Taking a trip to the PNW soon

Hi all,

My DH and I want to take a nice leisurely trip up into your beautiful area, possibly in late summer or early fall. We want to end at Buchart Gardens. I know the best time to go to Buchart is in the Spring....but we want to go this year.

We are hoping we could get some great information from you on when is the best time to come up and also if you could give us some interesting places to see and visit along the way. We are not very knowledgeable about your area, other than that it is beautiful and there is a lot to see.

So, if you have some great ideas for our trip, we would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for any help you can give us.

Donna in So. Calif.

Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, WA is worth stopping for- and it's not far off the freeway, so it's easy to find. http://www.lakewold.org/

There's a "roundup" gathering happening the end of August, there'll be a camp out in Buckley and tours of local gardens/nurseries over the weekend. Maybe you and your DH could make that?

Here's a thread with info about the roundup: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/984391/

If you like fall color, late September through most of October are a beautiful time of year up here, although by October, it's beginning to be rather rainy. You might want to check out the list of public gardens here on DG. You should be able to find lots of possibilities along your route. Click on the the "Products & Sources" tab above then click on "Go Gardening". You'll find all sorts of information that you can view by location.

I've never understood why everyone wants to go to Butchart Gardens, there are so many other more interesting gardens to visit. Butchart is sort of a garden Disneyland on steroids. There's not much to see except ordinary seasonal annuals and perennials -- most arranged in rather garish color combinations. Not to mention, the entry fee is outrageous and the gardens are always overrun with bored kids.

Far better choices, in my estimation, are the Abkhazi Garden in Victoria http://www.conservancy.bc.ca/content.asp?sectionack=abkhazi or the free public garden at Government House, also in Victoria http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/gardens/default.htm

In Vancouver, check out the Van Dusen Botanical Garden http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/website/index.htm or Queen Elizabeth Park.

In Seattle, don't miss Seattle Art Museum's Sculpture Park, The Dunn Historical Gardens http://www.dunngardens.org/ , the Washington Park Arboretum, and the Glass Conservatory in Volunteer Park. There are many others.

Portland also has some wonderful gardens. The Japanese Gardens and the Portland Rose Gardens in Washington Park are "must sees" The Japanese garden is among the very best in North America. The Portland Classical Chinese Garden (pictured) is equally impressive.

Donna,

You will love a trip through the PNW! Our area has so much to offer that it is difficult to give a reasonable list without having a general idea of the types of things that you would have an interest in seeing.

In addition to gardens, there are several stunning state parks and drives that are a real treat for people from out of the area. Will you be camping or hoteling it? Are you interested in easier walks and mostly sightseeing by vehicle, or would you enjoy a hike through the mountains? Do you have an interest in the coast? Wildlife? Wineries? It makes my head spin to try to help without a general direction!

A day spent in Seattle propper is always a treat, and JamesK has made some wonderful suggestions (my favorite being the Washington Park Arboretum) in that area.

Wow, so many gardens to see.

Why do I want to go to Buchart Gardens? Because everyone tells me I should go. lol

Ok, let me give you a little more information for our trip. First of all, DH isn't a BIG garden enthusist at all. He will probably go to one or two gardens with me. I think what I need to ask is what other types of places of interest is there to see? We will be staying in hotels and we are not hikers at all. We also don't do wineriers. DH is also an avid golfer, so he will probably hit a few links while I maybe tour or visit places. We just don't know what is up in that area. I guess more of historical or scenic places is what I'm looking for.

I have visited a friend up on Bainbridge about 6 yrs. ago and was lucky to visit Heronswood before it was taken over. My friend lived just around the corner from the 2 Garden Art gentleman on Bainbridge...can remember their names right now. lol
I did get to go to the Seattle fishermans wharf. That was my first introduction into Peonies. I had never seen one before and fell in love. Too bad we cant' grow them down here.

So, when is the best time weather wise for the trip?

Hope this helps,
Donna

Blodell's Estate Garden on Bainbridge is good to fill most of a day and there are a lot of golf courses in Kitsap County--Gold Mountain has two courses and is a great muni course. There is McCormick woods, Trophy Lake and of course our Alderbrook on Hood canal. A scenic drive on Hwy 101 and 106 is a days worth. Port Angeles and Port Townsend are historic towns and a ferry to Victoria is there along with lots of nice courses around Squim. Includes mountains, forests, lakes, and old WWII forts to explore. The Hood Canal Floating Bridge is neat to see.

