Oregon's Flowers

I promised flowers and flowers you get.

Oregon had plenty most everywhere you looked.

Driving north from Neskowin on Highway 101 I saw a crop, yes, a crop of Dahlias. Remember, I have been trying to grow dahlias for the first time this year. Mom waters them, I carefully weed them, stake them and speak kind words to them. Well, in Oregon they grow dahlias without stakes, in row after row along with the weeds and have a beautiful display of flowers.
I asked the man that grows them if I could take some pictures. He said I could because I had asked, then was kind enough to give me some growing details. He adds to his retirement by selling them by the dozen and sells enough to make it worth his while. What a great idea! It is much better than most of the retirement schemes I have come up with.

Hydrangeas were as common in Oregon as petunias here in Utah

Zinnias in every color made for another showy display

When I go back to Oregon I don't know if it will be because of the flowers or the dramatic ocean views. Probably both.

Oregon Coast

We decided to mix it up a little this year and go places we have never been before. The Oregon Coast was the destination this time because it is a favorite of a couple of my friends and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We stayed in a little town called Neskowin and was greeted the first night with this sunset. Not too bad for starters.

This is Heceta Head Lighthouse.

It is located on highway 101 between Florence and Yachats and is my favorite because of the dramatic views.

We did daily road trips and ended up seeing the coast from Cannon Beach to the north and as far south as Reedsport.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is near Newport, Oregon.

The weather was perfect while we were there giving us a spectacular view around every bend.

Oregon is dog friendly with miles of beach for them to indulge in their tennis ball addictions.

This view was somewhere on highway 101. Great Guy got a little tired of me saying, "Honey! Stop the car!" There was a photo opportunity entirely too often in his opinion.

OK, dear friends......

I get what you love about Oregon because now I love it too and can't wait to go back.

You know I can't go anywhere without taking some flower pictures.

I will save them for another post.

My Dahlias

I remember the first time I had ever seen dahlias. A Master Gardener brought an amazing bouquet to one of our meetings. Some of the blooms were as big as a dinner plate.

The Utah Dahlia Society was started just this past year and I was invited to join. Not because I knew anything about them, but because they needed the dues from a new recruit!

I figured if I was going to be a member I should try and grow a few. These are my first attempts and quite gorgeous if I do say so myself. I started out with 12 tubers. Nine came up then I lost one to the wind. You learn to stake them early with mistakes like that.

I doubt I will be much competition to the others in our group that are tending to over 200 of their "babies."

Thanks to Mom for watering them. They are in her yard because I have a mostly shade garden.

Friday Afternoon Club

I always look forward to our Friday Afternoon Club. It is most often the highlight of my week because the company is great and it is always a new adventure. I don't often blog about it because Kate at http://www.highaltitudegardening.blogspot.com/ owns it. Yep, she invented it so I figure she gets all the pictures and gets to tell the tale. She is better at it anyway, she is a writer after all.

Bad Dog looking especially handsome.

But I'm feeling brave today so sorry if you see these photos twice Wunx.

The Yolk in Kamas, Utah where we stopped because of the flowers but will go back because of the delicious food.

They said their secret to these beauties is to dead head regularly, water twice a day and fertilize every week. No wonder......I would never do all that!

We turned around to go back to see if we read this sign correctly. Apparently, we did! We still aren't sure if it is for real, but it could be. The things in Utah can be surprizing sometimes.

I do like these playful characters inviting you to join in the "fun".

The meadows around Mirror Lake in the Uinta Mountains were covered in wild flowers that stopped you in your tracks just to take them all in. They were all so beautiful it made me want to get out the paint brushes again.......maybe someday.

(Is anyone else having trouble with blogspot lately? I am finding it difficult to move pictures around and positioning text. It is probably just me.)