Blog of a Newly Minted Housewife

Field Trips!

Last summer, James and I made a list of things (locations, restaurants, experiences) we wanted to share with each other, or that we'd wanted to do and figured would be better done together. We dusted that list off this summer, since we are both free, and have been doing one or two activities a week.

Yesterday's field trip was to The Oregon Garden, which is less than an hour away in Silverton. The garden is only a few years old, so a lot of the plantings are not mature yet, but they have a few areas of older plantings that are left from previous owners. Or, in the case of a 400 year old oak tree, from "wilderness" times.

It is a beautiful place, and I can only imagine how much more beautiful it will be in ten or twenty years. There are different themed gardens - a sensory garden, wetlands, a children's garden, a "market" garden that features fruits and vegetables - and plenty of paths to connect them. There is a pavilion for flower and garden shows, and ampitheater for concerts, and of course a wedding area. There are also several sculptures, reflecting ponds, insects, birds, and frogs. Supposedly there are deer in the "rediscovery forest," but we didn't see any.

We did see lots of people at the extremes. It seemed everyone there was either very old or had young children. The young kids were the best. I heard one tell his mom, "I watched the bee, Mommy. I watched the bee!" It sounded like he'd watched it go from flower to flower for a while. It was so cute!

One of the strangest things we saw were these trees that James thought were straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. I think they are called weeping spruce, but I didn't take notes :-)

Here is a frog and, from the same pond, a waterlilly.

The view from one bench was across the garden, into the Willamette Valley, and to the coast range beyond. And in one pool, it was the reflection of the sculpture and the tree.

One of the reasons I wanted to visit the garden was to get ideas for my own yard. I didn't see too many special things that caught my eye, but James really liked these giant white daisies. Hopefully we can find out what they are. He also liked this rudbekia, and I'm glad because it is already on my "to plant" list :-)

Posted by Karen at July 19, 2006 02:27 PM