Garden as Biography

It might not be polite to say it out loud, but I love to go on garden tours for the ideas I can steal about landscaping and plant varieties and combinations. Plus it's so much better to see them in place, in the same conditions that I have to contend with (freezes, soggy soil and overly shady patches, for instance).

Many gardens are lovely, designed down to the last detail from the aggregate stone used to form the pool surround to the precisely trimmed boxwood around the entry. A few reflect the personality of the gardener, with whimsical ornaments or sweet vignettes. Fewer still, usually long-established and hard-won, are like meeting the gardener herself.

I was fortunate to be able to walk through one such garden, that of Barbara Ashmun (below right), author of seminal books on garden design like "The Garden Design Primer,""Garden Retreats"and "Married to my Garden." On the near-acre plot you can tell that this is a garden that is always a work in progress, with boggy areas, shade and hot sun making it challenging to work in.

It's also casual, with whimsy in the purple watering cans suspended from a canopy at eye level, or a life-sized ceramic couple reclining under variegated dogwood, with many areas set aside for quiet contemplation. Unlike many grander gardens with their emphasis on geometry and a not-subtle display of wealth, this garden is one that offers glimpses and glances for the viewer who is willing to pay attention and notice what's going on in the periphery.

That said, there are definite statements of authority here, too. A tall sturdy tree dominates a slope of lawn leading down to the body of the garden, a perfect place to sit and survey (and probably make mental notes on what is and isn't working). Some unusual species occupy the "I didn't know that could grow in Zone 8!" territory, letting you know that this is a gardener who knows her stuff.

Ashmun herself was there, sitting in a bright pink folding chair under a favorite tree mid-garden, chatting with admirers, answering questions and watching tour-goers walking through, pointing and smiling. I introduced myself and thanked her for opening her private space for the day, but I didn't stay to chat. I'd already met her through her garden.

Going In Through the Garden

I've already confessed to being a nosy parker. Using the excuse that I have to walk the dog, I'm always peeking and peering over fences and through shrubbery in daylight and gazing in brightly lit, uncovered windows at night. I'm not out for lascivious thrills or gathering dirt on the neighbors, just boring stuff like how they paint their houses or landscape their yards. Really.

Which is yet another reason I love this time of year, when neighborhood homes, gardens and even chicken coops are thrown open to the prying eyes of the public. So I want to remind you about one garden tour in particular that's coming up this weekend that, appropriately enough, benefits a new landscape being done by dedicated volunteers at the West Slope Community Library.

It features seven gardens, including the almost completely edible garden of the Oregonian's Vern Nelson and his partner, Mary Sherman. A friend described it as having "one of the largest raised beds I’ve ever seen, side yards with strawberries, onions and garlic, a greenhouse, a trio of black ducks quacking, chickens laying, espaliered fruit trees and a new doorway Vern is installing to ornament the entry to their good friends and neighbors directly behind them. Plus a recently expanded covered back porch/living room with a roof extension with skylights and the beginnings of a new earth oven in progress."

With warm, sunny weather predicted, this is a can't-miss opportunity for garden lovers and snoops alike. You can bet I'm going!

Details: Raleigh Park Garden Tour. Sat., June 4, 10 am-3 pm; $15 advance, $17 day of tour; tickets available online. Pick up tickets and map the day of the tour at Raleigh Park Elementary School, 3678 SW 78th Ave.

Season of the Nosy Parkers

Nosy parker: a person of an overly inquisitive or prying nature.

Home tours, garden tours, tours of chicken coops, wood-burning ovens, beehives…it seems we can't get enough of peeking and prying, of oohing and aahing and pointing. And brave are the souls who open their gates and doors, not to mention their hutches, to the public. I am way too timid to undergo the scrutiny of anyone other than my dearest friends, who are apt to forgive (or at least not mention) my messy house, unswept cobwebs and half-finished projects.

But luckily there are those who willingly go where I cannot, with many worthy causes benefiting from their largesse. Like the West Slope Community Library, an important community hub in its neighborhood, which is seeking to renovate its aging perennial garden into a more structured garden with year-round interest.

My friend Kathryn's garden club is leading the charge to raise funds for the project, and has convinced seven neighborhood residents, including two of the city's most renowned gardeners, to open their personal gardens for the cause. Internationally recognized author Barbara Ashmun,known for her books on garden design, will be participating, as will the Oregonian's Hungry Gardener, Vern Nelson.

So grab a friend and your best binoculars and be prepared to satisfy your nosiest needs. You might even get some ideas to take home to your own garden.

Details: Raleigh Park Garden Tour. Sat., June 4, 10 am-3 pm; $15 advance, $17 day of tour; tickets available online. Pick up tickets and map the day of the tour at Raleigh Park Elementary School, 3678 SW 78th Ave.