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As a distraction from tax time (I hope you all have done yours!), I’ll showcase a gem of a garden with an interesting history, located beside dramatic cliffs off the Cape Arago Highway on the Oregon coast south of Coos Bay and the fishing port of Charleston. The photos are from an October visit.
At the start of the 20th Century Louis Simpson, a wealthy timber magnate, built a luxurious home overlooking a rugged shoreline. In 1910 his mansion with its large formal garden was considered one of the most palatial estates in Oregon. Simpson and his wife Lena called it Shore Acres.
After their first home was lost to fire in 1921, the Simpsons rebuilt their home on an even larger scale, with seventeen rooms. Alas, during the Great Depression, Simpson’s business was ruined, and the house was sold to the state with the promise of making the property a public park.
World War II intervened. The U.S. Army used the estate as a radar station, with the opulent mansion converted to barracks and an officer’s club. By the time the army left in 1948 the building had to be torn down. The Oregon Parks Department finished converting the estate into a park, and installed a shelter for wave watching on the site of the former house.
The gardens enjoyed by the Simpsons have been maintained and expanded over the years.
This state park offers a stroll in a beautiful landscape adorned with both native and exotic flora. The seven acre garden features roses, a formal space lined with hedges and shrubs, and an oriental style garden with a path around a lily pond.
Bloom season starts in February with daffodils and other spring bulbs, followed by azaleas and rhododendrons in April. The rose gardens have All American varieties flowering from mid summer to fall, when late blooming perennials and dahlias kick in.
Oregon’s largest Monterey pine, a heritage tree, can be admired at at one side of the garden (see map).
In November and December a holiday light show sparkles with outlines of sea creatures all over the garden.
Or you can be amazed at storm waves crashing high up on the sandstone cliffs, or watch for seabirds or the spouts of migrating gray whales over the Pacific Ocean.
Shore Acres stateparks.oregon.gov/... is open year round from 8 am until dusk. The park headquarters and gift shop opens at 10 am. There is a $5 parking fee.
Waves crash dramatically high on the cliffs during winter storms. These sandstone formations, uplifted and tilted by plate tectonic forces, were Eocene era sandy beaches and mudflats 40 million years ago.
Getting ready for the winter light show in the garden:
Some flowers were still blooming in October:
The oriental garden and lily pond is a highlight of Shore Acres:
This lovely garden in a spectacular setting is another reason to visit the Oregon coast!
What is going on in your gardening world? Photos appreciated!
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