Visiting Northrup Acres

Where's your dream garden located? Do you favor a city lot with clearly defined boundaries — ones that keep your plant lust in check? What about a condo balcony with plenty of easy-care containers? Or do you dream of acreage and life in the country? Borrowed views that include pastures, orchards, hay-fields and a hazelnut farm?

For my friend Mindy it was definitely the latter, she and her family made the move a year ago and are living the dream in Oregon wine country...

Mindy (and family: husband and three kids) used to live in a tiny house on a tiny lot in a very urban and gritty part of Portland. She had time to blog then (Rindy Mae), which is how I know her. Us Portland bloggers are a social group who get together fairly often.

The group has held a couple of gatherings at Mindy's new place but I'd not been able to attend those, instead I had my own private viewing a couple of weeks back.

Mindy kindly took the afternoon off (kids, garden, animals, harvest, house, meals, laundry, her must-do list is never ending) and showed me around, chilled glass of wine in hand (both of our hands) of course...

I wish I could tell you how old the house is, but I'm bad with numbers. I also wish I would have snapped a couple of photos inside, because it's just so darn perfect (Mindy's got the design skills) — but I did not.

This planting bed is Mindy's work. It borders the cow pasture and if filled with plants she brought from her old garden, as well as plants from our blogger's swaps.

Hot-tub for relaxing those tired country-living muscles.

With fabulous plantings nearby.

I had to repeatedly remind myself they've only lived here a year. Vignettes like these say "home" and aren't something that materializes over-night.

Behind the garage (?) there's a stock-tank "swimming" pool.

And that's their picture-perfect barn, separated by a still-used train track. In fact I arrived just in time to see the train go by, but I hadn't pulled out my camera yet. Your loss.

We'll get back to the barn in a minute, first the garden — veggie and ornamental. Aren't those Verbascum amazing? Their checkerboard-like planting definitely plays up their architectural style.

That is a greenhouse in the distance (above). Unfortunately I don't have a close-up photo of it to share. The front (left-side) has the most amazing wall of RV windows. What they lack in style they make up for in practicality, they all open for ventilation.

Libby Lou (the dog) is a sweetheart with purpose, she made sure the stranger (me) wasn't going to bring any harm to her family.

Blueberries, so many blueberries. Fenced to keep blueberry-predators away of course.

It was hard for this city-girl to not become completely overwhelmed with the amount of work that goes into maintaining property this large. I found myself getting a little stressed out, until I remembered I was going to leave in a couple of hours it was not my responsibility.

So that barn. Wow. Inside is a party waiting to happen. Outside the party is already happening.

Hello there! The donkeys, Jackson and Elsa ,and Libby Lou. coming up on the rear.

The horse, Pride, Libby Lou and the black goat.

There's Mindy and her gang (fist appearance of the white goat), If you'd have told me I was inheriting these creatures with my new home and garden I would've declared the deal was off. Luckily for everyone Mindy and family have embraced it.

Another angle on the garden.

And a shot of the front of the home.

The driveway...

And Delilah (also inherited)

And Leonard (ditto)

But that's not all! Before I left we all hopped in Mindy's mom-van and drove over to see her neighbor's garden. Which features a tree as large as my entire city lot and a swing which Mindy's kids quickly put to use.

Can you even imagine having a garden this large and this immaculate?

The perfect size of a Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). Not too small, not too big.

Not just one or two sunflowers but an entire hedge of them.

And tomatoes that, well, need supports as solid as those.

I have an emotional attachment to outdoor clotheslines. The house I grew up in (until 4th grade) had one, and a sweet house we made an offer on here in Portland had one (we were outbid). This one takes it up a notch (or twelve) because it's got romantic rose bushes growing up each end.

There's a greenhouse.

And a cool old well.

I did live the country life as a child and teenager. We moved to three acres in the country when I was in the fourth grade. We had an old well on our property too, only it didn't stand proud of the ground level like this one.

I've got no desire to return to rural living, but I love visiting! Thank you Mindy and Joyce for letting me totally disrupt your Friday afternoons and sharing your gardens with me.

Weather Diary, Aug 6: Hi 92, Low 63/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.