Old Germantown Gardens, #GBFling14

We're continuing on Day One of the Portland Garden Bloggers Fling 2014, 

going strong, and ready to soak in more beauty and knowledge.

We were in for a treat, at the Old Germantown Gardens.

There was a beetle Bug near the driveway's island garden,

but no IPM was needed in this case.

One of the owners of the property

gave us a history and overview of the gardens.

And then we began our walk through the nearly 2-acre hillside garden.

 

After learning about Inulas at Joy Creek Nursery,

it was interesting to see and identify them in these gardens.

I think this is Inula magnifica,
whose leaves can grow to 3 feet. 

Janet, of The Queen Of Seaford blog, 
 was kind enough to be a hand model to show the size of this plant.

 I love the brilliance of the leaves of the honey locust against the blue sky.

It is a real focal point in the gardens.

Flowers. A favorite of mine, Eryngium, center in the distance.

I have such a fascination with fasciation.

There were so many beautiful views.

And wonderful, artful accents.

The combination of the Euphorbia and this Inula,
with their yellow and brown colors,
played off each other so well.

This beauty beckoned everyone who walked by.

Watch out, spiky plants!

Looking up at the house.

A great place to sit, don't you think?

Never mind sitting, how about this stand of bamboo?

But no more standing around now,
we're off to the Westwind Farm Studio next!

See you then!
~Kit Aerie-el

Joy Creek Nursery, #GBFling14

Continuing on the journey with other Garden Bloggers on day one, 

we once again boarded the buses, leaving Cistus Nursery (see previous post) 

bound for Joy Creek Nursery.

The view of Joy Creek Nursery was magical and welcoming.

As we ate our lunches, we were given a Dramm demonstration and 

one of the owners talked about the Nursery.

Then it was time for exploration! What was beyond the gate?

An expanse of Hydrangeas that was as far as the eye could see.

I loved the contrast of the dark stems with the foliage and blooms.

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nigra'

And the blooms of this Hydrangea m. 'Merritt's Supreme' Blue 

were supremely gorgeous.

The plant tag for this beauty said:

H.m. need I.D. poss H.m. 'Hobella'

I really like Hydrangeas but there was so much more to see,

more paths to explore.

The Inula blooms were pet-worthy prior to beautifully blooming.

The Crocosmia attracted butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and bloggers.

The Eryngium was buzz-worthy,

as was the Monarda,

and Rudbeckia.

The Viburnum was heavy with beautiful fruits.

Moving on, from red fruit to the white blooms of

one of the many Clematis I fell in love with that day.

And another.

 

Leaving the display gardens, there was still plenty to see, 

and yearn for...

These bird baths were beautiful and unique.

But this is the one I was drooling for.....

To meet the luggage weight limit, I would have emptied my suitcase to fit this in, 

but my worry was that it would have broken in transit to St Louis. 

So, sadly for me, this bird bath remained available for another to purchase.

My head was aswirl with ideas, information, and inspiration.

But wait, there's more at the Old Germantown Gardens,

coming soon, in the next post.

Thanks for sharing this part of the #GBFling14 journey with me.

And once again, thanks to the organizers, and the Oregon bloggers who helped

make this such an action-packed, informative, and enjoyable weekend.

~Kit Aerie-el

~No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. 

~Hugh Johnson