Late Winter in the Oregon Garden

After a good nights sleep at the resort and a filling breakfast, we headed back into the garden for a few more hours. The day was showing a change in the weather, with a chilly breeze in the air and clouds on the horizon, so we tried to see as much as we could before it began raining. The rain ended up holding off until we arrived home later that day. The pictures are out of order, the first two being our lunch stop after the garden at one of our favorite spots, Chipotle.

Chicken fajita burrito bowl! YUM!

Signs of spring were all around us in the garden, with trees flowering and thousands of daffodils blooming.

There are 20 gardens to walk through, not including the Oak grove with the signature 400 year old oak, wetlands and rediscovery forest. I will attempt to list them: Entry water garden, rose garden with over 40 varieties of roses, Chez garden (an eclectic display of ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials), pet friendly garden, NW garden, native garden, Silverton Market garden which celebrates agricultures significance in Oregon, children's garden, axis garden, conifer garden, a-mazing water garden, bosque with four brick reflecting ponds, honor garden, sensory garden, home demonstration gardens, lewis and clark garden, dinosaur garden, iris garden, valley garden and drought tolerant garden. This is spread over 80 acres with many pathways, stairs and views of the valley beyond. There is also an education center, pavillion for events, greenhouse, visitor center and the famed Gordon house, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Every season holds its own magic in the garden, with colors and form revealed.

Frank Lloyd Wright house. Tours available with separate entrance fee.

In the rose garden.

A sculpture mae by a local artist, Rip Caswell, who has a foundry down the road from us in Troutdale.

Silhouette of the 400 year old oak tree.

Part of the Silverton Market garden.

The Oak Grove. I was walking through here on my own and was able to witness a hawk who caught a squirrel and was flying away clutching it. Wish I was fast enough to get a picture.

Bridge over the A-mazing Water garden.

We got a kick out of these planters in the Children's garden. Lauren kept calling them Papa and Grandma ;-). Is that what retirement is all about??? Not so with my folks, they are busier than ever.

Hobbitt house in the Children's Garden. You can crawl through it or run over it. Wouldn't this be great for the kiddos in the backyard??! It's just a big pipe with dirt and grass over it. Hmmm, where could I fit that?

Being green :-) Recycle, reduce and reuse....even your bathroom fixtures! There use to be an old piano with plants growing out of the keys and top, but that must of rotted enough to dismantle it.

Papa and grandma still sitting there, taking time to smell the flowers :-)

My lovely Alyssa Nanette, growing into a young lady.

My mischievous Lauren Noelle, always a look of mischief in those pretty brown eyes.

Silverton Market garden, wider view.

Train garden within the children's garden. Operating hours, 10 to 3. It even has realistic noises and goes over a bridge and through a tunnel in the hedge.

Still sitting there....

One of my favorite trees, the corkscrew willow.

Sand play area in the Children's garden where kids can be archeologists and excavate dinosauer bones.

Alyssa loved this pathway that wound through a 'forest' of bamboo.

My girls, on top of the hobbitt house.

Another example of reusing. Old tools and bicycle parts to make a gate!

Bosque. In the summer the planters are filled with 80 plants.

Wood tree fort with cute cutouts in the railing.

An old Schwinn bike, very much like the one I had as a young girl.

Conifer garden. An assortment of cone bearing plants.

On the Oak Grove Trail.

Spring is awakening!!

Where else but in Oregon would you see a slug water fountain?

Palm tree, looking a little out of place in the Willamete Valley.

The garden really promotes going green and displays many examples of doing so here and in the resort. One method is that the garden uses the treated water from the town of Silverton for the irrigation needs. Also portions of the garden demonstrates how to keep plants healthy without the use of pesticides.

The garden will be bursting with color in a few short months, as the greenhouses are already full of the 40,000 plus annual starts that will be transplanted in the spring. We can't wait to go back! For the green thumb, a family outing, or just to enjoy the colors of nature, please make a stop at the Oregon Garden!

Next up: The A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem. Whew!