Visit Luscher Farm
Oregon Tilth Organic demonstration gardens, a clematis vine collection, community gardens, Three Rivers Land Conservancy trails and more
Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jun 30, 2010 at 06:00PM
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There is a huge City of Lake Oswego community garden on the property – I’ve never seen so many creative and beautifully-maintained plots!
View Slideshow »A luscious clump of red Oswego tea (Monarda didyma) grew in one of the community garden plots. You can taste the sweet and spicy-floral nectar by pulling out the individual red tepals – the nectar collects at the base. Just make sure you have the right plant! (Thanks, Josh, for introducing me to this delicious treat.) Monarda is a fantastic hummingbird, butterfly and bee plant – but spreads a bit too fast in damp soil.
View Slideshow »Oregon Tilth’s Organic Education Center is at Luscher Farm. There are many demonstration plots showing food crops being grown using different methods. I gleaned some interesting ideas.
View Slideshow »One new thing I learned about my all time favorite food: potatoes can be grown in partial shade and within a bale of straw. Nice idea! Let me know if you want more info on doing this.
View Slideshow » Illustration: Clematis florida Sieboldii – a fussy customer but that’s never stopped clematis lovers from trying… this was in a greenhouse at the Rogerson Clematis Collection at Luscher Farm. View Slideshow » Illustration:In flower now at the Rogerson Clematis Collection garden at Luscher Farm – Clematis crispa.
View Slideshow »Twining delicately around a bird bath, this pink clematis (Adagio) only grows a few feet tall – perfect for the small garden.
View Slideshow »The farmhouse is surrounded by blowsy cottage gardens stuffed with clematis vines, interplanted with shrubs and perennials. It’s a great place to see the versatility of clematis in the garden – they can twine up the trunk of a tree or into a shrub, wind up a trellis or tuteur in the traditional style, drape over a bird bath, or just twine through perennials, depending on the size and type.
Looking for inspiration or want to learn more about organic vegetable gardening? Interested in seeing a diversity of clematis vines in a lovely, cottage-garden setting? Or perhaps you’d just like to take a walk on one of the metro area’s Three Rivers Land Conservancy trails.
There’s a lot to do and see at Luscher Farm in West Linn. It’s a great field trip, including with kids – there is a historic bird house with cavorting chickens, pigeons, and small game birds, and plenty of room for kids to run and play.
During my visit with photographer friend Josh McCullough of Phytophoto, I took in the Oregon Tilth Organic Education Center and demonstration garden, the Lake Oswego Community Gardens and the Rogerson Clematis Collection. The Hazelia Field Dog Park is also on the property, as well as an athletic field and several CSA farms.
Click on the slide show (above) to get a little taste of what’s there – and do visit Luscher Farm soon. It’s a remarkable site, with sweeping views in all directions and so much inspiring vitality and diversity in the food gardens. There’s a fantastic story to the place posted on the wall of the historic bird house. Apparently, the property (including house, barn and outbuildings) was donated to the City of Lake Oswego by a retired farmer. It seems to me it’s being put to the best possible use by its current caretakers. You’ll leave feeling inspired.
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