12 September: off to the Cannon Beach Cottage Tour

Saturday, 12 September 2015

We departed Ilwaco for the Cannon Beach Cottage tour, a highlight of my year and something I look forward to all summer.

7 Dees garden center, Seaside

Dennis’ 7 Dees, Seaside

Of course, we had to stop at 7 Dees on the way down to Cannon Beach.  Having just finished planting my ladies in waiting at home, I found myself not in the mood to buy new plants.  This may be the only time I have ever stopped here without buying.

I was sorely tempted by the violas in the foreground and now have non-buyer’s remorse.

Allan’s photo

I do love this arbor that is often set up in the covered display area.  Seems like it is more beautiful than practical, though.

Look! They have Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’.  I should have bought it as a present for someone.

a harvest display

A tomato tasting was in progress.

Allan’s photo

all sorts of tomatoes large and small

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo, just some of the tomatoes

If I could transport myself back there, I’d taste more tomatoes and buy some plants.  I was in a hurry to get to Cannon Beach so we’d have plenty of time to find parking.

Cannon Beach

In our quest for a parking spot, we passed this cottage and had to pause for photos:

whale arbour

gate detail

I almost missed this mermaid in the lawn; Allan pointed her out.

We went to the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum for our tickets, because museum director Elaine Murdy Trucke had arranged for us to get press passes so that we could take photos in the cottages.

Allan’s photo

The other ticket sales and tour map venue was the Coaster Theater downtown.

Yay! This gave us special dispensation to take photos.  Thank you, Elaine Murdy Trucke!

Even with the press pass, we always ask permission to take photos in private (non vacation rental) cottages and explain that we write a blog and love to share cottage detail vignettes.  We then found parking closer to the tour by this cottage with geraniums in a porch cut-out.  I have admired and photographed it year after year.

geranium cottage

2013

geraniums in 2012

I could also call it Hydrangea Cottage.

I was smitten with a little bridge that crossed over to another cottage.

Underneath runs a stream with a seasonal waterfall. It would be pleasantly noisy in winter; today it was just a trickle of falling water.

stream at front of cottage, delightful!

We did the tour from front to back because of where we parked.  Our friends Dave and Melissa had come, as well as Debbie Teashon, who would be giving a garden lecture the next day, and longtime garden friend from the Rainyside.com forum, Jeanne from Portland and her mum.  We did not see much of them during the tour as they had begun at the other end of town.

As we walk between cottages, there are so many sublime gardens where I have peeked over the fence and longed to go in and explore.

a cottage across the street from the Hidden Villa Cottages, our first stop on the tour.

You know that the kind of cottages that make my heart go pitter pat are the very old ones and especially old ones that are privately owned.  You might want to go back to past tours and look at some of my favourites: A Collector’s Cottage (2013), this sweet one from 2011, and Priddy Cottage, which has been on the tour a couple of times.  My all time favourite was Windshell Cottage from 2010.

Next: The Hidden Villa Cottages

 

 

 

 

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14, 15, 19 March: there and back again—3 nurseries

Saturday, 14 March 2015

At last, Allan and I left for the long awaited trip to the Sylvia Beach Hotel.  Allan suggested these photos of crossing the four plus mile long Astoria Megler bridge in foul weather:

a long stretch with no escape from trouble

flock of gulls riding the air currents

up…

and around…

On the flatland again…with the scariest part over…we turn right and go south.

7 Dees garden center, Seaside

Past Seaside, we stop at 7 Dees.

I got myself a corydalis and a new-to-me pulmonaria.

and all of these Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’ at just $6 each.

On we go down the foggy coast road.

Monkey Business 101 Nursery

38005 Hwy 101 South
Cloverdale, Oregon 97112

Teresa from The Planter Box had suggested we stop at a nursery called Monkey Business.

a road to the left just after Cloverdale, Oregon

a sign that made me laugh

Allan’s photo

Monkey Business

The nursery specializes in monkey puzzle trees and has a lot of other cool plants.  The woman who is the plant nut was not there; she was off at some sort of dog event with the smarter dog.  We bought our plant selection from her spouse.

