I've been meaning to start my own "garden tour" since early April, when I bought my dream house in Rose Lodge, Ore., about 5 miles inland from the beaches at Lincoln City. But I'm SO thrilled, and there is so much to say & ask, that the daunting decision of "where to start" stymied me. But let's start here, with this photo. This is "Floyd," welcoming us from the driveway through the huge cedar gate ...
We're going to switch between seasons a bit on this tour, since I first inquired about the house in early October, flew out to see it at Christmas, and didn't finalize the purchase till April. And I won't get to move out there till August. Getting antsy. So maybe it will soothe my angst to talk about it a bit ...
This is the huge cedar gate. We are facing west here.
This message was edited Jun 10, 2009 1:25 PM
Here, we've entered the gate AND traveled in time. Looking to the left, you see lovely plantings and the wonderful tall fence that screens the street.
On the other side of the fence, a mature row of cypress also add to the cloistered feeling. With no neighbors across the street or across the river, it is very private. So I'm going from a crappy fixer-upper with little privacy and some awful neighbors to ... paradise.
Of course, these "mature" trees are only 7 years old. The fantastic growth rate of the Northwest will be something to get used to after a life spent in Zones 4 & 5.
Here is a closeup of the plantings. Deborah is a Master Gardener, and Jim is a meticulous contractor. The whole property is just perfection. Will be quite a shock after rehabbing old houses myself & always having to start gardens from scratch.
I've always wanted beauty berries ...
As you travel back in time again, you pass the front entrance on the right. The sun porch will be perfect for overwintering plants. Zone 8! What will that be like? The property is 500 feet above sea level & surrounded by mountains, so tomatoes & peppers likely will be a challenge, Deborah says. I'm worried about that. But the winds are much less violent than along the coast.
Strolling westward along the front path, you can see the 50' RV corral on that edge of the property. I have plenty of vintage Airstream trailers to park there!
As you round the corner of the house, we leave this streetside vignette behind. I can't believe how much work the sellers put into this property. I could not have accomplished this in a lifetime -- none of my gardens have managed nice edgings like these ... I can never commit to anything ...
As we round the west side of the house, we take a peek into the trellised patio off my master bedroom. I will put a coffeemaker out here! And orchids.
We've moved around to the back now, looking back at the patio. The front yard is fully fenced. I don't have to worry about Osita wandering, but it could come in handy for friends' dogs ...
Facing east, with the hill dropping off to the left toward the river. Those 2 massive trunks belong to hemlocks.
What on earth are these blue flowers? Aconitum? Foxgloves? Delphiniums? So much to learn in this new climate. It's probably illegal to bring any of my own plants from Illinois to Oregon, but seems like it wouldn't be worth the bother anyway.
Looking left & back toward the RV corral, you can see the huge garden shed that I will put to good use. It has power & everything, done CORRECTLY! No more puzzling over odd cable, phone & electrical wires dug up by accident, or trying to jury-rig extension cords. My current house doesn't even have a working outdoor spigot!
The house is a long ranch, sided in cedar. The first set of windows here belong to the living room, but the back deck is obscured by lush plantings.
Finally, we clear the shrubbery & step onto the deck, which is something like 15 x 70 feet. Here you can see how the property drops down a long hillside toward the river, which is really a large creek that splits around my own private island. Jim is building a bridge to it before I arrive.
Gorgeous planters, gorgeous rhody, gorgeous everything. They are leaving me all the outdoor stuff rather than move it all the way to Mexico. The windows here face onto the kitchen.
And the birdhouse stays. I'll say one thing for my place here on the Kankakee River -- it has been a pleasure to have so many feathered friends & to learn about all of them. So I'm hoping that my feeders in Oregon will be frequented by just as many, if new & different, birds. Will there be cardinals & finches? Woodpeckers? Jays? Hawks? Deborah says there are eagles.
Oh wait! Just answered one of my own questions. This is the walnut tree that towers over the east end of the back yard, and a note from D. mentioning how the jays love it.
But horrors, a peek of a neighboring roofline. (On the other side of a tall fence.) I don't want to sound like a playa-hater, but I have been through hell with the drunken louts next door to me here, and am SO hoping to live near sane, respectful people over there on North Boulder Creek Road.
