The rose garden is nearly all beds of modern roses and therefore boring, unless you just love hybrid teas etc. The intensively planted conifer garden at the otherwise bizarrely mall-like Oregon Garden might be a thrill for you. As well as the Coenosium Rock Garden at South Seattle Community College - although I have never seen much labeling there. Apart from that there is the significant components of conifers in the collections of the local public arboreta including the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland and the arboretum in Washington Park, Seattle. And the private collections of Conifer Society members throughout the region, including those of Robert Fincham in Eatonville, Iseli nursery in Boring and so on through the list - which you would arrange to see, if possible by contacting the owners through your Conifer Society membership.

If you are going to limit it to 2 or 3 nurseries AND gardens you will have to be highly selective, based on specific personal criteria that you have not really laid out here - what would turn out to be impressive to you has not been stated. Maybe you have a particular interest in 5 needle pines or dwarf spruces, maybe you want to see exciting combinations of conifers...

crikey ... you are doing this bassackwards ...

you should be asking the PNWers ... where to send momma and the kids.. for a whole day .... where they dont need a car.. so you can have a daddy day doing your own thing ..

i have dragged non-interested wife and kids to too many gardens... and they ruined everything ...

lol

ken

Made similar trip last spring with wife and daughter. You MUST visit Iseli Nursery in Boring. Their display garden is beyond belief. Absolutely beautiful. Wife and daughter enjoyed it almost as much as I did. For me, it was like I had died and gone to heaven. Will have to call in advance and arrange for visit as they mainly are open to wholesale customers, of which I am not.

Also add to list the Portland Japanese Garden and Seattle Japanese Garden. Intended to get over to Buchholz in Gaston, Oregon but ran out of time.

Ken,

Great point about sending mom and kids away for a day. Now when planning a trip, I will scout the area for local nurseries and shopping malls. That way I can drop family off at mall while I visit nurseries. Works very well.

Is this why wives of gangsters used to be called molls?

I second the Japanese Rose Garden. That whole Washington Park area is wonder full. Depending on when in July you travel you could drop the kids off at the Portland Zoo or Waterfront Park for live music.

Conifer kingdom has an amazing nursery, further North Dragonfly Farms has a huge selection of conifers, rare and unusual. Iseli is of course nice, but it will be hard/impossible to buy anything there. Coenosium would be a garden I would visit for sure and you could see if Dave would have you for a brief time. His conifer garden is pretty awesome in Olympia.

I love this thread. I am IN the PNW and am always at a loss of where to shop/view plants. I've been looking for unusual conifers and now have a whole new list of places to visit. Thanks, all!

At the Florabundance sale (final day this year is today) in Seattle the map to the booths they hand you when you enter has the names and phone numbers of all the vendors listed on the back - there is a whole long page of them participating as this is the big Seattle area sale of the year, that benefits the Seattle arboretum. I went yesterday, there was more than one nursery featuring conifers in particular. A couple of the others had small numbers of the Vietnam cypress, which has become cheaper now ($35-$45, as opposed to $75 - in the one gallon pot).

Depending on the timing my gardens could be part of a visit as well. When I have the time I enjoy showing coneheads around.

-Will

My conifer collection in Olympia, WA is quite worthy of a couple hours of your time. I have about 1000 different cultivars in many shapes, colors and forms.

Thank you, everyone, for the comments and suggestions. Obviously, there's plenty to do and see. I'll have to fire up Google Maps this weekend to see where some of these places are, but I am really looking forward to the trip.

Will and Glaciers_End (Dave?), I will be in touch if I can figure out how to send a DM. I'm not sure where you are, Will, but I think Olympia can easily be worked in.

Later I found the Vietnam cypress for $12.95 (and Wollemia for $24.95) at Christianson's near Mt Vernon, WA.

Both were from Iseli.

I have done this trip(s) and agree with all of the above. However if I had to pick 2 or 3. Near Portland, I would visit Iseli's display garden, (make sure you have an extra memory card for the camera) . If you have time I would drive out to Mt Hood, (it is not a garden but it is impressive to see such an impressive mountain ). Portland Japanese Garden is also very impressive ( and a great view of the city) . If any one in your family like water falls - Some of the best waterfalls near Portland, Oregon, exist in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area east of the city. The scenic area protects at least 77 waterfalls that include horsetail, tiered and plunge formations. Five of the falls are within a 45-minute drive of Portland. The Oregon garden is very nice, but it is south of Portland and a long drive. ( save it for next time)

Then in Seattle - you should visit the Market and the surrounding area, try to fit in a ride on any of the ferries. Gardens in Washington Kubota Garden, Coenosium (Nursery) , Coenosium Rock Garden at South Seattle Community College. You probably will not have time but a drive to the Olympic National Park is definitely worth it.

I have the American Conifer Society to thank for introducing me to the PNW many years ago and have returned a few more times. I have seen all the many nurseries and gardens mentioned above and many I did not include. Have a great trip = Mike