The Oregon Garden

Yesterday Gerrie, Reva, Gale and I (2/3rds of the STASH group) went down to Silverton, Oregon to the Oregon Garden. We needed an outing and inspiration and some time together. It was lovely.

I had not been there for a couple of years and things have changed and grown and more has been added. The garden has been in existence for about 10 years now and has struggled financially. A few years ago it was taken over by a resort company who built a resort hotel and restaurant adjacent to the garden. We planned to have lunch there. We were seated and brought water, then waited. And waited. And waited. After nearly 30 minutes we left in disgust and got a sandwich at the garden gift shop. We had to wonder how well the garden will fare under that kind of management.

But, we had a wonderful, relaxing time in the garden itself. We spent a lot of time taking pictures. Here's the only shot I got of Reva.

She was taking a photo of this little structure with an "eco-roof", which the guide on the tram tour told us was what we should all have. It provides a filter for rainwater, helps with runoff and provides insulation to the home. And—it is beautiful!

Here are Gale and Gerrie.

And to prove that I was there also, here's a photo I snagged from Gerrie's blog of us on the tram.

Besides seeing the beautiful flowers, we all were like little kids when we spotted this cool snake.

And then we saw a frog . . .

and a beautiful koi . . .

And plenty of birds.

Tomorrow I'll show you flowers.