Friday, March 24, 2023

The garden at the O'Byrne's Northwest Garden Nursery

We're back in Eugene, OR, at Northwest Garden Nursery—Marietta and Ernie O'Byrne's place. Wednesday I shared some hellebore photos (here) from the greenhouses, today we wander the garden...



This is my second visit to the O'Byrne's, the first was way back in 2014. That was also an early March visit—blog post here—back then I made the trek during their Hellebore Open Garden Days, this year I visited after the hellebore madness. 

I can't remember if it was Marietta or Ernie that pointed out they'd let the opuntia lounge out across the pathway (rather than cutting it back) knowing I was going to be visiting—spiky plants and "danger" of course.

The foliage on that Helleborus foetidus is pretty fabulous...


My photos are all kind of jumbled, I snapped as I wandered...



The sun came and went as the clouds passed overhead. 

It really was a delightful day to be outside walking garden paths, especially contrasted against the day before when it rained hard during my visit to Gossler Farms Nursery (photos from that visit coming up for Monday's post).

There were even fancy creatures milling about, peafowl. Both the traditional blue/green coloration and one that was all white. Sadly I didn't get a photo of the white bird.


On Monday I shared photos of two other gardens I visited in Eugene, both with pebble mosaic designs. There were more elaborate versions here at the O'Byrne's garden, these built by Oregon craftsman Jeffrey Bale.




I was glad to see the elevated container with bronze grass was still a garden feature. I loved it when I saw it on my previous visit.

Close up...






I suddenly need to plant yellow/green hellebores mixed with black mondo grass!

Can you make out the elevated platform on the left? It's built on the stump of a tree that was removed and provides a great place to sleep on a summer's night.

Another angle...

Bamboo!

Schefflera delavayi

Looking towards the backside of the O'Byrne's home, with a guest house on the right.




Quercus alnifolia, planted in 2017 and now at a height where the tawny undersides of the leaves can be appreciated from the pathway.

That's a wrap! Since both of my visits to this garden have been in the very early spring I do hope to return in the summer. Fingers crossed!

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16 comments:

  1. Lucky, lucky you. I have their book but I am enjoying the reality of these shots vs. literary perfection. I am doing the opposite of the yellow/black Hellebore/grass combo. I've planted my black Hellebore in a swath of low yellow grass, Luzula aurea.

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    1. Funny you mention their book, as we had an exchange of books and I now have a lovely signed copy.

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  2. Living where you work sounds like heaven to me, at least if the work involves plants. The elevated platform is neat and I love the Astelia in photo #24. I want to try Astelia again with a protective cage in place to keep the rabbits away until it reaches a size that might put them off.

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    1. Isn't that astelia fabulous? I suspect it's Astelia nivicola 'Red Devil' but don't know for sure.

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  3. Mmmm! That garden looks interesting for early spring!

    I would love to see it in mid-summer.

    That Schefflera is delightful :)

    I am struggling to type tonight because it is 11.22pm on Friday night and I have had a few too many beers, hic!

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    1. Buzzed blog reading eh? Just don't start ordering plants. Wait, or maybe you should...

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  4. Fabulous garden. I join the choir of wishes for a summer/fall visit.
    Good people: I love seeing the solar panels on the roof!
    The Bellevue Botanical garden has patches of black mondo and yellow Helleborus. I go back every early spring to feast my eyes on it.
    Jeffrey Bale's mosaic work is amazing.
    Good luck with the Helleborus foetidus start you were given; I hope your bunnies don't find it this time.
    Chavli

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  5. This garden really shows the beauty of winter plantings and many evergreen species. Of course, when you specialize in hellebores, I guess you develop an enhanced appreciation for winter/spring displays!

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    1. Indeed, the garden has to be timed to look good when your cash crop does!

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  6. Could spend hours just wandering and taking in all the great treasures in the garden. Love how Ernie and Marietta have used groundcovers. A special garden indeed. Hope you make it back later in the season.

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    1. There only agave was under protective cover when I was there, so I have to go back and see how it did!

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  7. Love this place. Did you see if the Genista aetnensis is still around?

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  8. Oh my! This is a garden I've wanted to visit for a long time - especially after recently watching a zoom presentation by the O'Byrnes. Your winter walk through is truly inspiring - so many more ideas for groundcovers in winter. Thank you for posting!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. Isn't it wonderful the gardens we've been able to visit via Zoom?

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