Schreiners Iris Gardens

This is the garden that started me driving down to Salem to look a nursery gardens. It is spectacular. I have taken many lovely pictures here and have bought many irises from them. They have picnic tables under large shady oak trees. I usually bring a picnic with me. The ground is even enough for my elderly mother-in-law to walk on without tripping. It is open at least another week.

Exit 263 from I-5, 3625 Quinaby Road N.E. Salem OR 97303 1-800-525-2367

www.schreinersgardens.com

Brooks garden

Brooks garden
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

Brooks Gardens
An interesting garden down a winding gravel road. We made a wrong turn getting there. At the wrong farm we were greeted by dachshund guard dogs. We turned around and found the turn we had missed. My husband Bruce loved this garden he said that it was his kind of garden. The garden has over 200 varieties of peonies and 1000 varieties of bearded iris. Also a conifer Arboretum. I saw many interesting specimens of plants. Since it was near the other gardens it was worth the stop.
6219 Topaz Street NE Brooks, Oregon 97305 503.393.7999 exit 263 from I-5
2008 Bloom Season - OPEN Wednesdays Sundays from 10 am 6 pm.
www.brooksgardens.com

Adelman peony gardens

adelman peony gardens
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

The first time that I found this garden it was serendipity. The last time I was there again the same thing, I didn’t know we were on the road that it is on until we drove past it. We came from a different direction than I usually go to get there. It was the second stop on my tour of gardens in bloom in the Willamette valley near Salem, Oregon. I adore their peonies. I have bought several peonies from them over the years.
5690 Brooklake Rd NE Brooks, OR 97305 1½ miles east of I-5 exit 263. There is a light at the crossroad 99E and Brooklane
www.peonyparadise.com

cooleys garden

cooley's garden
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

Cooleys Gardens was the first stop on my tour of gardens in the Willamette valley near Salem, OR. Everything is a little late this year and the gardens were not in full bloom. Plenty of beautiful irises were blooming. The weather turned from cloudy to sunny while I was there. The pleasant change in weather must have been because of those beautiful irises.
Cooleys Garden was founded in 1928 by Rholin and Pauline Cooley. The gardens are celebrating their 80 th year of existence.
Peak Bloom Festival May 17th to June 1nd, 2008. Free admission, Daily from 8am to 7pm. No pets are allowed. Cooley's Gardens is at 11553 Silverton Road NE, just outside of Silverton and nine miles east of Salem, Oregon's Capital. www.cooleysgardens.com

Oregon Zoo dinosaur exhibit

dino
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

The Oregon Zoo has a new dinosaur exhibit. We went there on one of the hottest day of the year so far. The zoo was very full that Friday with lots of people enjoying that first warm sunny day. Almost six year Colby was happily scared by the T Rex dinosaur. He wants to go back and see the exhibit again this summer. The life like automated dinosaurs represented gentle plant eaters and ferocious meat eaters. There were eggs hatching and young dinosaurs, small to the very large T Rex.
After paying Zoo admission pricing for the Dino exhibit is $4 for general admission, and $3 for Zoo Members.
The Summer Concert Season at the Zoo starts June 15, 2008
www.oregonzoo.org
4001 SW Canyon Road
Portland, Oregon 97221

Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens

lilac
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

We stopped to see the gardens. The house museum was open. The volunteers dressed in period clothes did a nice job explaining the family and the gardens. Hulda Klager hybridized over 14 new varieties of lilacs. She died in 1960 at the age of 96. The Hulda Klager Lilac society, a nonprofit, administers the estate. This beautiful garden site almost got bulldozed. Now it is a state and national historic site. The garden is smaller than I expected but amazing full of different varieties of plants and shrubs. I love smelling lilacs they remind me of my great Grandma Alice. Stop by and see this pretty place just off I-5 in Woodland, WA.
Lilac festival until May 11, 2008 Admission $2 per person.
115 South Pekin Road Woodland, Washington 98674
www.lilacgardens.com

magnolia trail

magnolia trail
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen.

Hoyt Arboretum
Today I stopped by the arboretum to see if the Magnolias were in bloom. I was treated to a fantastic sight. Magnolias blooming everywhere on the Magnolia trail. Trees in bloom, blooms on the ground. Take the beach trail out of the parking lot to the magnolia trail. Enjoy the sight. Trails and trees are well marked. 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., Portland, OR 97221 (503) 865-8733
www.hoytarboretum.org