Anytime is a good time to visit the Northwest. We're green all year round and the weather is generally fair, and usually warm, during July, August, and September. The rains begin to return in October, although with the wierd weather this year who knows?
Jamesk gave you a decent list of gardens to visit. I want to add that Tacoma has its own Victorian conservatory in Wright Park. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Park_Arboretum It is one of only 3 Victorian conservatories on the West Coast.
Since your dh likes golf, he might be interested in the new Scottish Links course in the Tacoma area, about 15 minutes from my house. http://www.chambersbaygolf.com/layout10.asp?id=173&page=3342 Tacoma has more than its share of golf courses, so he could probably spend the entire vacation just in this area playing golf and never play the same course twice.
If he spent a day there, you could visit Lakewold Gardens, the conservatory,, or any number of other places while he played.
Downtown Tacoma has some nice glass art if you haven't seen it yet. There is also a small art museum. The Seattle Art Museum is quite good and I also recommend their Asian Art Museum.
Also highly recommended is Mt. St. Helens. It's off the highway a bit, but no hiking is required. They have a newer visitor's center and it has a terrific view of the crater. It's quite a sight to see. Of course, Mt. Ranier is up in our area here but in my opinion, unless you enjoy hiking, there's not much going on at the visitor's center.

If you want to see some of the northwest animals up close but in their natural environment, a trip to Northwest Trek is fun. http://www.nwtrek.org/

since you want to go to Butchart Gardens, I recommend that you travel north of Seattle and take the Seattle ferry to get to Victoria Island. That particular ferry ride goes through the San Juan Islands and the scenery is lovely. If you are very lucky, you might see an Orca during the ride. But even if you don't, it's a leisurly and lovely ride and you could spend a night on one of the islands as well.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Schedule/ScheduleDetail.aspx?tripdate=20090621&departingterm=1&arrivingterm=19&roundtrip=true

If you decided to come in September, the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend is during that time.
http://www.woodenboat.org/ People from all over come for this festival. There are historic boats and a regatta of wooden boats that is a sight to see. There are many nice bed and breakfast inns in Port Townsend, but if you want to stay overnight during the festival, make your reservations 2 months in advance. Even if you don't come during the festival, Port Townsend is a scenic town with little shops and many beautiful boats.
You could ride the ferry through the islands over to BC, then drive down through Victoria to catch the sights there and have high tea at the Empress Hotel (totally worth it, make reservations), and catch the ferry ( CV Coho) from there to Port Angeles to come back through Port Townsend. http://www.ferrytravel.com/map.htm

Donna, if you don't stop somewhere on I-5 corridor like in Salem you will be hunted down. LOL I live about 20 miles from Salem and near the little town of Mt. Angel. September 17-20th the little town here swells to 200,000 plus for our annual Oktoberfest. September and into October can really be nice here in the PNW. The Oregon Garden is in Silverton which is only about 12 miles from Salem. It is very pretty too. If you like dahlias you are in the peak season for them here too. Swan Island is probably 5 miles off the freeway from Canby, Oregon. I could give you a personal tour of a berry/nut farm too. LOL Oh, donna, do let me know your final plans. I went to Butchart once in late summer and it was really gorgeous. Oregon has huge amounts of nurseries and gardens. I am sure the Washingtonians can fill you in on their state. Joann

Hi again,

Life has been really busy this past week and haven't had the chance to come in here and post back at all of your great information.

Pixy and Joann, thanks for the info. I think we are shooting for our trip about the first 2 weeks in Sept....right after the Labor Day crowds go away. lol

Joann, hey girl, you know I'd love to finally meet you. I hope our itinerary works to see you for sure. I would love to see Swan Island Dahlias too....love Dahlias to pieces.

I will be checking back soon, just real busy at this time.

Donna

I am counting on it, Donna.
We trained down to your area last January. We stayed in Oceanside with L's sister and then trained into San Diego. So nice and sunny and warm that time of year.

Lenjo, you forgot the beautiful even in winter Silver Falls...

Many golf courses, gardens, what is there not to love about the PNW because other than the rain we have perfect weather. That and the traffic is why we moved from Southern Ca, and never looked back.

The wooden boat in Port Townsend is wonderful but so is the entire town.

Butchart Gardens is a to die for experience and I have seen all but one of the gardens mentioned...

Pikes Market in Seattle is fun and a must see place for the experience.

