I looked up things to do in Washington State, and one list put Lakewold Gardens near the top. I remembered seeing Lakewold Gardens on the map near my Airbnb, so I decided to walk by after work on Friday.
It was worth the walk. Starting from the front gates, the gardens were stunning.
Originally purchased from the railroad in 1908 as a summer home, the Lakewold Gardens property passed through several generations of families (the Alexanders who expanded it from 5 acres to 10, the Griggs who gave it the “Lakewold” name, and the Wagners who donated it for public use).

The estate was known for its stunning garden early on (in 1913 the Tacoma Daily Register called it a “modern arcady,” and yes I had to look up the definition of arcady).
The property’s main house.
The house’s volunteer entrance.
The house’s backyard.
Trails along the lake.
Gravelly Lake. (This is the lake you usually can’t see from the road since it’s surrounded by private property, so it was cool to see it for the first time.)
The house’s side yard.
More of the side yard. There is a bunny and two ducks in this shot (The bunny is in the grass, and the two ducks are on the right-most pool planter.)
Gazebo art.
More gazebo art.
Looking from the gazebo back to the house.
Walking to the front of the house.
The house faces a large pebble parking lot and a huge lawn.
The house front door.
Walking back toward the garden entrance.
It was a great time to go because all the flowers were either blooming or carpeting the ground with brightly covered flower petals.
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