Tuesday, 9 September 2014, part two
After we impulsively cut our work day short, we drove over the bridge to the Mill Pond Village toward the east end of Astoria, Oregon. Our mission: to visit the Westbrook garden. We had encountered its owner on the Peninsula garden tour and she had invited us to come see her garden any time whether or not she was home. This time we missed her, so we took ourselves on a private tour of the garden that fills a lot between two townhouses.
We have visited the garden thrice before, when it was on the Astoria garden tour, a year ago June, and once in March to see how it looked with rainwater in the attractive drainage swale. Very late summer was a new season for us in this fascinating garden.
We parked to the east of the garden and saw it from a half block away in the slanting late afternoon light.
We walked past some other townhouse pocket gardens on the way. Helen’s is the only large personal garden in the townhouse complex, as she purchased an empty lot on which to create it.
Westbrook Garden
The first part of Helen’s garden that we view as we walk west on the townhouse sidewalk is the river rock drainage swale.

Appealing details abound in the garden, and you will see that many of the decorations are round in form.
I was impressed when I noticed that she has managed to grow several cultivars of Japanese anemones. They look so lovely now. I have avoided them as they can be such thugs and I marveled at how Helen has kept them to well behaved clumps.
How does she keep them well behaved? I am going to have to rethink my whole Japanese anemone situation now.

On this visit, perhaps for the first time, I notice the lights. The garden must be wonderful at night.

I am feeling a little obsessed with the need to acquire this common plant. (I know I am getting some from Kathleen later this fall.)

What have we here? Some sort of interesting project on the south side of the garden by the neighboring townhouse.

the very south east corner of the garden, or perhaps the neighbour’s garden, looking south to the Columbia River across a common lawn.

I am relieved to see that the leaves of Helen’s Stewartia look like mine; must be normal for this time of year
Having circumnavigated the garden several times, we take a walk down a different sidewalk back to our van and admire some more pocket gardens on the way.
around Millpond Village
I am, as happens every time I visit, filled with desire to live here (only if I could afford a townhouse AND a vacant lot on which to garden). Surely all the neighbours are friends and spend the days visiting each other’s gardens! Life here must be as idyllic as it looks.
We walk to the river side of the complex and of course, the trolley goes by at just that moment.
Just steps from the townhouses is the Astoria Riverwalk, with views like these.
We return to the van via a sidewalk by the common lawn between two wings of townhouses.
If each owner really does his or her own garden, do you have to pass a garden design test to live here??
We drive just a block or two south toward the actual Millpond, stopping for a quick history lesson by the Riverwalk.
The actual mill pond was part of the Astoria Plywood Mill. The site got all cleaned up and I think the plan was for townhouses on pilings to be built all around it. However, the pond itself has only a few homes overhanging it and most of the building has happened with the townhouses to the east of the pond where we just went garden touring. You can read more about it at the Mill Pond Village website.
On the west side of the mill pond is a common area with a garden and big pergola.
Leaving the Mill Pond Village with the full realization that we could never afford to live there, we treat ourselves to an early dinner at…
Himani Indian Cuisine

Gobi: Cauliflower tossed in special Hyderabadi spices and deep fried. Reminded me of delicious Zahrah cauliflower at Mediterranean Kitchen in Seattle, which was just what I hoped for.
bulbs
The practical part of the afternoon’s mission was grocery shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer. The selection of Costco bulb bags was not as good as in previous years. Perhaps more will come later… I found three kinds of alliums, and I hope that the allium christophii really ARE christophii (albopilosum) because that is not the allium in the photo on the bag.
Blog reader Jamie should see if Costco still have bags of drumstick alliums (center) as they would be perfect for her garden…deerproof, and her spouse is a retired drummer.