Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Heaven is in Orting, Washington

Well, a little slice of heaven, at least. Especially if your version of heaven includes a lovely, peaceful, moss-laden woodland garden with a mountain view.

 (Click the pictures to make them larger)

The Chase Garden is a 50-year old, 4 1/2-acre display garden in Orting, the creation of Emmott and Ione Chase. It includes gravel paths that wind their way across a meadow.....

 .....through a native wildflower woodland, where at every turn you encounter moss-shrouded rocks...





...and shaggy, heavily laden driftwood...





You pass beds containing perennials, as well as various rhododendrons and other shrubs and trees.

















Built on a hillside with a view of the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, I hear that, on a clear day, it has a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier.


I'll have to go back to find out.

Good thing it is on the Garden Conservancy's Open Days program this year, on May 22, 2011.


The Chase Garden
16015 264th Street East
Orting, WA.

Open April to October, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for self-guided tours
Admission: $5.00
"The purpose of a garden is to create beauty in natural surroundings." -- Ione Chase