Old Germantown Gardens: Portland Garden Bloggers Fling
The first private garden on the Portland Garden Bloggers Fling tour last weekend was, at 2 acres, large enough to accommodate our entire group of approximately 80 bloggers. Old Germantown Gardens, created over 23 years by Bruce Wakefield and Jerry Grossnickle, is a masterpiece of a garden built on a steeply sloping hillside.
The garden drops off sharply behind the house, and a 2nd-floor deck overlooks the sunny spaces below. Here’s a slightly different view. Just look at the wonderful use of form — all those spheres, pillars, and cones — which adds structure in counterpoint to billowing perennials.
Also, I’m smitten by the golden hues of the conifers used in such abundance throughout the garden.
Undulating terracing laid by the owners tames the slope. They designed, built, and planted the entire garden themselves and unbelievably still maintain it as well, which takes 20 hours per week from each of them. (See Portland Monthly‘s 2009 story about the garden’s evolution.)
Eighty people can find solitude in this spacious garden, or they can enjoy numerous seating areas strategically positioned high and low.
Looking the other direction from the upper deck, you see a narrow lawn surrounded by English-style flowering borders, with a backdrop of tall evergreen and deciduous trees.
A conical punctuation mark echoes the golden tree in the background.
It’s reminiscent of this smaller-scaled scene in the entry garden, so let’s go back out there and start our tour, as I did, along the front walk and onto the patio hugging the rear of the house.
Sunlight floods this area in the afternoon, turning yellow dahlias into miniature suns, their dusty-black leaves adding dark drama below.
In a shady bed by the front door, a sleek cat sculpture stands watch.
The garden spreads out behind the house, accessed via a spacious patio that contains a plunge pool and a large greenhouse. The pool would have felt wonderful on this hot day, but it was more fun to explore.
Bold, tropical foliage and luscious blooms demand one’s attention.
A few steps down, a bistro table and chairs offer an invitation to rest amid tropical lushness.
Lilies scent the air.
Now it’s time to take the plunge, down into the terraces. This is a garden you can explore for hours and still not see everything — but I did try.
As you descend, thoughtful focal points, like this bench and sun under an arching hedge, are placed so as to entice you onward. Anyone who thinks they don’t like formal elements in a garden might take a close look at how these columnar and rounded plants are used for structure amid looser planting beds. You just know this garden is equally stunning in winter.
On the hottest, sunniest slope, a dry garden reminded me of Austin, with Yucca rostrata, agaves, euphorbia, grasses, and drought-tolerant perennials.
Below that, however, golden conifers showed that we weren’t in Texas anymore.
Hot-colored flowers soaked in the sunshine.
As did peach dahlias
Continuing to descend the sloping paths, I entered a shady, forested garden. Curving gravel-and-timber paths lead down and down…
…past stacked-stone walls crested by waves of lush greenery…
…surrounded by luxuriant groundcovers and shrubs…
…and along a sinuous line of precisely stacked firewood. Seriously, is this an art installation? It’s too far from the house to be useful on a daily basis.
Soon the path climbed again. As the sunlight increased, daylilies appeared.
From shade to sun — a golden aura
Lilies rose above chartreuse grasses, their golden flowers filled with sunlight.
Sparklers of allium heads seemed to sizzle amid golden-flowering perennials.
Steely blue globes — so touchable
I’m a sucker for red though, and crocosmia and daylilies along this path stood out so beautifully among the green foliage.
More crocosmia — like the inquisitive heads of a flock of birds
One more
This arbor leads down to the shady forest garden. To the right is the path to the crocosmia.
Oh, okay, one more!
Lavender clematis is awfully pretty too.
Banana-yellow lilies overlook a small pond and wetland garden.
Water lilies offer their starry blooms, and a bench a place to enjoy them.
These copper-finned fish stood in the water and turned in the breeze.
Looking back up at the house from here you see the deck from which I shot the first pictures in this post.
But plenty of smaller vignettes along the paths were awaiting discovery as I made my way back up, like this giraffe sundial…
…and textural, walnut-colored pot half-hidden in greenery.
I loved this combo of pink spires and mossy-brown magnolia.
Just when you think you must have seen all the major features in this garden, this appears: a pair of variegated yuccas in pots flanking a short stair, their spiky shadows etched on the paving.
Looking down you see a hidden conversation area with a pair of blue Adirondacks sheltered under an arching, iron gazebo.
The yuccas, glowing in late afternoon sunlight, were magnificent.
More clematis
And now we’re looking back up toward the entry garden again, a weeping cypress (maybe; I know better than to attempt plant IDs away from home) marking the edge of the driveway. Wow, what a garden! I could have spent another hour or two here, as I had time for only one pass through.
But we were off to the last garden of the day, and could it possibly be as amazing as this one? Come along and find out.
