Colorful Coastal Gardens tour: Markham Farm

Saturday, 14 July 2018

Colorful Coastal Gardens tour

Markham, Washington

presented by the Master Gardeners of Grays Harbor and Pacific County

Markham Farm, Terri and Bill’s garden

The photo on the poster is from this garden: the river of Geranium ‘Rozanne’.

You may recall that we visited this glorious garden last August 15th.  I had been very much looking forward to seeing it a month earlier in the season this time.

Terri’s chosen quotation: Horses make a landscape look beautiful. (Alice Walker)

at the end of the road to paradise (where we turned right to park in a pasture)

After we parked, I asked Allan to walk down to the fence of the next pasture to get a photo of the horses.  Much to my amazement, he also got a freighter in the photo.

Woody and Gus

Terri had said we could come late (as she does read this blog and knows we were likely to get a late start from home).  We arrived at 3;30, and I did not even see her for awhile, as her garden is so large.  I brought her a wee present from the Pot Shed.

Sedum ‘October Daphne’ from the Pot Shed

the check in table

Just walking up to get our ticket stamped required several photographic pauses.

Allan’s photo

happy happy happy me

I love the dark mulch which sets off the plants so well.

At the table, visitors were given the option of carrying a map.  Terri told me later that there are areas of the garden (like the bottom of the Rozanne river) that get missed otherwise.  It is a smart idea and one I will implement at any open garden of mine in the future, even though my garden is much much oh so much smaller.

I did not carry the map because I felt I knew my way around pretty well, and wanted to see if I could find the new features on my own.

I said hi to good old horse Woody before plunging into the garden.

Here we go up a path that runs the same way as the driveway for awhile.

My attention was drawn to this mossy log by the pasture fence.

Then I looked back to a tree that I fell in love with last year.  I still carry a seed pod array from it on our dashboard, which was rather foolish as I should have planted it instead of dashboard baked it!

Now I know the name for sure (in case I had forgotten) because of this attractive form of tagging that Terri came up with for this tour.

must have! Oh, Google tells me is a shrub.  Terri’s sure looks like a small tree to me.

Staphylea pinnata (Allan’s photo)

Onward: Ozothamnus, tagged

Allan’s photo

Woody again

He’s 35. (Allan’s photo)

Gus and Woody (named after characters in Lonesome Dove)

Teucrium ‘Purple Tails’ went on my must have list when I saw it here last August.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

The pollinator garden that was just getting started last August.

Verbena bonarienses (Allan’s photo)

Terri finds that laying driftwood around the edges of the garden helps keep the deer (and elk, too, maybe) off of it.  I forgot to get a good photo of that.

Allan’s photo

going toward the house along the driveway

Allan and I like this bamboo/urn idea a lot.

by the frog pond

Waldo pond

pond viewing sit spot

Two tour guests happily sat in these chairs right after I took the photo.

fallen tree as part of the landscape

Allan’s photo

up to the porch with turtle carving and water orb

on the deck (Allan’s photo)

I went to explore a path along the east side of the porch.

There I found another water orb.

a lovely, quiet, mysterious looking water feature

Allan’s photo

a bench with mossy wood pieces

the side door of the house; the porch goes all the way round

onward along the secret paths

I was looking for a way down to the bottom of the Rozanne river; Terri had told me there exists a new bark path without stairs.

looking down on the satellite dish garden

I found the bark path, descending next to the pasture fence.  The photo (because of the sunlight and shadow) does not show it is next to a wire fence; I was not sure if it was electrified.  I was careful not to find out.  (I later learned it was not.)

an easy if slightly suspenseful way down

Joy! I came around to the bottom of the Rozanne river and a bright patch of alstroemerias.

These are held up with some clever invisible trellising.

lower left, you can just glimpse the wire grid trellis thingie

looking up the Rozanne river; the crocosmia is also cleverly trellised.

To my right is the big bamboo hedge/windbreak, and beyond it I could hear the sound of waves on an incoming tide below the hill.

I met a tour guest there with a kiwi accent, who was a little worried that she would not see everything before the tour hours ended at four.  I said that Terri would surely not evict her till she had seen the whole garden and told her about the trail to the beach.  She showed me a little hut that she had found at the edge of the woods.

And then she went on to see the rest of the garden.

on the way up

looking back

side path and terrace part way up

tour guests far below

There was Allan on the deck.

Allan’s photo

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and Verbena bonariensis

I walked back along the woodsy trails.

I met my friend Barry there.

Allan happened by just then.

Allan’s photo of Barry

I found the bog garden.

Woody grazing on a gunnera leaf.

bog garden list

bog garden

I came upon Terri’s stash of homeless plants.  (Ladies in waiting.)

I was looking for a new woods patio feature that Terri had started last summer.

Here it is where trails converge.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

The woodsy light was all spangly.

looking back

Allan’s photo…I used to have one of these…

Allan’s photo

old tools display

Allan’s photo

Earlier, I had seen a couple kissing on this bench—for a photo.

also good for conversation (Allan’s photo)

I walked back up toward the house again, as I had mysteriously emerged down by the horse pasture.

Meanwhile, Allan had spotted Terri with tour guests on the driveway.

Terri, left

She demonstrated her implements of brush removal:

Left to right: a root puller, a notched Semour ‘Super Shovel’, and a ‘Root Assasin’ shovel that “cuts roots going in and coming out.”

This hard to find tool clamps around the stump.

The root is then pried out.

I had walked down toward the beach trail.

toward the beach trail

past the pavilion to my right

Allan saw a plastic owl and a bird in the pavilion getting along just fine.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

the new memorial garden for a dog named Raven and for a dear aunt.

Above is the driftwood baffle to keep big hoofed critters out.

To my left, the blueberry field

the path to the beach

beach is just there

The tide was high so I did not go down.  You can see photos of the sandy low tide beach from a year ago right here.  I met the woman from the Rozanne river, returning from the beach, and showed her the side road.  There used to be a freight railway along here (with rocks from an old embankment down below).

the house from below

and the beach just below us

back to civilization

My new touring companion and I had walked back to the house together and stood in the driveway, pleasantly conversing and realizing we knew a lot of the same people and had the same political philosophy.  So we will stay in touch.  I told her about the wonderful Moosey’s Country Garden blog, set in her homeland.

the two peas in a pod effect

or three peas in a pod

And finally, I got to see Terri, who had been with the many tour guests around the garden.

looking down the driveway; here comes Bill!

My new friend left, and Allan and I stayed for a couple of hours, talking and snacking with Terri and Bill (and later, Susan) around the driveway picnic table.

Allan’s photo

looking up to the guest quarters

Terri showed me another clever plant tag idea that she got at Heronswood.

made from clear food containers

I was thrilled when my friend Ilsa came home from a walk with her friend Susan. (Susan had helped to get the garden weeded for the tour.)

Bill and Ilsa (Allan’s photo)

my good friend Ilsa

happy happy happy us

Ilsa

Barry

Allan’s photo

evening light catches all the gold

Before we left in time to get home (almost) before dark, I took a walk around the deck with Terri to take in the views.

Rozanne river from the deck

along that wall of the house (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

And then Terri walked with us down to the pasture where we were parked, carrying two Teucriums in pots for me. I carried a schefflera that she had gifted me, that had been propagated by a plant collector friend.

Teucrium ‘Purple Tails’

Takeaways: Cool paper tag idea for future garden open, and absolutely everything, really.

On the way home, near Naselle…we did not quite make it all the way by dark.

My opinion is confirmed that the Grays Harbor Master Gardener tour is consistently the best local tour, and that is stands up to any big city tour, as well.  They sold 424 tickets this year!