Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Visit to The Oregon Garden

TheOregonGardenHeader copy
Hmmm...well, my camera is still in the shop...and I've been pondering on what to post about. Luckily, during the year, I usually stock up on a few ideas that I can use during the winter months, when not much else is going on in the garden.

Earlier this year, in early September, we decided to visit The Oregon Garden, down in Silverton, which is about an hour south of Portland. We've gone down before, but it's fun to go every year, just to see what has changed. I usually prefer going in late summer or early fall, as that's when my favorite plants are going strong.

stipa gigantea  2922
As you pull into the parking lot, you are already greeted by some amazing plants, like these stunning Stipa gigantea...I wish mine were so rigidly upright!

verbena bonariensis  2925
The entrance garden beds are actually some of my favorites, with their huge, rust-colored boulders and mix of grasses & flowering plants.

verbena bonariensis  2924
I really love the pairing of purple & yellow...as here with Verbena bonariensis & Helianthus.

coleus & pennisetum  2927
I was surprised at the entrance to the visitors' center to see this large Pennisetum 'Vertigo'...gorgeous, especially paired with this lovely Coleus with serrated leaves.

garden path
This is the garden just outside the visitors' center...love those Japanese Maples. For some reason, this area of the garden, which is usually bursting at the seams with plants, had quite a few bare spots. I wondered if our extremely long, dry summer this year claimed some victims.

helanthus  2930
On this day, the patch of Helenium was looking splendid...and was smothered in happy pollinators.

artichoke  2932
While a little past their prime, I still found the seed heads of this artichoke (or perhaps Cardoon) quite striking.

artichoke
Here's a close-up of the seed heads...love how a few of the cottony seeds had been plucked free from the seed heads...possibly by a hungry bird?

sedum & miscanthus  2933
This is a great early-autumn grouping, with Sedum, Artemisia & Miscanthus.

eryngium  2935
Don't you love the wonderful, papery seedheads of Eryngiums!

pond  2938
One of my favorite areas of the Garden is this pond/wetland area, which has not only fish, but HUGE frogs! There were some loud kids on the day we visited, sadly, which kept the frogs hiding in the middle of the pond :-(

waterlily
Can you imagine having a pond...let alone waterlilies...a boy can dream, can't he?

metal bridge  2942
I actually really love the "bridge" that crosses the wetland portion of the garden...such great details.

lobelia  2945
I'm not sure which Lobelia this is (perhaps 'Monet Moment'). I've always loved the red foliage of 'Queen Victoria', but I'm not crazy about the vivid red flowers...maybe these would work better in my garden. Then again...those flowers are a very HOT pink!

lake & Molinia
No matter what garden I'm in, my eyes go right for the grasses...look at that stand of Molinia 'Skyracer'!

molinia skyracer  2937
Of course, I made my way over to them...their stems were coloring up far earlier than mine (which just started getting fall color in the past week or so). These were the most delicious mix of orange/gold/plum.

cat tails
I'm a little obsessed with Cattails. I really would love to have some one day...of course, they come with Red-Wing Blackbirds, right?

Daucus carota
You can hardly beat Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carrota) for simple elegance, can you?

Pennisetum
There were a few gravel paths in the wetland lined with various grasses, including these lovely little Pennisetum (probably 'Hameln').

pennisetum 2
Love their purplish plumes and that foliage that's just starting to morph from emerald green to a luminous gold.

mystery  2944nodding reed
I have no idea what these plants are...I just thought they were cool!

hibiscus
I'm thinking this was some form of Hibiscus.

seedhead kiss 1
A little ways beyond this more manicured and "garden-y" area was a part of the garden that felt almost like a real, wild wetland, full of blooming and post-blooming plants, including these fluffy seedheads.

Spherical Seedhead
I was transfixed by the wonderful, spherical quality of these.

spindly seedheads
Aren't these great...I love the hint at kinetic energy in the post-explosion look!

Spiral seed heads 1
My favorite of the seedheads in this area, however, were these, which seemed to have burst open along spiraling seams along their length.

Spiral Seedheads 2
This one even has a fuzzy outer coat...love them!

squash vine
Am I the only one who thinks that the variegated veination of squash vines is striking?

pumpkin
You can't have a fall garden without some Pumpkins.

verbena h
More gorgeous Verbena bonariensis, this time paired with Rudbeckia & some form of Amaranth.

echinacea vignette
You know I love me some Echinacea & Rudbeckia!

echinacea h
I was charmed by their small collection of varied cultivars of Echinacea, paired with other composites like Gaillardia.

gaillardia stages
Speaking of Gaillardia...I can never decide which stage of their blooms is the most striking.

white echinacea 2
I love the mix of new and faded blooms here...especially with the forthy backing of Stipa tenuissima.

waterfall 1
Yes another water garden...this one complete with rocky waterfall, flanked with gorgeous, late-summer perennials.

waterlily v
Sigh...more waterlilies.

millet
Just past the waterfall, was a planting of 'Purple Majesty' Millet.

viburnum
I'm sort of clueless about shrubs...I'm guessing Viburnum?

cotinus
This one I know...Cotinus!

colchicum
Ahhh...don't you love this little patch of Colchicum!

clematis tangutica v
In the Children's Garden area, there is a wall of Clematis tangutica.

clematis tangutica wide
Luckily, at this time of year, it's a fluffy wall of seedheads...delightful!!!

orange flower
And for you orange-lovers out there...here you go (Zauschneria, I think)?

Solidago
A great late-summer stalwart, Solidago 'Fireworks'...I really need to find a spot for these in my own garden.

pennisetum spatheolatum
Every time I visit here, I'm reminded of what Pennisetum spatheolatum SHOULD look like...and reminded that I need to move mine somewhere sunnier.

pennisetum massaicum
Another great Pennisetum, Pennisetum massaicum ('Red Bunny Tails')...I love how it has red-tinged foliage during summer.

molinia variegata
Who wouldn't be enchanted by this scrim of Molinia variegata stems?

molinia skyracer
As I turned a corner, heading back up to the Visitors' Center, I was confronted by this amazing stand of Molinia 'Skyracer'.

molinia skyracer 2
It took my breath away...now THIS is how to plant grasses!

white echinacea
There are quite a few areas of the garden I didn't explore (the old-growth Oak Grove, the Conifer Collection), but Norm & his mom were pretty tired of me taking thousands of pictures by this point...so we called it a day. I hope you enjoyed this little virtual trip to The Oregon Garden. If you're ever in the area, stop by, I think there's something there for everyone :-)