Allan’s photo

I got two of these spider azaleas, one for me, and one for Steve and John if they want one.

a rhododendron area stretching out behind the greenhouses

and to the side (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

I found this narrow leaved hosta interesting enough to buy one, despite slug fears.

more rhodos

healthy and pretty dianthus

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

one of the dogs (Allan’s photo)

the sign by the road

Sunday, 15 March 2015:  Allan’s drive home

Wheeler, Oregon

Allan only stayed one night and drove home on Sunday.

just south of the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport

Here are some photos he took in Wheeler, Oregon.  I had been intrigued by the look of the Wheeler Hotel.

an old photo of the Wheeler Hotel

as it is today (having lost one letter to a storm)

inside

a nearby bakery

I’m sure this was named before seeing the horror of tsunamis elsewhere.

 

driving through a windstorm, with the gale at his back. (Gusts up to 100 in Newport!)

He arrived home to lots of twiggy storm debris in front of our garage…blown over the house from the bogsy woods.

chairs and branches blown around in the back yard

It was quite a storm; the chairs rarely blow this far from the fire circle.  I rode it out in the swaying Sylvia Beach Hotel.

two storm flags at the Port of Ilwaco

Thursday, 19 March 2015

  So on the way home five days later, I had a different companion: Carol, who had driven down from Seattle to join me on Sunday evening.  On our drive home, I searched Trip Advisor for a lunch stop and I was fortunate to find a garden center with a café and with five star food review, located just south of Tillamook, Oregon.

Hidden Acres Greenhouse

display garden

 

a big gunnera emerging

outside the Café

door to the café

inside

A mahjong club was meeting.

many attractive displays

The café counter; the young man was the sandwich maker.

table service, and a menu

the view from our table

delicious food

after lunch: out to explore the nursery

That’s Highway 101 in the background; the nursery is just a bit down South Praire Road

I can tell this place will have a good selection of interesting plants.

Digiplexis, not easy to find around here! (I got just one because of the size of Carol’s car.)

a whole shelf of just-emerging Terra Nova plants

I definitely plan to be back to this nursery on a day trip later this year (and Monkey Business, too!)

Now, on the usual plethora of Sylvia Beach Hotel entries.  I will publish twice a day till I get caught up; those of you who are not as interested in SBH as I am could wait till gardening posts return perhaps three days hence.  WARNING: To avoid two lengthy posts a day going on and on and on and ON about the SBH, tune back in on March 27th for a boating excursion by Allan.

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13 September: cottage tour prequel and thoughts

Saturday, 13 September 2014

We spent a very few minutes before going “overseas” on a visit to the Ilwaco Saturday Market, as I still feel responsible for getting some weekly photos for Discover Ilwaco.  Allan went up on the port office balcony and happened to capture the moment when I encountered our good friend Kathleen.

We were both in blue.

a brief market stroll

I wanted some Swedish traveling cake from Pink Poppy Bakery; unfortunately, I happened upon the very few minutes that Madeline was away from her booth, and I was anxious to get on the way to Cannon Beach.

Howerton Way garden on the walk back to the van

While stopped on the Astoria bridge because of construction, we got to enjoy the view.

looking west

lots of little boats out fishing

tiny boats in the vast Columbia River

Part of my hurry to get going from the market had been that I wanted time to stop at 7 Dees garden center south of Seaside.

The plants need much water in this heat.

Very cool tree, Azara microphylla, for sale.

an unusual arbour

detail

This gorgeous brugmansia was tempting, but would have had to sit in a hot car all day and then been babied through the winter.

Allan’s photo: Ready to plant wall art with wood surrounds and screened.

Lots of chrysanthemum blooms just coming on

The plant for which I was on a mission was plain, simple, rustic Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan).  I only had ten minutes to shop and keep on schedule and I did not see any…except in the display garden.

