July 27. 2013
The Gardens by the Sea tour (in Geahart, Oregon) benefits Clatsop CASA.
Garden Four: Jack and Sharon Stutzman garden
from the program: “An inspirational border design surrounds the house in a treasure of garden rooms”
This garden caught my interest with its plantings outside the fence by where we parked. Because of the golf course to the west, I am oriented in my directions in this garden.

north side garden, outside fence, looking west

interesting plants, including a handsome Euphorbia

as we walk along the side garden

Allan’s photo

Looks to me like the great Cryptomeria ‘Sekkan Sugi’
Here we go around the corner to the front garden.


entrance

Acanthus in front garden

Allan’s Acanthus photo (outside fence)
(He asked why we did not have one, or if we have one, and I said we do. But ours is not as good looking as this one.)

I walk across the street to get the full view of the appealing front garden.


arbour entrance
To the left, inside the arbour:

a very crisp edge

straight ahead: front porch
The owners must be more agile than me (not hard!) as the steps have no railings!

to the right: more crisp edging (looking south)

a lawn closeup for Tom Hornbuckle

a bird on the fence

Allan’s photo

birdhouse on the fence

Another tour guest pointed out this nest!

birdhouse and birdnest

Of course, I love these tools on the fence.

Allan focused on this hydrangea flower.
The lawn and borders curve around the the side of the house.

outside curve of lawn, SW corner of garden

inside garden curve

and a look back along the front of the house…
And here we go around to the side garden:

framed by daisies

to our right, a smokebush

and ahead, a gate into a garden room

on the left, a garden along the porch

Allan’s photo

another garden detail admired

- along the south fence, hydrangeas
Allan commented later that blue mophead hydrangeas do seem to be a theme in Gearhart gardens.
The south side porch was full of interesting things to look at; I see even more when I look at the photos of it.

an enticing place to be

porch
Two armillaries topped the pillars marking the entrance to the next garden room.


into the second garden room

Jack loves Sharon…sweet!

planter
Allan also took a lawn photo for our friend and lawn connoisseur Tom Hornbuckle!

a quite exceptional lawn, I thought….

right back corner


left back corner

Rugosa roses and lilies
I always wonder when seeing Rugosa roses in a garden if people struggle with their running ways like we do.

Allan’s closeup of the very tall pale yellow lilies
The back of the house provided much to look at. Let’s have a good look at everything!



sit spots

driftwood

side view of porch over the picnic table


Allan liked the neat stack of firewood.
I bet croquet (see above, right) works well on such a nice smooth lawn!

I liked this clever way to display a float.

birdhouse

bench

a wrap around porch
I got as close to the fascinating porch as I could!

getting nosy about the porch

Just look at that gleaming clean floor.

on the porch

a sheltered table

looking up at the rear wing of the house

another angle on the back garden

a balcony behind the dolphin?

details

in the nook between the two wings of the house
One of the tour guests reminisced about actually using a wringer washer like this, before they were electrified. My grandma used an electric one well into the 1970s, and I remember her swinging its arm over from the wash water to the rinsing sink.
The very back of the garden appeared to be a dog yard, with no access to walk around the rest of the house.

the end
So we turned to go back the way we came, relishing the different perspective on the garden rooms.

garden by porch

detail: the heart theme continues

Allan’s photo

back through the rooms


The beautiful pots of grass show best from the inside, looking west.
I notice now that they have a drip watering system for these plants.
We walk again by the front porch to explore the garden on the other side of the house.

front steps with planter

looking west across Cottage Street to the golf course

NW corner

Turning, we look east down the north side of the house.

fence with nasturtiums

Allan’s photo

garden on north wall of house

We look back, west along the north lawn….another gorgeous expanse of green grass.

- back porch

birdhouse by porch rail
I remember now that when I arrived, I saw the owners leaving in their car, having just put their cute dog into the back. This must be the main entrance, explaining the lack of railings on the front porch. Once again, I am mystified at how owners of such an incredible garden choose to not hang around to enjoy people admiring it. We would have been lavish with praise and awe over things like the detail of making a nice box around the electricity meter.

disguise
I would have asked if the nest along the front fence was in its natural setting or had it been found and placed there. And so many other questions. (When my own garden is open, I spend a lot of time answering questions about what soil we use, what plant is that, and so on, and I enjoy every minute.)

back porch window
Leaving through the east gate, we admire the pile of ingredients behind the house.

yummy ingredients!
I admire the way that the work area has been tidied up….with attention to every detail.
This garden is tied with garden two (the Vernon garden) as my favourite of the tour.
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