Every year the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers puts on a tour of a bunch of local (around or in Portland, Oregon) gardens that their landscape designer members have had a part in creating.
Happily, there are lots of ways to tour gardens here in Portland (and next weekend is our Garden Conservancy tour!), including the wonderful Hardy Plant Society of Oregon open gardens program, but the ANLD tour promises some of the best of what our local designers have to offer.
This year didn’t disappoint, and here are some of the highlights (for me, anyway):
This garden, Plant Passion Garden, was a great mix of modern & tropical elements, including a wonderful tetrapanax, and a stunning water feature.
My favorite part of this garden, the Pequeño Paraiso Garden, was this fantastic drainage channel outside the side door.
And now to my favorite, the Floramagoria Garden — there’s so much to love here! It’s absolutely my kind of garden with plenty of unique character, interesting plants in every available space, and lots of room for entertaining.
There were a few water features, but this was my favorite.
And my most favorite planting color combinations.
It was just so jaw-droppingly impressive at points I just stood there and gawked.
They had wonderful light fixtures (including these sconces) by designer Gina Nash.
How great to be able to spend time outside even in the rain.
Inside the greenhouse they had a bunch of treasures, including this impressive mounted staghorn fern.
Beyond the impressive collection of pitcher plants are the tiny figures running from the dinosaur – so great!
And now we switch gears to my other (and completely different) favorite, the Nelson-Sherman Garden. It was filled with raised beds for edibles, chickens and ducks, greenhouses, a bread oven, places to relax and some beautiful, low-maintenance borders. And who doesn’t love an olive tree in a container?
How great to have a bread oven like this right in the garden. I imagine August evenings in the garden making pizzas with all the nearby veggies.
What a harvest they must have.
I liked this round enclosed dining area.
This garden, while truly impressive, seemed the most approachable to me. They did a great job of demonstrating how to make edible gardening beautiful, and how a garden can be designed beautifully (and not just for function), even if it’s mostly growing food. After all, there’s no reason veggie gardens need to be an afterthought.
We didn’t visit all the gardens on the tour, nor did I include all the photos here — but if you’re interested in checking out the rest of my photos, they here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/outbox/sets/72157634279985796/
Hi Kate! Looks like you enjoyed the tour, was that your first visit to Floramagoria? Pretty cool huh?
I don’t know how you’ve managed to stay off the radar of the Portland garden bloggers group but I’m so glad you commented on my blog so I could find you. We’ll be having a get-together/plant exchange in the fall would you be interested in coming? We’ve also got a Oregon garden bloggers Facebook group you should join!
Loree! I’ve loved your blog since I first found it after moving to Portland! I’ve fallen off the blogging wagon, and am only getting to your comment now. Yes, it was my first visit to Floramagoria, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
I will seek out the Facebook group, and if I’m not too late for the plant exchange, I’d love to join in. Thanks for following up with me!