Open Gardens: Nancy Goldman and Deborah Myers

Two great gardens in Portland on the Open Gardens Tour this week - Nancy Goldman and just two houses down, Deborah Myers. Myers' garden was not listed in the directory and for a while, my friend Rebecca and I thought that we were in Nancy's garden until a fellow visitor cleared it up for us. Good thing as we would probably not have ventured down to Nancy's garden had we not known this. Anyway, two great gardens on one visit. 

First, the garden of Deborah Myers -

A masterful use of combining various textures. Isn't this fun?

The front garden is very tiny but so well done. There is a wonderful sense of privacy.

Love this!

The pathway is a mix of flagstone, brick and gravel.

Heading around to the back garden where various garden rooms awaits.

Tiger lilies! Nancy Goldman had a lot of these also.

The little bird bath was for the bees and it was busy with them.

An impressive stand of Bamboo stands along a pathway. It was very tall and the diameter of the canes was quite large.

Japanese Angelica Tree (Aralia elata, I think)

More striking uses of textures - Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) and Painted Fern

A Fairy Garden

Thank you Deborah for sharing your fantastic garden!

 
 Now, on to Nancy Goldman's garden.

A pebble mosaic "rug" and the waft of honeysuckle greet you as you approach the entrance.

It is so much fun seeing the creativity in these gardens. As we rounded the side of the house and stepped onto a deck that overlooks the back garden, this is what we saw!

Immediately off the deck is a serene vignette with hostas, ferns and mosses.

Stepping off the deck and venturing back into the garden finds all kinds of artistic delights.

The late afternoon sun just lit up the fern. Notice she has an Aralia too!

Nancy uses lots of found objects in clever ways throughout the garden.

Another pebble mosaic

The largest mosaic surrounded a small bird-bath that has been transformed into a planter for sedums.

Some really cool Four O'Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa). She says they just mysteriously appeared in the garden.

We are now back along the sidewalk in front of Nancy's house. Another fun mosaic - do you see the tools?

A cozy little nest in the front garden. The fence panel was made by a local craftsman - the chairs are part of the entire piece.

One last view from this incredible garden - thank you Nancy!

 
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy