Begun in 1995 as a fundraising event for the ArtsWest Theatre, the West Seattle Garden Tour has evolved into an annual fundraising event for a variety of non-profit and educational organizations in West Seattle and its surrounding communities.

In addition to a yearly donation to ArtsWest, some of the organizations which have benefited from the proceeds of the garden tour have included: Seattle Chinese Garden Society, Delridge Neighborhood Development Association, Lincoln Park P-Patch, West Seattle High School Environmental Sciences Academy, Alki Wildlife Habitat Project, Highline Botanical Garden, Lafayette Playground, California Substation Project Park, Log House Museum, Highland Park Elementary School and the Camp Long Native Habitat Learning Project. Previous guest lecturers have included Marty Wingate, Ciscoe Morris, and Marianne Binetti.

What We Do

The West Seattle Garden Tour membership committee meets once a month to review the steady, building progress of the tour, which is slated this year for the last week of July, 2008. This year's tour is comprised of 9 gardens, carefully chosen during the months of August-October of 2007 by our talented Garden Selection Committee. We meet monthly, at an appointed member's home at 6:30pm on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. We also engage in a pot-luck feast at each meeting, followed by the business of moving the garden tour forward.

We have a great many opportunities for garden enthusiasts, and you certainly don't need to be a Master Gardener to join!

Here are just a few of the committee opportunities available this year for those new members interested in joining:

• Garden Selection committee
• Volunteer committee
• Sponsorship committee (comprised of 5 subcommittees)
• Beneficiary committee
• Public Relations committee
• Graphic Design committee

Get Involved!

If you are interested in becoming part of WSGT, please call Clay Swidler at: (206) 669-4653 for more information.

If you would like to participate in the Garden Tour as a Volunteer or Featured Garden in future tours, please e-mail us.