Study Weekend Touring, hosted by Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group
Feeling the anxiety of getting all the tour gardens properly seen before the end of the day we next drove to a hillside garden. A lion’s face greeted us as we entered. I think that this is the garden and creation of Byan Lauber.
The garden included a pond with a view.
I love the boardwalk and keep wanting to use this idea every time I see it. It might get slippery but not if it had wire mesh affixed over the boards.
Next we saw what I believe is the Ron Hodges garden. Why I have no photos of the courtyard that one entered after this hillside is a mystery. Perhaps I was feeling the pressure of time slipping away.
a steep terraced hillside garden
Coming down that little rocky stairway, I very much felt the effect of the chronic dizziness that plagued me for a couple of years, and gardener’s knees, and felt quite old as I had to take the owner’s proferred hand to get down. Maybe that is why I didn’t take photos of the courtyard…I do remember it as an enclosed little oasis with a water feature and tropical plants.
We almost skipped the large garden (next entry) that was a long drive out from the others, and I’m so glad we didn’t because it was sheer perfection. The description in the tour guide said “2.5 acre site which stretches out on both sides of the road and along Lost Creek” and we decided it sounded too intriguing to miss even though we still had an hour or more drive in the other direction to get home to Sheila’s house.
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