A Very Special Garden

To be invited to the garden of Maurice, my boss and nursery owner of Joy Creek Nursery, and his partner's 10-acre garden is an invitation to swoon. Even though we're all good friends at the nursery, we rarely visit one another's gardens because, well, we're busy with our own. However, on this occasion we all took time to have a socially distanced after-work wandering and enjoy a warm summer's evening in a magnificent setting. The gardens are vast and varying, from formal clipped hedges to wild areas barely touched by the skilled hands of its two very accomplished gardeners. I give you a tiny glimpse into this overwhelming and breathtaking landscape, tucked into Sauvie Island between open fields of camas, ancient trees, vast waterways and big sky.

The heart of the garden with clipped hedges of box honeysuckle and towering yews and cypress. The formality here gradually dissolves into wide-open, natural spaces, lovingly tended to by two compassionate gardeners who wish to preserve the natural wildness of what this land once was.

A recently created fern berm was the result of having to remove several old poplars. One of the trunks can be seen here covered in Clematis heracleifolia 'Mrs. Robert Bryodon', while discs of the felled trees make up the foundations for the rest of this new area that have soil and plants tucked in between the discs. The idea is, of course, the wood will decompose in time while ferns and mosses take over. The wood is kept on the property to allow nature to do its thing.

Many Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' in the garden add a tickle at your ankles.

 Fuchsia magellanica 'Aurea'. Not surprising to see hardy Fuchsias here as we grow so many at Joy Creek Nursery.

Thalictrum delavayi 'Hewitt's Double'

The entrance to their home, the staircase adorned with Molinia caerulea 'Variegata'.

One very rustic outbuilding near the parking area.

 In a different area, the evening sun can be enjoyed with an Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' behind.

Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' trunk.

 Moving down towards the southern edge of the property, one of a few incredible garden islands in a sea of field grass. These beds are made up of trees, large and small shrubs, clumping grasses, perennials and low-growing plants - in other words, a very diverse grouping to give them year-round appeal and interest. They hide views beyond, adding layers and intrigue. The grass, you will note, is turning brown, as is all grass in this region in late summer. It goes dormant, ours does too. In a few weeks when the rains return it will be green and lush once more.

The further from the house you go, the wilder it becomes with native Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana, Acer macrophyllum and others. Very little mark of humans here, other than the gate and George's skillful mowing of paths, creating direction and encouraging exploration of the wilder areas.

Lupines in the grasses and wild areas beyond.

There are many inviting areas to take a seat and soak it all in. This is one of many under majestic trees.

More of George's mown paths, guiding and encouraging you to explore beyond the edges of what the eye can see.

Another seating area with a very formal milk crate table.

Tetrapanax papyrifer 

  Arctostaphylos 'Knobcone Point'

 Dahlia ‘Forncett’s Furnace.’ Flowers are not abundant in these gardens, foliage is the primary element but the flowers that are here make quite a statement.

A shady spot for a birdbath primarily used by honeybees. Maurice has told me on several occasions that the bees really do seek out water in shady areas in hot weather, if you are so inclined to provide habitat for wildlife, a shady water spot is helpful.

 Yucca rostrata - an example of spiky texture, of which there was a lot. I just had to whittle down the photos or this post would be overwhelming.

 The center of the garden nearest the house from a different perspective.

Simple seating with hand-made cushions by my friend and fellow Joy Creeker Ricki of the blog Sprig to Twig. She's multi-talented.

 More seating near the house in the form of ceramic garden stools.

A view towards the north with Italian cypress and honeybee hives in the background.

A small bit of the courtyard and seating areas.

Nicotiana sylvestris in a border

The new fences around the vegetable garden.

A wider shot at the vegetable garden. As they don't have deer fences around the 10-acre garden in general, they need a bit of protection from the many deer in the area. Don't mess with the kale. The deer and other wildlife are free to roam the rest of the garden, Maurice and George welcome creatures big and small.

Texture and shades of green.

Flowing exuberance in the form of grasses and Clematis.

 Beautifully mossy sculpture blends into this shady part of the garden.

Honeybee hives on the property, tended to by an expert who leases a bit of land from Maurice and George. Sunchokes and bamboo in the background.

 Helenium 'Tijuana Brass' and mossy shingles.

There's the man himself with their pup Rikki looking on in admiration (ok, Maurice had whipped cream on his plate).

Thank you, Maurice and George, for an evening out, the first one in months and a very special one at that. Your land is so loved and well-tended, the gardens swept me away at every turn. The balance of wild and worked is just right, it makes you want to linger forever, which is the point of a garden.

Thank you, and Happy Birthday, Maurice!

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. I hope you've enjoyed a different perspective instead of my old garden over and over. I know we certainly did. Thank you for reading and happy gardening!