Kathleen's Spectacular Shade Garden-Portland, OR

When I visit my friend Kathleen, I get to walk through her lovely and unique shade garden. I often forget to bring my camera, but on this special visit I remembered. Kathleen's 1926 home, Court Cottage, sits on a amazing lot with three levels or terraces. She has lovingly spent the past forty years tending to her garden.

The house and land was originally a tennis court that Kathleen's grandmother played on. Her mother once lived in the house. Kathleen loves the privacy and animals that visit the garden. She told me keeping up with the bamboo she inherited is one of her biggest garden challenges. Another problem with the garden is too much water. There have been problems with erosion and a mud slide in the 70's.

Kathleen often comments to me that she is not a gardener. I am sure you, like I, will beg to differ.

Stone steps from the street lead up to the second level



Second Level-Daylillies in bloom



One of several Hydrangea Shrubs




One of many garden statues placed in the garden



A lovely stone bird bath



Calla Lillies-I have never seen them in a private garden before



More lillies



Another example of well placed garden art



More steps up to a third level



Stone Path Close-Up



See the horse head?



Shanti Daisies in bloom





A Rainbow of Color at the Monastery Gardens

As promised in my previous post, I have some close-ups shots of the flowers in the St Anthony's Franciscan Monastery gardens. The day I visited, many different types of flowers were in bloom in a variety of colors and it was just beginning to sprinkle. I took a lot of shots, trying to capture the flowers for you, before the storm arrived. I hope you enjoy these photographs. My favorite is the photo of the peonies. Do you have a favorite?

See my previous post on St. Anthony's Franciscan Monastery from 2011 here.

 

To see monastery winter photos click here.

 

To see monastery Autumn photos click here.

 

To visit the Monastery Guest House website click here.

Note to Michele: Gardening is a Family Affair

Hi Michele,

I have a new raised bed for my garden thanks to my Dad and my kids! It's going to add some much needed space for growing our veggies. This afternoon, my Dad  came over, rounded up the kids and together they made and filled this raised bed.

You may remember I ordered three yards of loam earlier in the spring. We added some to my existing gardens, but still had a huge pile of loam. Three yards is A LOT of loam!

 Dad used some wood from an old ice skating rink we were no longer using. The kids helped him build the raised bed.

They pounded in stakes, drilled, sawed, and moved earth to fill it up.  And they horsed around a little, too.

                  And got a good workout.  Moving earth can be exhausting!

Once the bottom was lined with newspapers and old dry leaves to discourage any weeds from surviving, the bed was filled  up with loam.

Doesn't all that fresh dirt look beautiful? As soon as it was done my youngest son shouted, " Yes! Now we can plant an endless supply of tomatoes!" I second that.

We have enough wood and loam to make a second raised bed the same size as this one. I'll keep you posted!

~Caroline

St.Anthony's Franciscan Monastery Gardens in Bloom

 Today I want to share one of my favorite places with you again. I've shown you these beautiful gardens before, but this time, so many of the plantings were in bloom and just couldn't resist capturing the beauty to show you again. I took these photos yesterday right before a thunderstorm hit southern Maine, causing some damage further south near the New Hampshire border. 

I couldn't resist taking loads photos, so later in another post, I'll show you some close-ups of blossoms from these gardens..

See my previous post on St. Anthony's Franciscan Monastery from 2011 here.

To see monastery winter photos click here.

To see monastery Autumn photos click here.

To visit the Monastery Guest House website click here.

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garden tuesday @ sidewalk shoes

Shades of Pink

Pink is blooming everywhere these days, it seems.  Here is a virtual bouquet of pink to share with you today.

Chinese Garden-Portland, OR

Lan Su is the official name of the beautiful Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon. Located right in the city in the "Old Town" neighborhood, it is considered the most authentic garden outside China. Most of the materials from the garden came from China. 500 tons of rock was also obtained from China. Sixty-five artisans from Portland's sister city Suzhou lived in Portland for 10 months to assemble the garden. Lovely any time of the year the garden features 300 plant species found in traditional Chinese Gardens.



Moon Locking Pavilion



Can you spot the fish?



Can anyone identify this unique plant?



Lovely example of a path. Every section of the garden has a different path design





A close-up of another path




Painted Boat in Misty Rain Pavilion



This is a fully functional tea house with authentic furnature




One of 300 species of plants




Fish Pavilion




Rock Mountain and  Waterfall