The Mostly Mellow Garden of Westwind Farm Studio
Westwind Farm Studio is one of the places we saw during the first day of the Portland Garden Bloggers’ Fling. It seemed to me, as a Chicagoan, to be a very Portland sort of place, one where you can record music, take yoga classes, smell the fields of lavender, or commune with nature. It’s a place with a genuinely soothing vibe.
Westwind contains 40 acres that includes woodland, a naturalistic meadow-style garden, and a more conventional garden around a pool.
What I loved best was the meadow garden. Grazing land for sheep not so long ago, it slopes downward towards deep green woods, providing a view that made me want to pitch a tent right there and start a new life as a squatter.
Yucca, Agastache, Leucanthemum, Perovskia, Rudbeckia and other flowers bloom among the grasses.
I don’t know what this grass is (I feel like I should), but don’t the deep green conifers provide a fantastic background for it?
Another deep green background really sets off these Astilbe.
The same contrast really makes the red Monarda go KAPOW (a technical term used by garden designers). There were numerous hummingbirds zipping around but I wasn’t able to get pictures of any.
The gardens here also boast some very satisfying plant combinations, like these Crocosmia and Perovskia.
I was taken aback by these HUGE Epilobium in the more conventional upper garden. I’m used to seeing this plant in overgrown spots at the edge of the woods (its common name is Fireweed). Seeing it here made me appreciate its ornamental qualites, proving once again that a weed is in the eye of the beholder.
Also in the upper garden there were big splashes of bold splashes of yellow, orange and red – contrasting with the sloping meadow, which was dominated by straw-colored grasses.
There was more to see at Westwind, but at this point my camera battery gave out. Because of her job Judy wasn’t able to get to Portland until the first evening of the Fling – so she missed all the gardens we saw on Friday and I had to be photographer for a day. Too bad she didn’t get to see Westwind, it would definitely have helped her decompress from her business trip.
gardeninacity 
Looks like just my kind of garden.
I believe it is!
This is a really lovely garden Jason, just the type I would like to visit, the vistas and plant combinations are fantastic. Kapow, indeed!
Sometimes words fail me, so I have to make one up.
Looks like a perfect place for a picnic lunch followed by a snooze in an Adirondack chair.
Wish i had thought of that.
Judy DID miss it, didn’t she? I like the broad views you captured in these photos. REALLY beautiful scenes!
Thanks!
That grass, Stipa gigantea. We can’t grow it in the northeast, so you can’t either. Wish we could.
Thanks for the ID. Yeah, that would be a fun grass to grow.
Looks so peaceful there. You captured some great shots.
Thank you.
What a lovely place! I loved that big patch of astilbe, and that shot of the upper garden is just gorgeous. Oh, to have unlimited space!
And an unlimited budget!
Beautiful. The hardest thing in the world (for me) to identify is a grass. Love the contrast between the conifers and the bright meadow flowers.
I know a few prairie grasses but I find it really hard to absorb the IDs for most grasses.
I have Crocosmia envy.
Me too. I think it’s hardy in zone 5.
Thank you for the lovely tour through one of my favorite gardens included in the fling. I also loved the meadow and I simply didn’t want to leave.
I felt the same way.
Mmm, really love that garden – especially the meadow. I could definitely live with that look!
Me too, I would definitely like to have a big meadow on a hillside surrounded by woods.
What a lovely place to visit! Simply stunning!
I’m really glad I got to go.
The meadow garden looks beautiful and so does your Crocosmia and Perovskia combinaison. Very nice contrast.
I agree.
It looks very natural. I like it!
Me too!
This is one garden I would have loved Jason with the drifts of beautiful flowers.
Maybe you’ll get out to Portland some day and get to visit.
It sure would have helped Judy decompress! Ha…it just helped me decompress after getting all the beans down for bed! I was taken with the meadow garden as well and found it amazing how the colors popped against the softer colors…..so striking! What a fantastic garden!
Ah yes, I remember the bedtime battles. Funny thing is you miss them when they are no longer necessary.
Perfect spot for a cozy chair and a snooze. A good breeze would be icing on the cake!
I was up for a snooze even without the chair. Unfortunately I had to get back on the bus.
A lovely spot. You make it look most inviting.
Thanks.
What a treat it must have been to visit such a beautiful place, those first three pics are truly beautiful, how natural it looks and yes….mellow is a word I would have chosen as well. A lovely post, I did enjoy it.xxx
Glad you enjoyed it.
I have hummingbird envy – always do when I come over to the States for the the Fling.
No hummingbirds in Europe, I gather? Are they only a New World bird? We have only one species where I live, there are more in the West and far more in South and Central America.