First up was the hillside garden of Edna and James Dam. The couple have a steeply sloping acreage that they've planted with a variety of perennials. Interestingly, they also have grapes, pinot noir, that James has just begun experimental wine making with.

This photo shows an ebony and ivory pair of bulbous oat grass and a dark foliaged dahlia.

Next, I stopped at the always interesting and colorful nursery, DIG. Sylvia Matlock's nursery seems to be appearing in every national garden and architecture magazine I pick up these days. Last November, she expanded her business indoors and now sells interior wares. I wanted to buy everything.

Matlock told me she has shrunk her nursery but it seemed bigger to me since my last visit. Just an optical illusion, she said.

This is one illusion not to be missed.

Next up was the shoreside garden of Anita Halstead and Kelly Robinson on Maury Island.

This garden recently won an award in a garden design contest sponsored by that other newspaper up north. It's easy to see why.

Spectacular borders frame sculpture and views to the water. Interesting plants and combinations, like this crocosmia, globe thistle and flax caught my eye.

You can ponder your next move in the brilliant summer sun on this chess set.

Finally, I finished at the garden of Cindy and Steve Stockett. I've been there before but the garden looked a lot different. Cindy said the windstorm of 2006 did a lot of damage and they've spent some time replanting.

It would take a whole story to tell of the wonders of the Stockett garden but I'll show you something I've seen before but this time it really caught my eye.

This biennial, Echium pinnata, was huge, as the photo above shows. Cindy told me it takes two years for it to bloom and then it perishes - like a good biennial does. But, they reseed naturally. I stuck my camera inside the...uh....leaves...?...and shot this photo of the fleshy colored...uh....head...?

Anyway, I have got to get me some of these.