July 27, 2013
The Gardens by the Sea tour (in Gearhart, Oregon) benefits Clatsop CASA.
Garden Six: Karen Smith garden
from the program: “A charming greenhouse and garden designed for year round fun, food and beauty.”
I was absolutely thrilled when we approached garden six. I had expressed surprise when buying my ticket that there were six, rather than the advertised five, gardens. It was, I was told, a “bonus” garden. I felt sure when we turned onto the block and…yes!! It was the garden on a dead end street that I had happened upon by accident last year and wished that I could see. (You can read about it after the description of the Hopkins-Young garden on last year’s tour.) I had just known then from looking over the fence that this was a special place.
I had grown accustomed by now to the garden owners not being present, which still (need I say?) mystifies me. However, the owner of this garden had left a guest book that people could sign and I was able to add a note saying how excited I was to see it.
It was just as magical a house as I had remembered.
The front garden was very simple.
It is when we take a path down the west side of the house that we come to the piece de resistance of this garden.
I had just glimpsed a hint when looking over the fence yearningly last year that something special had been built in the back garden.
The colour of the trim, the windows, the roof….all so beautiful.
- inside
Imagine having a greenhouse big enough to walk around in so comfortably, and have a meal on a rainy day. All the tour guests were imagining it.
Earlier in the day, we had encountered our friend and client Lorna, of Andersen’s RV Park, at two of the other gardens. Both times, she mentioned how much she wanted me to identify the pink plant in a pot outside the greenhouse in garden six. Here it is….
It looked so familiar, but I could not identify it. A sidalcea? A group of tour guests stood around it all trying to ID it. One tour goer said that she had acquired it by buying a pack of bulbs from Costco. I find that unlikely, as I don’t think it comes from a bulb. Sorry, Lorna! I wish the gardener had been there to tell us. I also wanted to know if the greenhouse bird got to fly around when the doors were closed.
The rest of the back garden had a picnic area and fire circle…
The east end of the garden had raised beds with veg and flowers.
It was time to go, so we walked to the west side of the house.
The tools interested Allan, as well.
As we departed the back yard, we saw just south of the greenhouse a play area that we had not noticed on the way in. (The mesmerized-by-greenhouse effect.)
And somewhere in the garden is this rustic gate:
We had to admire the front of the house all over again.
Outside the gate, I took a look back in over the honeysuckle.
Walking along the street to the south of the house, I remembered looking at it longingly the year before.
I’m so very glad we got to see it this year.
Next: With the tour over, we go on the usual post-tour nursery shopping and visit a darling little structure in Seaside and admire the Seaside city gardens.