This past weekend my hubby Steve and I stayed at The Oregon Garden Inn. It was pure heaven, being treated like royalty with gourmet food and cushy mattress. Another cool perk is the plants. Ooh the plants! They were everywhere! The first one I spotted is one that I've been coveting forever.
 |
| Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy' or ?? |
It is a lusciously pink Stachys officinalis. Because I couldn't find a plant label, I'll assume it was either: S. o. 'Pink Cotton Candy' or 'Pinky' or 'Rosea' 'Rosea Superba' At any rate, the common name is Betony and it's a beauty.
 |
| Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy' |
My photos fail to do it justice. About two feet tall with stems that carry scads of tiny pink bee-attracting blossoms, it's perfect for any sunny garden.
 |
| Another photo... |
Actually, I found and purchased two one gallon containers of S. o. 'Pink Cotton Candy' last April but, although green and healthy they're shy about blooming. So I took a bazillion photos of the ones abloom at the Oregon Garden Inn. Next year, mine will do this:
Of course we toured the Oregon Garden. Below are a few of the hundreds of photos I took. I'll keep my comments brief so you don't have to spend your entire reading and scrolling.
 |
| Ptilotus 'Joey' |
 |
| Salvia sp. (Envy, envy) |
 |
| Cannas |
 |
| Coleus |
 |
| x Chitalpa tashkentensis 'Pink Dawn' |
 |
| Rosa something or other |
 |
Teucrium chamaedryas
There was a lot of this planted and the bees were in heaven. |
 |
| A tiny Clematis species. |
Just a few Echinacea photos. They were in their prime:
 |
| Echinacea |
 |
| Echinacea among the Rosemary |
 |
| Parking "hell-strip" planting. |
 |
| Amaranthus and Echinacea |
 |
| Echinacea |
 |
| Achillea |
 |
| Phlox paniculata |
 |
| Dianthus or Sweet William |
 |
| Hydrangea macrophylla 'Invincible Spirit' |
 |
| Lacecap Hydrangea NOID |
 |
| Artichoke Flower |
 |
| Artichoke flowers |
 |
Dwarf Plumbago Ceratostigma plumbagino
It seems way too early for this to be blooming already. |
 |
| Ooh what's that pretty thing up ahead? |
 |
| Oh, it's a hardy Fuchsia! |
 |
| Fuchsia 'Santa Claus' maybe? |
 |
| Corokia cotoneaster looking FABULOUS |
 |
| Up close |
 |
Monkey Puzzle Araucaria araucana
I took this photo looking up. The patterning is fascinating. |
 |
Chocolate Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate')
More envy! |
 |
| I like the detailed signage. |
 |
| Why didn't I grab a few seeds? |
 |
| Pretty grapes |
 |
Oregon Grape (Mahonia sp.)
I've never seen an Oregon Grape with so many berries. |
 |
Salvia argentea
More envy. With our lack of rain, this would have been the year to try growing this. |
I love the way Wire Vine is employed in this garden:
 |
| Wire Vine (Muehlenbeckia axilaris) |
 |
| Bye-bye Fescue. :) |
 |
This is in the Children's Garden.
That there is a man-made cave. Too cool!
|
 |
| This is my favorite section of the garden. |
 |
| I love this little rest stop for the four-legged fur-babies. |
And the art pieces:
 |
| I wanted to steal this. |
 |
| My sister Laura used to have a bike exactly like this one. |
 |
| I want some of these rocks in my garden. |
 |
| To bring out the kid in us all, this would be so fun on a hot day. |
Fortunately the weather was perfect for us.
How is your weather?
Oh, that door in the children's garden stole my heart!
ReplyDeleteI always find it so interesting to see plants in their own zone that are annuals here. The wire vine is a pot spiller here. It is astounding to see what a few months or more of growth would actually accomplish! lol
Glad you and your hubs had a wonderful getaway. :)
Wow, what a treat to see such a lovely garden, and not that far. I'm feeling like I have a brown thumb after seeing what they achieved with their Muelenbeckia and Echinacea, among others. It must be just the right climate for the plants. What a fun vacation!
ReplyDeleteI need to see if I can talk Nigel into going there some weekend. I've heard it's a great garden and a lovely inn. Thanks for sharing your photos, glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteMy parents and I almost went to visit the Oregon Garden, but decided to stay home instead. Eventually I'll make it there. Thanks for all the pictures, Grace. You've shown some aspects of the garden I hadn't seen from others' blog posts, like the art. The children holding the bird baths look demented to me, but I like the bear bench. That Oregon grape is amazing! It's so beautiful with all those berries.
ReplyDeletede très jolis spécimens, j'ai noté quelques noms pour mon jardin ;-)
ReplyDeletemerci pour ces merveilles
@ bientôt
You pick the right places to vacation! I love that Stachys and I think I'll have to try planting some Echinacea among my rosemary. Your post also has me wondering why my own Hairy Canary clover isn't blooming yet.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a wonderful place! I love the name Hairy Canary for a plant. :o) I think that salvia is 'Maraschino'. I have stacys 'Hummelo' and it bloomed like mad in early summer. It likes to be moist but well drained.
ReplyDeleteI think we all expected more from the Oregon Garden, but seeing it lovingly chronicled by you makes me love it more.
ReplyDeleteWonderful tour - thank you Grace! Looks like they thought of everything--the birds, bees, adults, kids, dogs, bugs, and critters of every sort there.
ReplyDeleteI adore Corokia, had two (sequentially), and they both cah-roked. Maybe a third (not yet purchased) will be the charm?
Glad the weather was perfect, perfect getaway, and made for some perfectly beautiful photos.
Thanks for sharing your trip to the Oregon Garden. I will second Rickii's comment that even the pros are having a heck of a time this year. But that Salvia! Man I love that stuff, it is so reliable everywhere. I have fallen especially hard for the cultivar called "Black and Blue." (Please correct me if I'm wrong on the name--the plant is deep blue rimmed in black.) This is the second time I'm seeing a lot of the orange echinacea and I think I'll need it for my garden. I have loads of the cherry pink, but that sunset color is spectacular. Fun to end your post the way you did, yes! I would run through that sprinkler in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. The hubs and I went there for our anniversary several years ago in August and I loved it. We were just there for the day. But I was JUST thinking this afternoon, it would be so fun to stay the night somewhere for our anniversary this year. I need to look into the hotel there and see how many kids I'd have to sell to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteP.S. My plumbago is blooming, too. Definitely early.
Oh my gosh Gracie girl that was a wonderful tour !
ReplyDeleteI would love to spend a few days there to take everything in .. the plants are fantastic .. a Halloween plant for sure is the Corokia cotoneaster !!
My Garden PA loves Monkey Puzzle trees ... the Silverweed cinqefoil is gorgeous .. Hairy Canary flower is too funny.
I agree totally with Ms S about the children's door .. love it !
The pond is perfect ... I would love to hear any frogs that might care to sing of course : )
Terrific Tour !
Joy : )
All of these beauties were in the same lovely garden? Swoon!
ReplyDeleteOh you must have been in heaven! Fabulous.
ReplyDelete