On we went to Cannon Beach.

heading south…84 and rising!

When we got to the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum, we had about half an hour to wait before tour maps would be available.  It was better to be there early; we had left early as one never knows how long one might have to wait for construction on the Astoria Megler bridge.

Cannon Beach History Center and Museum, photo from Cannon Beach Visitors Center.

Filled with eager anticipation, as I look forward to the cottage tour all summer, w e walked half a block to look at one of the cottages that would be on the tour later.  (Actually, just the garden on this one was open.)

a vacation rental with pretty garden

I saw that the same sign of rules was up as last year.

I find it just shocking that anyone would open cabinets or drawers inside a tour home.  What a shame.  Or smoke…or use the restroom…or pick, remove, or alter flowers!  Goodness gracious.  Human nature astonishes me sometimes.  Adults should behave themselves better.

I must address the no photography rule so that readers will know we are not scofflaws.  Before the tour, I messaged with the executive director museum about whether or not it would be ok to ask to take photos and she said she did not think anyone would mind.  We asked at each place, at least at the ones where we wanted to take photos of darling cottage details.  Because most of the historic cottages this time were vacation rentals, there are already photos of their interiors on the Cannon Beach Vacation Rental website, and two of them were for sale with lots of interior photos up on real estate sites.

I had a good conversation about it with the docent for the amazing home overlooking Haystack Rock, whose owner was there and was completely open to people taking photos.  The ever so pleasant and jolly docent said he did not think any owners minded photos being taken.  I said that some must, or the rule would not be in place.  We agreed that a great solution would be to have a sign on the doors of houses where the owners do object, saying “No photography in this home, please.”  It would save the embarrassment of someone like me with social anxiety having to ask…and it would be nice for the other guests, as well.  I saw many people with fancy cameras around their necks who may not have known that they could ask, and  one woman mournfully said to me upon hearing me being given permission, “My husband would have come if he had known he could take photos at some of the houses.”

The charming docent who said he thought none of the owners minded and who liked my individual sign idea said he would talk to the director; I said “Oh, dear, she will know it is that obnoxious woman from Ilwaco again” and he laughed and said he would be sure to say that it was the idea of the obnoxious woman from Ilwaco.   The tour certainly does not need to accommodate my wishes to succeed, as it is a sellout every year.  Allan kindly pointed out that they would not miss me if I stopped going.

I love to be able to share photos of cottage details with blog readers (all three of them) back east, in the UK, and in Australia. The light coming in through a beach view window and falling upon a vase of flowers, a basket of shells, a set of books about beach life.  These details do not reveal anything that could be used in a damaging way, even if I exert my direst imagination to try to figure out how that could happen.

I googled around about home tours and found that the no photography rule is common for home tours in the cities.  I wonder how tour goers feel about that?  I assume folks go on such tours to gather ideas for their own homes.  How can they remember the look of a certain kitchen cupboard or woodwork trim without a photo?  And yet I can understand why big fancy houses (which I would not want to tour anyway, and that’s not just sour grapes) would want to protect their STUFF.  Little cottages usually don’t have big fancy stuff and the sorts of things that I love and want to remember are seashells hanging in a window, a vase of flowers on a table, old dishes on a worn pantry shelf.

Here are some examples of treasured memories from past tours (memories only because of the photos):

old fashioned fireplace surround

window

rustic headboard

Oh how I wish I could get a special press pass that allows me to take just details like the above!

If there were a “cottaged-up double wide home tour”, would I let people take photos inside?  Why yes, I most certainly would.

So we asked at each cottage, and were given permission for the photos that follow.  We only wanted photos at the old and/or quirky cottages.  Ironically, at one house Allan was allowed to take photos but when I went back later (and the docent shift had perhaps changed), I was told no photos, possibly by a different docent who did not know that the rule was optional.  I am still pondering about that one, as not only has it been featured on HGTV but it has 20 interior shots online at a realtor’s site.  Oh, well!

Enjoy!

 

 

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