what you can do in your own garden

Seven Forest Grove gardens will be open this weekend to show off what can thrive in Northwestern Oregon, which the garden owners call a haven for growers of plants and flowers.

"Out here gardening is huge," said Melody Haveluck, organizer of this year's Friends of Historic Forest Grove garden tour. "We have such great weather for it."

And Forest Grove has its own contribution to gardening culture, Haveluck said -- historic homes that serve as a backdrop to some of the gardens on display this year.

"We have such storied homes," she said. "It's what makes it so unique -- what gives us a little bit of flavor out here in Forest Grove."

The tour, largely kept secret until the day of the event "to build the mystery," features gardens on both sprawling and modest yards, inspiring this year's title, "Gardens of All Sizes."

 "We have really big and really small," Haveluck said. "Some of the tour is showing people, 'This is what you can do in your own garden,' and some of it is showing the different things people do." 

Personally, Haveluck enjoys the yard art some people use in their gardens, especially recycled materials.

"I've seen shoes, old pans, bottles turned into sculptures..." she said.

Kathy Juvet, a 63-year-old gardener whose work is on this year's tour, uses sculptures, recycled objects and crafts to adorn her space.

And Forest Grove has its own contribution to gardening culture, Haveluck said -- historic homes that serve as a backdrop to some of the gardens on display this year.

"We have such storied homes," she said. "It's what makes it so unique -- what gives us a little bit of flavor out here in Forest Grove."

The tour, largely kept secret until the day of the event "to build the mystery," features gardens on both sprawling and modest yards, inspiring this year's title, "Gardens of All Sizes."

 "We have really big and really small," Haveluck said. "Some of the tour is showing people, 'This is what you can do in your own garden,' and some of it is showing the different things people do." 

Personally, Haveluck enjoys the yard art some people use in their gardens, especially recycled materials.

"I've seen shoes, old pans, bottles turned into sculptures..." she said.

Kathy Juvet, a 63-year-old gardener whose work is on this year's tour, uses sculptures, recycled objects and crafts to adorn her space.

Plus, she said, the area is full of fellow avid gardeners with whom to share ideas and advice, including Juvet and the other gardeners on this year's tour.

Juvet said she looks forward to the reactions and advice from those who view her work, and each year is a learning experience.

"Most of the people on the tour are really into gardening," she said. "Sometimes they can help you figure out something you don't know."

And for more than a decade, when her own work isn't part of the tour, Juvet makes sure to scope out the gardens that are.

"I love to see what other people are doing," she said. "Sometimes you get inspiration, and sometimes you want to go home and rip yours out and start over."

Read the full story at owon-smart web.