Equipped with only a list of addresses for the 10 locations participating in today’s West Seattle Garden Tour, we randomly chose two to visit for photos – and they turned out to have one big thing in common: Backyard slopes. At a home in Gatewood, as shown above, the garden continued downslope – ending in a big space where the family’s five chickens roam.

They’re the subject of whimsical signage:

But whimsy resides elsewhere in this garden too. The husband – who is the main gardenkeeper – is a sculptor, and charming little artwork was everywhere in and around the plants and other features:

The backyard was ringed by several tall evergreens, which, we were told, means a lot of the focus is on shade gardening. From there we headed to a home just south of Westwood Village, where we discovered the backyard garden continued upslope:

This garden had many extra outdoor-living touches, including a backyard shed, hot tub, tables and chairs. Creative lighting fixtures, too:

Color abounded in planters, including red, white, and blue flowers:

Out front, a cat who seemed unperturbed by all the extra visitors:

One more Garden Tour note – we got this via text later in the day:

I just wanted to give a shout out to our neighbor who worked hard and petitioned to get our little block in White Center on the map for the West Seattle garden tour. We’re on 110th and 19th Ave SW … and have three houses on our block participating. It’s packed and so cool to see!

The Garden Tour was sold out in advance, as is the case most years, so if you want to go next year, watch for early word of ticket sales! Tour proceeds go toward grants for local nonprofits; if you are with a nonprofit interested in being one of next year’s recipients, applications are open for a few more weeks.