UPDATE: We recently realized that April 30th is also the day for the annual Seattle Tilth Plant Sale, an event that draws hundreds of people from the community to the Good Shepherd Center grounds. We’ve decided to instead conduct this tour later in the afternoon of April 23. The tour will begin at 3 pm. 

If you had previously registered for this event and this date and time shift does not fit into your schedule, please contact our office administrator, Evyan Horton, at evyanh@historicseattle.org or (206) 622-6952 x 221.

First time visitors to the Good Shepherd Center are surprised to discover this oasis in the city.  The Sisters of the Good Shepherd created this space in the Wallingford neighborhood as a refuge for girls from difficult backgrounds, to protect them from the outside world and allow them to grow into healthy women.  For over 35 years the gardeners of Historic Seattle have maintained and enhanced that sense of refuge that allows visitors to relax and invites them to explore, learn, and become their best selves.

Join Lead Gardener Tara Macdonald for a leisurely walk through the Good Shepherd Center grounds to explore what was created by the sisters and the visionary gardeners since. Learn about the nun who requested exotic plant specimens from around the world; the first Historic Seattle gardener who envisioned creative collaboration for educational and artful urban farming and garden spaces; the plant collector who continued the nun’s work in building a rare and unusual plant collection and revived the orchard as an inspiring demonstration site for the local horticulture community; and the present period of restoration that preserves the past and is guided by a growing ecological awareness.

Cost: Free to Historic Seattle Members/ $10 General Admission

Online registration is now closed for this event.