank Farm, WSU Master Gardener of Island County, Langley Middle School, Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens, South Whidbey High School PTSA, South Whidbey Lions Club, Super Sprouts/Forget Me Not Gardens, Whidbey Camano Land Trust and Whidbey/Camano Island No-Spray Coalition.

Whidbey Island Garden Tour Board