Up next: Westwind Farm Studio gardens, designed by ornamental-grasses guru John Greenlee. For a look back at the bucolic gardens of Joy Creek and Cistus nurseries, click here.
All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I love Crocosmia too, it grows so well here and it’s so bright! What a fabulous garden! I’m sometimes at a loss to figure out how to use conifers to best effect in my garden, but this place offers a lesson in the proper use.
Enjoy your croscosmia for me! I love its bright beauty. —Pam
Excellent job at capturing the beauty of this garden! It was one of my favorite gardens. I loved how it felt so encompassing.
The owners created a truly incredible garden. It was one of my favorites too — but then I find myself saying that about all of them. 🙂 —Pam
I tried repeatedly to get the red crocosmia to grow in Michigan. Never made it through a winter (bottom of zone 5 – zone pushing at it’s best…)
That’s too bad, Jenn. I must be without it as well. I guess if we could all grow the same things, gardening would be a bit boring. —Pam
We were astounded by this garden Pam, very inspiring and we have so much admiration for the hard work and creative flair of both gardeners responsible for this stunning garden.
Yes, it was absolutely stunning. —Pam
What an amazing place! It boggles my mind that something so large, incredibly maintained and artistically arranged could be the work of two persons….and a private property. I’ve seen public gardens less impressive.
I appreciate your work in photographing and explanations for those of us who weren’t part of the walk.
I am trying to single out just one idea from this post to implement in our own small (and rather ordinary) part of the world 🙂
It is certainly inspiring to see these gardens, and there are always takeaway ideas, even if one has no intention of ever putting in 20 hours a week into one’s own garden. 😉 —Pam
Hmmm, perhaps I’ll stop griping (so much) about how hard I work just trying to keep my few paltry paths clear of weeds. Two acres! What an incredible garden. It gives testimony to how much one or two individuals can do (and maintain!) if they make the time. I remember the first time I saw crocosmia growing in a mailbox bed here in Austin. It stopped me in my tracks and on my return home I spent hours attempting ID. It is worth every single one of the photos you posted (I’m betting you had a few more in your camera that didn’t make the cut!).
Very few people, I’d bet, are willing to work this hard on a garden (for 20+ years). Myself definitely included. But I’m so grateful when those who do are willing to share with the rest of us mortals. As for my photos, yep, I tend to cut a lot. But this garden was easy to photograph, with beautiful views and focal points at every turn. —Pam
You did an outstanding job of capturing this huge space, love your photographs! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Tamara! —Pam
Wow, this garden is overwhelming even in pictures. I can only imagine the effort that went into creating it (even after reading the linked article). Now I feel like a wimp complaining about my more paltry slope. Thanks, as always, for sharing your marvelous photographs, Pam!
My pleasure, Kris. —Pam
Oh be still my heart. I love this type of garden with lots of evergreens. It is outstanding.
I wish you could have been there this year, Lisa. There were so many incredible private gardens. —Pam
It was truly magnificent. I felt like I could’ve spent days and days in there and not seen it all.~~Dee
I think we could have! It was that big and that detailed. —Pam
How well you did Pam in getting such nice photos in what was probably the most challenging light conditions of our day..certainly a favorite with me, and how fun it would be to see it in fall..
I was pleased that I was able to get as many passable photos as I did in the bright light of our first two tour days. The garden I struggled with the most, I think, was the Japanese Garden, with all the dappled light. Which is a bummer because it was such a beautiful, peaceful space and I really wanted to capture that in my photos. —Pam
Love conifers. Had a nice collection of dwarf conifers when I lived in TN
I bet you miss them, Bob. Do you grow the Arizona cypress at least? —Pam
You got such great photos. I was so agog I didn’t get many good ones. And did not see even half the garden–could have spent the day there just looking. It was fabulous, wasn’t it?
Yes, absolutely fabulous. This garden really needs another visit from the bloggers one day! —Pam
Very nice. I was definitely one of my faves. I loved all the different garden styles in this hillside garden. And I missed that metal fish – so cute.
I think I missed some of the shade gardens, Diana. There was a lot to see. —Pam
That was such a gorgeous garden! If I could do something 1/10 as good with my 2 acres, I’d be one happy gardener.
One step at a time, Ally. It’s taken them two decades, after all. —Pam
I really enjoy seeing gardens I visited too through someone elses eyes! This was such a lovely garden : )
It was such a great start to the private garden tours, wasn’t it? —Pam
What a fantastic job of showcasing this garden, Pam! I’m still amazed how you managed to get so many photos without another blogger in the picture:) This had to be one of my favorites; I know I missed so many of the little details, but you could have spent a day here and not seen it all.
I waited until everyone was inside getting a pinwheel cookie, Rose. That’s when I got my blogger-free photos — ha! —Pam
Stunning photos; possibly my favourite garden ever. You really captured the effect of the terracing and that wonderful water feature.
Thanks, Skyler. It really is a stunning garden. —Pam