D

the1pony, I was at Lakewold garden yesterday, I toured the gardens and then went to a talk at the Wagner house by Dr Linda Chalker-Scott, I now have a signed copy of The Informed Gardener. what a great day!!! Jim

If you're in Tacoma, the Museum of Glass is great. (At least I love it, but I could sit and watch the glassblowers all day.) Also lots of art glass in the Seattle area.

http://www.museumofglass.org/

And if you're anywhere near Port Hadlock, have dinner at the Ajax Cafe. Great food and a lot of fun.

http://www.ajaxcafe.com/

Hi all,
Well, I finally made it up here to Victoria, CA. I just got in from touring Buchart Gardens and DH and I are exhausted from all that walking and looking. lol The gardens are very impressive and I thourouly enjoyed seeing all of the beautiful plants. I just love some of your PNW type plants that I can't grow down in So. Ca.

We left home on Sept. 1st and have traveled up the Northern coast of CA through the Redwoods and all along the coast of Oregon. We traveled up through the Hood Canal on 101 to Port Angeles then over to Victoria. The drive has been awesome and beautiful, well worth the drive. We took our time stopping to see many sights along the way.

We will be leaving Victoria tomorrow, taking the Ferry from Sydney to Anacortes. I have a cousin who lives on Whidbey Island who I haven't seen in over 30 yrs., so will stop and see her overnight. Then it's time to head down the 5 fwy toward home. We do plan on stopping to see many sights along the way, just not sure what yet. lol I was hoping to stop and see Lackwold gardens, but they are only open from Wed - Sun and we will probably be going through that area Sun-Mon. Oh well, have to see that on another trio up north.

I wanted to thank you all for guiding us to many places for our trip. After being up here, I know of the towns you have mentioned and the areas. We had lunch in Squim, which Willowwind mentioned above. lol

Off to see more sights.....
Donna

Sounds like you did a good job of seeing our part of heaven. Hope you enjoy your trip home.

Donna -

So glad you checked in. It sounds like you had a great trip. Glad you saw some of the good things about the PNW.

As Willowwind said, have a safe trip home!!

Kathy

Hi all, just checking in again from the road.

Guess what? I got to meet Joann/Lenjo today finally. We have been DG friends for years and it was soooo nice to finally meet her. We had a lovely stroll through the fields at Swan Island Dahlias where she shared lots of knowledge on these beautiful plants. It's a good thing I couldn't buy any tubers today as I would have spent a fortune. lol Seeing them in person gives you a better perspective on their shapes and coloring.

We are in Medford, OR tonight. We will be seeing the Harry and David factory and Jackson & Perkins test gardens tomorrow morning. We need some more ideas for this area.....any thoughts?

Donna

Fun! Did you pick up any Dahlias? Which ones?

No, you can't get the dahlias now as they are still in the ground and growing. You have to order them and then they will deliver them in the spring. I thought you could get them now too. lol

We are now back in Red Bluff, CA. We will drive on to Castro Valley, CA tomorrow and go back home on Fri. or Sat.

Now that I am back in CA, maybe I can buy some plants before I return home. The border would have taken them from me otherwise. :-)

Donna, this is probably too late, but, www.nurseryguide.com, www.oan.org are 2 good Oregon nursery websites, Jim

Probably a good thing that she's not selling potted dahlias. It's a good way to spend money you don't have to . . .

Donna was like visiting with an old friend, so easy and so sweet. I wish you were closer Donna. Her hubby was such a good sport and let us two just ramble on and on. Wonderful time I had indeed. Joann

Yay!

Ah Joann, what a nice thing to say. :-) DH took a nice picture of us in the dahlia fields and when I get home I will post it for you all to see. We did stop at Al's nursery for a short while. Wow, that is a beautiful nursery and I wanted to fill my car with plants but knew I couldn't take them across the border into CA. I didn't find any garden art either. :-(
We did notice these unusual vines growing from poles along the hwy and asked at the nursery if they knew what they were....they were hop vines!! That was so cool to see.

We are staying in Red Bluff, CA tonite and will be in Castro Valley tomorrow afternoon. We should be on our last leg by Fri. morning. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed...lol

I just found this picture of your Dahlia imperialis. I'd never seen one before. Wow!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1037179/

What, you were on Whidbey and didn't stop to see me?!?! What's your cousins name and which town is she in?

Gwen, sorry but we were only on Whidbey for an overnight stay. Her name is Joyce Vance, lives in Oak Harbor.

We are leaving Oakland this morning for home. Will be sleeping in our own bed tonight.!!!

Donna

Nothing like leaving for vacation . . . and nothing like coming home to your own bed . . .

Your right on that account Katie. We are home and moving slowly this morning. Can't wait to download all my beautiful pics too.

Thanks again everyone for all the great info you shared with us. We had a great time and your part of the USA is beautiful for sure.

Donna