Central Oregon High Desert Garden Tour 2017

The High Desert garden tour this year was inspirational!  I saw many great plant combinations, low water landscapes, listened to beautiful music in garden #2 and enjoyed the Artisans Market at garden #7.  I took many pictures, some as reminders of plants I saw, others to record the styles and materials.  This is just a snippet of all I saw, I hope you enjoy!


Garden 3 had a section of Fescue Grass by the sidewalk, very low maintenance and beautiful.

A large part of Garden 3 were deer resistant, hardy and xeriscape type perennials.

The Threadleaf Coresopsis was spreading nicely in Garden 3 to fill in.

Garden 3 also had many xeriscape plants tucked into pockets in the very rocky landscape.

Garden 3 made great use of all the pine needles as a path material, also know as Pine Straw.

Though most of the paths were pine needles in Garden 3, there was a section of Decomposed Granite, one of my favorite materials for paths and patios because of it's hard, porous and easy to maintain surface plus the lovely tan color.  

I didn't notice these statues at first, they played so nicely with the trim and accent pieces already on the porch. I love how these frame the entry steps at Garden 2.

 Garden 2 had a patio painted in a lovely pattern plus live music.

Garden 2 had the painter John Hillmer painting an original.  Two other of his paintings hung in the garden and really made the space come alive in a different way than plants could.

Garden 2 here is one of John HIllmer's paintings creating a lovely space beyond a covered swing.

Garden 5 was a real treat as it exemplified what can really be done with good planning and plant placement!  They have a pond about 30'x12' which did not seem overly large at all, surrounding it were a perfect blend of perennials, shrubs, trees and deciduous and evergreen plants.  They also made good use of their space for two shaded patios, shown here is one with an excellent view of the pond.

A close-up of the ponds water feature.  This garden backs up to Bear Creek Road and there is considerate road noise, but this water feature does a great job of blocking that out, creating instead a white noise peaceful water falling.

Walk around the back of the pond at Garden 5 is a lovely shade garden, very peaceful and inviting. Notice how the curve of the path invites you to explore around the bend?

Garden 4 right next to #5 had an excellent shade garden under a Serviceberry Tree.

The pond at Garden 4 was also stunning with a beautiful plant palette surrounding it.

Garden 6 is truly a masterpiece and incredibly most of it was accomplished in just 13 years!

This beautiful little Buddha statue sat within a peaceful fountain off the rear covered patio.  And yes that is bamboo growing next to it.  Bamboo can grow in Bend giving the right conditions and winter watering.  

The other side of the Buddha water feature was a lovely shade garden with a good selection of Hostas.

Beyond the shade was a vegetable garden secured by an electric fence.  Notice how they have a diversity of flowers surrounding it? That encourages a host of beneficial insects and encourages pollintators.

The other side of the home featured a good sized gazebo next to the pond in the middle of the expanse of lawn.  The combination of the pond and shaded area created a nice and cooler micro climate to relax in.  

They planted a Chinese Wisteria back in 2015 and it is doing very well.  They said they were going to plant more since the Honeysuckle they have planted is not fairing nearly as well. 

Water Lilies sitting beautifully in the pond.

Garden 7 had extensive structures over their raised vegetable bed for grapes and it looked like they were going to have a good harvest this year!

Just beyond the vegetable garden and under two large apple trees was a simple patio table.  Many of the gardens I saw on the tour had many such places to sit and admire the garden.

 Here was a lovely desert bed with Decomposed Granite as mulch, such a fantastic use of the material!  I love the color.  Also notice the artwork off to the side....

 A very large pond sits on the outskirts of the lawn with a firepit surrounded by Decomposed Granite.  Love the simple chairs in the shade of the Mountain Ash tree in the left fore ground.

Whimsy in the garden!

 This home was also the site for the Artisans Market with some lovely artwork!

I was very struck with the artwork by Maya Wolf, especially this painting of a pet dog.

Gorgeous stepping stones by Step On This.  If you need stepping stones, these would bring so much life and beauty to your garden.

Thank you to OSU Extension Service and Master Gardeners for another fantastic tour and thank you very much to all the home owners who opened their homes and gardens for all to enjoy!