Green Blog
2023 Natural Garden Tour
Gardens N1-La Center and W3-Di's Citi Chicks are closed. Please visit the remaining eight gardens on the tour.
What is the Natural Garden Tour?
It's that time of year again, when the sun is shining, plants are blooming, and pollinators are working around the clock. Each July, Clark County Green Neighbors celebrates the season by hosting the annual Natural Garden Tour. This is a free, self-guided tour of nine private gardens throughout the county that use sustainable gardening techniques.
You are invited to join us on the tour 10 am to 4 pm Sunday, July 16. Participants can explore gardens at their own pace – visiting as many of the gardens as they'd like. Booklets with a tour map and garden details, including accessibility levels and parking availability, can be downloaded from the Clark County Green Neighbors website or found at five Vancouver stores:
• Backyard Bird Shop, 8101 NE Parkway Drive
• Cascade Greenhouse, 6005 NE 139th St.
• Dennis' 7 Dees Garden Center, 10006 SE Mill Plain Blvd.
• Hayes Family Growers, 3004 NE 182nd Ave.
• Kindred Homestead Supply, 606 Main St.
The La Center garden listed in the printed booklet (garden N1) will not be open on the day of the tour. Please do not visit this location. The La Center garden was removed from the digital versions of the booklet available online.
Why natural gardening?
Gardening naturally supports a healthy environment for the community while protecting local wildlife and waterways. You can learn techniques from local gardeners who grow fruits and vegetables organically, create habitats for vulnerable pollinators and other wildlife, utilize native and drought-tolerant plants for conserving natural resources, rely on biological controls rather than pesticides and herbicides, and opt for reduced-size or alternative lawns.
Limiting the use of synthetic chemicals in your yard and garden supports human, animal and environmental health. When you're digging around in your garden, touching or inhaling chemicals, this can lead to adverse health effects. The same goes for any animals running around in your yard – whether it be your dog, your cat, or wild animals like possums and squirrels. Synthetic chemicals can also get into the watershed through storm drains and groundwater, and eventually make their way to the Pacific Ocean through the Columbia River. Help us keep chemicals out of the watershed to protect aquatic plants, animals and our water quality.
One of our participating garden host shares, "Our garden is an opportunity for us to learn and spread the word of what we're doing to others." We invite you to visit the participating gardens and get ready to be inspired!