Summer, What a treasure you have found! I would be going absolutely crazy if I was in your shoes. Can't wait to hear how your zone transition goes over the next couple of years. You definitely will be disapointed in the hot weather vegies here, but the positive points of our climate far outweigh the negatives in terms of the garden!
This path goes off around the east side of the house & garage. You can see how steeply the hill drops off here. My plan is to NOT mess with the garden too much, other than to find space for veggies, because my tendency is to get something all dug up & not put back together. But can't you just see a stream wending its way down?
jem, I AM going crazy. Partly because I'm working so hard to pull together the money & partly because I have a huge amount of stuff to dispose of. I have been trapped by my belongings for far too long. Anyone want to buy an Airstream trailer? Or a couple thousand antique kimono?
What on earth do you do about tomatoes? Buy them? That will hurt.
Perhaps I won't need a stream & waterfall. Here we are looking down at the current "water feature," the island. (The rocks are the banks of the smaller branch as the river splits, and it gets very low in the summer.)
The photo is a bit deceptive -- this is nearly an acre of hill & meadow & island.
Whoops, let's attach that photo:
And let's pull back a bit ... what's missing from this photo? NEIGHBORS! And while I'll miss horsing around on the large river in my back yard here, I won't miss the jet skis or loud music & cursing from the partiers who hang out on the nearby sand bar.
Here, Deborah decided to get arty with a photo of the steps that ease the way down the steepest part of the hill.
And here is a photo of the island. You can barely make out the river on the other side. When we (I and my b'friend who will not be joining me SNIFF!) visited at Christmas & Jim was showing off the meadow, he mentioned that spawning salmon swim up the river in the fall & the babies come down in the spring. You should have seen my jaw drop. No doubt the look on my face said, "SOLD!"
He says they get as big as 4 feet, and my fisherman father says that would make them king salmon.
What a sight that must be ... though will I have to watch for something called "salmon poisoning" if Osita turns out to have a taste for them?
I think being able to drive to this beach every evening for the sunset will make up for leaving behind my noisy, muddy, floody, freezy river.
Excuse me while I die of envy... *THUD*
What an amazingly beautiful property. Congratulations!
Uh-oh. Will pix of the house bring you back to life or REALLY kill you dead?
LOL I think they'll kill me truly dead, but please, do show! :D
OK, here goes. I am so thrilled with this place, did I mention that? In months of scouring the Internet, this is the only property under a million dollars that even seemed like a place to look at, much less buy. And I got a screaming deal, thanks to a down market, plus Jim & Deborah being hot to move to Mexico.
This is the first photo she sent me. Autumn, their late Rottweiler, is welcoming you, figuratively, to my home (you all are literally welcome as well; Gourdbeader lives a short drive away ... anyone else?)
Et voila! Entering the foyer from the sunporch:
This message was edited Jun 15, 2009 2:57 PM
Traveling in time yet again, we look back through the sun porch to spy their current dog, 3-legged Daisy. Check out the entry closets!!! Such luxe. None of the old houses I've lived in lately had such modern convenience.
Now we turn left (west), passing a set of roomy built-in shelves, and glimpsing the library through the French doors.
OH -- did I mention that this house has FOUR BEDROOMS plus TWO & A HALF BATHS!!! No more getting by with one crappy bathroom for ME.
The library, which is wired for fancy-dancy surround sound & remote speakers. They are leaving almost all of the furniture, including the bed & piano & a flat-screen TV, so I can sell everything here.
No more blurry 20-year-old TV for me.
There are 2 skylights in the entryway & another here, so I'm thinking this is where I'll photograph my kimono to sell on ebay ...
Now we move on through the living room to my master, which is the angled door straight ahead.
Here is boudoir where I will hang my minuscule clothing collection in the walk-in closet, then sleep & listen to the boulders tumble in the creek. The sliders go to the patio, which must not have been built at this point.
This is the view from the bed, dominated by the hemlocks (we are facing north). From the Jacuzzi you can see the island. AND there is a separate shower.
OK, I'm gushing. This place made me lose my head.
The view once I get out of bed, go straight to the tub & stay there all day, thereby getting no work done & unable to pay the mortgage, thereby losing the house.
You heard it here first.
Everything Jim & Deb did is top-notch. They are my kind of people. I love the rocks in the tub surround.
Oooh. I can hardly wait to get home so I can look at this tonight!
