This Saturday, June 11, garden lovers will get to visit five fabulous gardens in the annual Garden Conservancy/HPSO (Hardy Plant Society of Oregon) Open Days Tour. This year’s tour, “Northern Exposure: Glorious Gardens in Clark County,” is situated in the area of Vancouver and Battle Ground, Washington.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek Sunday with a couple of my garden blogger friends, Scott from Rhone Street Gardens, and Laura from Gravy Lessons. Here’s what I saw.

The garden of Linda and Al Bailey of Battle Ground started out as a slick, empty acre of clay 17 years ago, but with Linda’s design skills and Al’s building skills, it has become a lush and welcoming garden. This is a formal garden that’s big on structure, but full of love. You can see it in the variety of plants and the way they’re lovingly tended.