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A visit to Chickadee Gardens

I was excited to finally get to see Chickadee Gardens last week. I have followed Tamara's blog  for years. She and her husband garden on 2 acres in Saint Helens, Oregon.  When you look at the map, it appears that St. Helens is directly across the Columbia River and slightly to the north of us. However, there is no convenient bridge to get over to the Oregon side. You must go north to Ridgefield, Washington (about 30 minutes north of our house) and go across there  or travel through Portland and then go north through Scappoose. Either way, it is about a 45 minute drive. I decided to try the Ridgefield route and I was glad I did. Not only did I not have to contend with Portland traffic (it was Rose Parade weekend), I got to see country on the Oregon side that was new to me.  Tamara used to work at the beautiful Joy Creek Nursery (my favorite, but alas they are now closed) and she now works part-time at Cistus Nursery.  She focuses on native plants and sustainabili...
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North Carolina Arboretum

Asheville is a great city and refreshingly liberal for a not-so-big town. If I were younger and just starting out, I'd seriously consider moving there. Another noticeable aspect of the city is how health-conscious everyone seems to be. There are numerous vegan and vegetarian restaurants and all of the regular restaurants have those options (appreciated by Michael very much!). For lunch on our first day, we were catered by 12 Bones and Curve Studios. The meal included turkey barbeque sandwiches, jalapeno cheese grits and cornbread. For dessert, outstanding ice cream from The Hop which I've been craving since I returned home.


Following lunch, the next stop was the North Carolina Arboretum, A 434-acre natural treasure with 65 acres of cultivated gardens and 10 miles of hiking and biking trails.




A curved row of pleached Beech trees edges a stone terrace which overlooks a sweeping lawn area and the forest beyond.

The beautiful Asian garden with zig-zagging pathways led to a bonsai exhibit. This is also where we saw a large black snake in one of the conifers. The arboretum employees were on hand to keep visitors from getting too close to it.

This is just one specimen from the bonsai exhibit.
Overlooking the "Quilt" garden. I would love to see this after it has filled in. You can see the terrace with the pleached Beech trees in the distance.


Some serious container vegetable gardening




Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. F CameronMay 23, 2012 at 11:07 AM

    Lovely photos, Phillip!

    The quilt garden is such a special place. I'd love to go see it filled in. Did you see anyone touring on Segways?

    Is that stipa grass in the one photo?

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  2. SkeeterMay 23, 2012 at 12:35 PM

    Great pics! The quilt garden was my favorite in the garden. That view is my version of Heaven for sure.... hey, I think I was standing by you when you snapped that shot! :-)

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  3. LonaMay 23, 2012 at 1:00 PM

    Just fantastic. I love the quilt garden.

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  4. Gardening Under The InfluenceMay 23, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    I have found a new road trip. Thanks

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  5. Lynn HuntMay 23, 2012 at 3:34 PM

    Beautiful photos once again, Phillip. It was a terrific trip (except for that snake trying to snag those baby birds.)

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  6. beckieMay 23, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    Your photos are fantastic, Phillip! Makes me want to go again. Ithought it difficult to capture the the views-just so much to get into a few photos. But you managed> :)Thaks for the 'behind' photo of me-gives me incentive to get back on my diet!

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  7. Lisa at GreenbowMay 24, 2012 at 7:48 PM

    I was in such a hurry to try to see as much as possible I felt like I didn't see quite enough of the arb. Your pictures have given me the slow view. What you can see if you slow down. Beautiful.

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  8. Janet, The Queen of SeafordMay 25, 2012 at 6:22 PM

    Yes, Asheville is a remarkably wonderful city, I loved it! I didn't get to see the Bonsai area, we did the walk with Tim Spira, then tried to do an overview.

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  9. Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade GardensMay 25, 2012 at 6:55 PM

    I really loved our visit to this arboretum---it wasn't huge but it was spectacular. Fun sharing the fling with you and all the other bloggers.

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