THIS MORNING I had the pleasure of meeting with several of my fellow garden gals for a formal tea and tour of the Deepwood Estate in Salem, Oregon. First we enjoyed tea and scones in the formal parlour. Afterwards, we took a tour of the house and then outside to the gardens.
 |
| The Hellebores were amazing. |
 |
| Deepwood is located in the heart of Salem, as evidenced by the hubbub of traffic surrounding it. |
 |
| The house, a Queen Ann Victoria, was built circa 1898. |
 |
| Isn't it sweet? |
 |
| Just off the porch is a to-die-for conservatory. |
 |
| I love the spindle work of the veranda and the view, even in winter is fabulous. |
 |
The only photo I took of the interior of the house itself was this fabulous stained glass window
in the master bath. It's actually a lot more PINK than it looks here. |
 |
The formal borders, near the house, were lush with broadleaf evergreens.
The Skimmia japonica were about to burst into bloom. |
 |
| The Daphne odora was in full, luscious bloom. |
 |
| Hellebores dangled profusely behind a neatly trimmed Boxwood hedge. |
 |
Camellias were also few weeks away from a colossal floral display.
I loved the structure of the tree rising up behind the Camellias. |
 |
Winter Aconites in full bloom, were dotting the lawn...
(I've been alerted by Ricki of Spig to Twig that this is not Winter Aconite
but Lesser Celendine and highly invasive. She's right and I stand corrected.) |
 |
| While in other areas, big bunches of them bloomed in profusion. |
 |
| Croakies were abloom in an obscure corner. |
 |
| Love, love, love!! |
The estate is spread out over 5 acres. Farther from the house are lots of interesting "rooms."
 |
| An Ivy-lined allee borders one of the open lawn areas. |
 |
| I can imagine how wonderful this area looks in high summer. |
 |
| Annie, on the left and Cate were enjoying the nooks and crannies in one of the formal parterre. |
 |
| A happy grouping of Snowdrops just begged for a photograph! |
 |
| Isn't this a lovely lattice fence and gate... |
 |
| and brickwork walkway? |
 |
| Blooming pink Bergenia looked sweet next to yellow Winter Aconites. |
 |
| This is one of the woodland pathways... |
 |
| ...juxtaposed with a more formal walkway. |
 |
| Tree roots were causing a little upheaval here. |
 |
| Beautiful now. Can you imagine it in a few months? |
 |
| Love this! |
 |
| And this... |
 |
| And this... |
 |
| And this... |
 |
| So sweet. |
 |
| Sooo sweet! |
Part 2 next time, I am planning on showing you what I found inside this...
 |
| The greenhouse! |
