Posted by Sunset, August 13, 2009 in Places
Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine
Two highlights include the J. Frank Schmidt, Jr. Arboretum in Boring and the Burgess garden in Sandy.
Named in honor of the founder of one of North America's leading nurseries, the J. Frank Schmidt Jr. Arboretum is home to more than 500 species and cultivars of deciduous trees, shrubs and conifers. Established more than 20 years ago, this private 10-acre arboretum is a living museum and is likely the most up-to-date collection of deciduous tree cultivars in North America.
The Burgess garden covers about three acres of rolling lawns and an eclectic collection of trees, woody ornamentals, many conifers and perennials, plus wooded trails that wind through the balance of 15 acres. There’s a large, waterfall-fed koi pond, an al fresco dining room surrounded with Laburnum x watereri ‘Vossii’, firepit, party house, and a barn covered in a 60-ft. drapery of weeping blue Atlas cedars.
To get a map and a one-picture preview of most of the other gardens, go to http://tinyurl.com/MHMCtour.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on Saturday, August 15, the day of the tour. Get them by contacting Beverly Herbert at 503 674-1634 or bherbert@lhs.org, or by purchasing at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center in Gresham on the day of the tour. Proceeds fund a healing garden at the medical center, 24800 SE Stark St., Gresham.
