Tickets for the 2011 Highline Garden Tour went on sale May 1. This popular annual event, which takes place Saturday, June 11, allows participants to visit beautiful private gardens in Burien, Normandy Park, and SeaTac. Ticket holders also will be treated as well to access to the organic kitchen garden that supplies the gourmet Copperleaf Restaurant in SeaTac.

As part of the tour this year, gardening expert Lorene Forkner will speak on "Small Is the New BIG: 3 Big Rules (& 4 Small Ones) for Designing Small Gardens with Impact." Her talk will include pointers for people who want to fit gardening into their lives even as Americans' leisure hours are shrinking.

Other tour features include a plant sale at the Highline-SeaTac Botanical Garden and discount coupons and other specials provided by tour sponsors including Herr Backyard Garden Center, The Bean, Sal's Deli, and Lavina Mays. Additional support comes from John L. Scott realtor Susan Plecko and Burien Bark.

Advance tickets for the Highline Garden Tour are $15 in advance, with group rates of $12 per person if bought in groups of four or more. Tickets will be $18 on the day of the tour. Tickets can be purchased at Herr Backyard Garden Center, 107 SW 160th Street; Burien Bark, 13258 1st Avenue S; and Lavina Mays, 17824 1st Avenue S. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 206-241-5786. For more information about the Highline Garden Tour and about the Highline Historical Society, visit www.highlinehistory.org