Iris & Peony Garden Tour

Several of the ladies from our textile arts group "Fyber Cafe" went on a photography excursion North of Salem, to Schriener's Iris Gardens and Adelman's Peony Gardens. We had a wonderful field trip, the iris were in full bloom, but, for the Peonies we could have been a week later. You start to take pictures of your "favorites" but soon realize you can't choose just one, and takes pics of everything, then that gets overwhelming too. The gardens kept going and going, large planted beds with tall lupine, delphiniums, allium, clematis, oriental poppies behind the iris, and smaller annuals in front. It was a paradise of color and fragrance and bees. A cool alley way of old rhododendrons and azaleas, columbine and hosta led the way to more flower beds around the back of an old farm house. The whole area was surrounded by fields of iris in rows of various colors.

After shopping in the gift shop and buying some iris plants, we went to Adelman's Peony gardens. The gardens were newer and not as large but the flowers were huge and showy, with intense color, arranged with other perennials in beds with lawn paths between and statuary and a water fall/pond. We took more photos, and had lunch at a picnic table in the garden. Of coarse I had to buy a dark red Japanese peony with a frilly center.

To get to either gardens, take Interstate 5 in Oregon, just north of Salem, exit 263, Schriener's is on the West side of the freeway, Adelman's on the East. Both have good signs to follow. The best time is between Mother's Day and Mid-June.