Oregon Garden

How green was my valley! 

I grew up in the Willamette Valley, And while I am now a happy Seattlite, whenever I visit here, I am always nostalgic, most especially in Spring.  It will soon be what I call "Strawberry Time".  Everything is green, and Mt Hood stands guard.

Near the beautiful little town of Silverton, which we plan to explore on another visit, is Oregon Garden, a private enterprise opened ten years ago, after many years of dreaming and planning.  It is on the eastern edge of the valley, in the foothills really, just about 15 miles south of Molalla.

At the entrance you see the blend of the cultivated in the foreground and the wild behind.

 It's peony and iris time.

In the Pet Friendly Garden.

 Camera fun.

The valley has many wonderful old oak groves.  Here in the garden they have preserved one and left it natural.  We saved this walk for another visit.

 Fun topiary in the Children's Garden.

 Meet the Potter Family.

 This makes me want to be a kid again.

 "Slug Fest" fountain.

Looking through the oak grove to the valley below.

The lodge behind the fountain is where we had lunch.  Here we had more camera fun.

Spring time is not only for flowers, but for amazing foliage color.

Aquatic plants are featured in this pond garden, but watch out for the 'wild life'.

We had never seen a green heron in the wild before.  This one seemed quite at home.  Usually they are very illusive.  We felt privileged to see it.

The young great blue heron wanted to fish in the pond.

A red winged blackbird objected and kept dive bombing it.

We worked our way up one side of the garden, back down and then headed up again.  There are so many routes to choose.

Back up at the top, we had lunch in the lodge dining room.  This was our view.

And that's all for today, folks, but more coming tomorrow!