I think 70 feet would be OK. Do you know the trick about hanging something stinky and rotten in the trees just before the buds open? I've used chicken skins, fly bait out of a fly trap, and rotten eggs, and it really increases the fruit set. Mostly pollinated by flies attracted to carrion, and I wouldn't think 70 feet would be much of an issue for them. I don't think clay is an issue, either. My two original trees are planted in heavy clay that sometimes has a little standing water for 2-3 days at certain times of the year, and they thrive. By "heavy" clay, I mean the kind that is so thick and nasty it sticks in heavy, heavy clumps to your boots when wet.

To be honest, Portland is not my expertise. I know of several great conifer nurseries there but they are not specifically 'gardens' for visiting, but rather involved in wholesale and plant production/creation. There are CERTAINLY dozens/hundreds of wonderful gardens in the area though, you just need to do some research to find out which accept visitors. I can't help much I'm afraid. -Will

Where I have bought my plants: I have focused on getting my plants at the best prices I could. 1). Native plants. Madronas, vine maples: Watershed Garden Works. (wholesale nursery, but will sell to retail customers) 2). Lilacs: a).Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens (during lilac festival) b). Means Nursery (limited selection, but if they happen to have one you like they are cheap) c). Tsugawa Nursery d). Lowes (you can get some nice ones at half price on closeout around June or July.) Got a nice Natchez Crape Myrtle and Goldfinger Potentilla there on closeout also. 3). Azaleas: a). Encore Azaleas are my favorite. Available at most local nurseries, but there are so many varieties they tend to only have a few. The last ones I got I bought by mail order from gardenerdirect.com so I could choose exactly the one I wanted. They were reasonable at $20 each for 1 gallon (same as you can find them for locally) adding shipping bumped the price up to $25 each, which was still pretty reasonable considering I got to pick exactly the one I wanted. 4).Crape Myrtles: Al’s Garden Center. They carry a lot of them and some are at really good prices. Wasn’t able to find the Midnight Magic locally so I bought some by mail order from soonerplantfarms.com, but they were pricey- small ones for about $35 each. I see that evergreennursery.com offers some very inexpensive so I would go with them if I hadn’t already bought them. I plan to order a few Moonlight Magics from evergreennursery. 5). Parrotia Persica: Big ones at a low price at Tsugawa. 6). Trachycarpus Wagnerianus: (Temple Palm) Cistus Nursery (Portland Nursery also has them but they are more expensive) 7). Unusual camellias: Sometimes Cistus Nursery has some nice ones like Black Opal and Zigzag, the prices are good. I have gotten some nice Zigzags and a Donation Camellia by mail order from Gossler Farms. 8). Popular Camellias: Portland Nursery gets a ton of them in the fall, the 1 gallon Monrovias are affordable at $20. On the bigger ones you may find you can get a better price at a place like Tsugawa, although they won’t have as many varieties. 9). Indian Hawthorn: Got a Majestic Beauty at Farmington Gardens, only place I could find one. Portland Nursery and Al’s Garden Center carry some dwarf varieties from Monrovia in 1 gallon at an affordable $13 or so. 10). Magnolias: I wanted an inexpensive Butterflies Magnolia. Whitman Farms of Salem (primarily a mail order nursery) had on their plant catalog a 1 gallon for $25, but they were out. Portland Nursery had a 1 gallon on their pricelist for about $23 but they were also out. 11). Flowering Quince: Got some really tiny Scarlet Storms mail order from Hirt’s for about $12 each. Tsugawa has quite a few of a more regular size at a reasonable price. 12). Roses: Portland Nursery has a ton. Tsugawa has quite a few also. In general good sized roses are in the $20-25 range so it’s not necessarily worth shopping around that much, although I got a bare root Blue Girl at Lowes for something like $8. These are the best sources I have found for shrubs and trees. If you are looking for annuals and perennials there are additional nurseries, for example Joy Creek, that would be worth trying.

http://www.nurseryguide.com/search.lasso Nursery Guide Search I bought mine from Loen's wholesale section when they were having an open-to-the-public sale in late 2005. It was huge, in an enormous container, one of only 2 left (no smaller ones). I was a total newbie and didn't know that big trees transplant much harder than young saplings. Live and learn. This year it is doing better, finally, huge leaves and some new growth. Good trunk flare. Expect next year will be awesome. The flowers are long-lasting and lovely and the long beans provide winter interest. Mine is in a winter-watery place and slurps up large amounts of supplemental water. Mimosas, eucalypti and a fig tree along with several sequoias and coast redwoods around it, also lots of willows -- the tropical forest look is great! Here is a link that might be useful: Nursery Guide Search