The three of us started out early--about 7:30 AM--to take advantage of the early hours the garden has during summertime. We arrived at the garden at 8:15 to a completely empty parking lot. Thankfully there was a gracious lady inside that was more than happy to take our money and let us in.
We toured back and forth, around and around through the different areas (click here for a map of the various exhibits). The Water Garden, the Conifer Garden, the Wetlands, the Forest, the Oak Grove, the Children's Garden, the Northwest Garden, the Rose Garden, the fountains, the reflecting pools, the pavillion, lots and lots of stuff...
It was amazing to watch the wildlife, such as the gigantic bullfrog in the Water Garden, or the red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands. We saw flowers, trees, shrubs, berry bushes all in the cool morning hours of a perfectly sunny day.
We left at noon after a four hour tour and headed into downtown Silverton. We researched what would be the most unique and memorable place to eat lunch in the area on Friday night. We decided to go to O'Brien's. The best part about the cafe is that it offers outdoor seating on a deck that hangs 40' above Silver Creek. I would recommend this place to anyone who was wondering about a place in the area to stop and get some food.
We walked through downtown to take a look at some of the sights, and then swung home through Mount Angel. We stopped at Al's Garden Center in Woodburn on the way home and walked away without anything in our hands (my favorite kind of shopping). It was time to go home. My allergies were beyond hope!
Pics (T-B): the Water Garden's gigantic bullfrog, us in the gazebo in the Northwest Garden, the Axis, the sculpted shrubs at the Children's Garden, Anne-Marie in the middle of the Rose Garden, a huuuge California Lilac, Anne-Marie and Mom on the deck at O'Brien's (the water is much further down than it appears), a really amazing brick church in downtown Mt. Angel that a photo would never do justice
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