Growlers Gulch is the colorful name of our local road. The hills are covered with typical native Northwestern US trees, such as Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, alder, cherry, and big leaf maples. And did I mention blackberries - 3 varieties.
We chose this property for a variety of reasons, one of which was the 18" of loam topsoil throughout this area.
We purchased our corner of the world in the mid 1970's. There was nothing man made on the property - no usable buildings or roads - with one exception. There was a first class outhouse, which we used for many years prior to the building of our house in 1989.
We began with no power equipment, just hand tools. My son was 5 at the time, and this property became a life time venture. He and his family now live on a corner of this property.
By the 1980's - we had developed a U-cut Chrismas tree operation, complete with hay rides, music eco-ing through the hills, and Santa Claus. It was a local favorite during that time.
We outgrew that quickly once the free help left home and the body got older.
Garden construction began during the early 1990's once our home had been built. Every concrete block and rock you see in any of the photos were placed by me. The early ones were all placed by hand and shovel.
We finally purchaced a tractor about 10 years ago, so now things are quicker and easier.
Most gardens are irrigated. Some photos will show white pipes - which is part of this system. These systems are now being replace by drip irrigation.
I have numerous gardens. I have given each garden a series of letters and/or numbers which may look something like "DN3". You will notice these letters/numbers in the index of panoramas. This explanation is just for your information when you look at the panorama descriptions, which also include the date the photo was taken.
I am not a horticulturist who thrives on latin names. In fact, I can hardly remember my own name - in English. I do thrive on what I like - whether it be color, smell, texture, or combinations of all. However, thanks to Idea Genie software, I have a method of keeping track of what I am doing. In addition, most plants are tagged with both the common name and the latin name. This has been a great addition to further development of our gardens.
Plans for the next year include a homemade greenhouse.
Enjoy the panoramas. I will be adding favorite flowers and mini scenes as time permits.
Gardener Larry
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