Portland gardeners are as rabid as any other Portland group, cyclists, coffee drinkers, book lovers, or vegans for that matter. Now with Spring trying to make it's way into our town, Portland Nursery is bustling with the promise of finding that perfect plant, adding new ones to our gardens or filling in the losses from the wintertime.

My son smirks everytime I mention my garden club. He says it conjures up versions of ladies in big hats wearing gloves and tittering over rose specimens. None of us wear big hats, and our gloves tend to the gardening variety. The Fir Grove Garden Club has been a part of my Raleigh Hills neighborhood since the 1940's victory gardens and we have a mission. We currently maintain the West Slope Community Library garden and we are in the midst of a huge re-design away from a perennial garden to a more structured garden with conifers, red twig dogwoods and year round interest. The library has thousands of visitors every year and is an important community hub.

Toward that end we are hosting our third biennial garden tour. With the large lots available in our neighborhood, we have attracted some great gardeners who will be opening up their gardens June 4th. Barbara Ashmun, a well known Portland gardener and writer is taking part, as is the Sherman-Nelson garden. Vern Nelson writes the Hungry Garden column for the Oregonian and their garden is about all things edible including duck and chicken (eggs). You will probably find Vern entertaining visitors in the garden the day of the tour. With a total of seven gardens, many ideas can be garnered from a found DIY garden to structured plantings with a tea house. The gardens are set in Montclair and Raleigh Park- a step back in time to primarily 50's style homes.

Buy your tickets here- we now have a web site with garden pictures. A great mothers/fathers day gift perhaps? Our garden scouting trip to Portland Nursery.