I was just there this week. I was looking for some specific plants that were on their plant list that I couldn't find other places. Also needed some help with tree selection. I spent about 2 hours one on one with 2 different employees who helped me make the selections I needed. The drive out there is spectacular after you leave 99W and the return trip even more beautiful. It's not a huge nursery, but a nice hidden little treasure. I have a neighbor who did some of their stone work and he goes out there for concerts and things. If you're in the area I would definitely go.

The garden has some nice things, including a rustic arbor planted with Synstylae (musk) roses and clematis. I was there last week, they list their address as Monmouth but Priam Road is actually almost 10 miles west of town.

JUST went there this Thursday. We too had a tour, with Fred (the owner I think?) for at least an hour - very enjoyable. We didn't request it, it was our first time there and he asked what type of gardens each of us had and as we toured the display gardens he pointed out things he thought were good for each of our gardens. Then we spent another hour or so browsing all of the greenhouses - none of the greenhouses were those tempting 'for employees only' greenhouses. (Don't you always feel like the good stuff is in those?)

There are lots of unusual plants (for my drought tolerant garden there were a number of drought tol. display beds and different plants from New Zealand, Australia and California.)

The 3 of us who went were very impressed, enjoyed the nursery and the drive (it is out of the way) and plan to return next spring. Plusses of the nursery: good display beds, plenty of inventory, especially for this late in the year (I hate when you see all sorts of stuff in a nursery's display beds but the plants aren't there to buy), better prices than I expected (and a sale going on right now). I say GO! It is a great nursery.

Donna

Wow! Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic responses! I will definitely try to squeeze this nursery in on my next visit to Oregon.

Plan your trip using a copy of 'The Plant Locator - Western Region' (Black-Eyed Susans/Timber). While not updated annually (unlike 'RHS Plant Finder', after which it is modeled) it should be quite useful for identifying vendors that stock the kind of thing you are interested in personally.

Saw this magnolia looking pretty good there, at the top of the garden. Think I was told they got it from J.C. Raulston.

"Bronze Sentinel
[M. schiedeana], cv. (John G. Fairey and Carl M. Schoenfeld, Mexican Magic. Amer. Nur. 178(12), pp. 55-79(63-65). 1993). Â...we saw that this amazing tree was...flushing deep bronze foliage that was distinctly different from that of the other trees in the vicinity. We grew this unique form of Magnolia from an air-layered cutting, and it is now thriving in our garden, continuiong to produce new purple-bronze foliage that slowly ages to dark greenn. = M. tamaulipana (Vazquez) cv. Bronze Sentinel."

Here is a link that might be useful: Checklist Cultivars B

there's a nursery not listed in any of the nursery lists close to corvallis. if you take hwy34 out of corvallis (takes you to I-5), you can take a right on Peoria road (at a light) and go about 8 miles. down that road there is a tree nursery, peoria gardens (which occasionally has sales open to the public) and then, about a mile outside of peoria, there's a yellow house on the right.

the place is called "Ginhart's," and they are a mom and pop place that has fabulous prices. best in late spring/early summer. they were one of my favorite local haunts when i lived in corvallis. although they are a mom 'n pop operation, they always had new things and their prices were unbeatable. i believe i bought a 3 gallon purple phormium from them for $7.

if you have time, make a run over there! if you happen to head to newport and you like cacti and succulents, i have another great nursery there i can tell you about...

-ming

I appologize if this gets posted 2x - got an error message and thrown back a page.

To Ming, thanks for the unknown Corvalis nursery and YES, we want to know the cacti/succulent nursery on the way to the coast.

Thanks, Donna

Thanks Ron for the mention of Bronze Sentinel. It sounds like a plant I need to try growing. Was Dancing Oaks actually selling it?
Thanks also Ming for more nurseries.
Interesting to see how this posting rolls along.

Only saw the one specimen, in the garden. It didn't look like it had been snipped at.

well, here is my best kept oregon secret: Yaquina Bay Cacti and Succulent Nursery. (somewhere, i have the card with exact address and phone #, so email me if you want it.)

take HWY 20 out of philomath on the the way to newport. when you get *just* outside of newport (if you come to the first traffic light, you've gone too far), you'll be going up a slight hill. at the top, you'll see a dilapidated annuals nursery on the left called "Yaquina Nursery." turn there, but don't stop! go down the gravel road all the way to the bottom where you'll see 3 commercial greenhouse buildings. they may look run down, but i promise you, it'll knock your socks off.

the main building has a back room full of more jade trees in one place than i've ever seen in my life. they are constantly in the process of propagating plants and leave their projects out in the open, so it's fun to see what's coming up. the cactus house is behind the main one and the third house is sometimes, but not always open. geri will be happy to show you around and talk to you.

the owners are roy and geri, and they are really nice folks. apparently, roy's first wife had the big collection and knew all about them, but she passed and he married geri. she knows a bit about their culture and some of the common names, but she's no taxonomy whiz--neither is roy. this is a good place if you know what you're looking for, or if you don't mind looking up names later.

please say "hi" to geri for me if any of you go! (she'll remember me as the chinese gal from the university/corvallis.)

now that i've moved to arizona, i'm having a good time finding new plant haunts, but i really miss all my places in oregon. still happy to share, so let's keep this thread rolling!

-ming

Hi ming,

I don't have much of a green thumb, but I've been to the place you described when I was dating a guy who loved plants. It really is an amazing place. Less like visiting a nursery, more like going into an exotic habitat. Several exotic habitats. Some of the plants I saw were so weird, so strange, so interesting. It actually piqued my interest in growing things, and I've kept an herb garden every since. Thanks for posting the directions, it's been over a year and your description helped me to guide another gardening friend in the right direction. -Alissa

Here is a link that might be useful: Down the Rabbit Hole