Hi Everyone! This blog is about the Jenkins Estate Learning Garden and other related gardening stuff I find interesting.
First a little history: On April 16th, Sandy Japely brought together a group of Washington County master gardeners interested in having a 'further Eastside' Learning Garden. This would be the second Washington County Master Gardener's Association (WCMGA from now on) demonstration/learning garden. The first one is thriving at the County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, but Washington County is quite large and the majority of members live closer to the east side of the county. Several possible sites were discussed and .... several months and a lot of work later ... an agreement was reached between Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (THPRD from now on) and WCMGA to have a learning garden at the Jenkins Estate, at approximately here:

We had a couple of brainstorming meetings with Paul Taylor, and he kindly came up with this design for us:

After adjusting the sizes to what we have on the ground (our original satellite picture was rather skewed), Sandy drew up this:

and the plan in a nutshell:

Garden Design Elements:

• Traditional Raised Beds Compost Bins
• Pollinator Garden Vermiculture Bins
• Spiral Herb Garden Vine Covered Walk/Circular Seat around oak
• Entrance Gate Seasonal Color/Northwest Native Plants, Urban Landscape & Edibles/Ornamental Garden
• Dry Garden Companion Plantings Garden/Espaliered Fruit
• Shed/Meeting Space/Mosaic Pavers Fence/Gates

Phase 1: Site Prep – Grade to ensure proper drainage. Add soil amendments.
Grade to accommodate elevated areas (e.g., spiral herb garden).
Phase 2: Trench for irrigation lines. Sprinkler locations plotted and placed. Leave soffits for future
expansion or replacing lines beneath hardscaped areas. Electrical conduit laid?
Phase 3: Lay out pathways. Construct seating areas, circular seating around oak tree. Construct 10 x 10
shed and meeting area plaza. Install rain barrel collector. Place hardscape materials (e.g., paver mosaic,
gravel).
Phase 4: Construct raised beds. Install compost bins, pollinator stations, vermiculture bins. Construct
pergolas over vine-covered walkway area.
Phase 5: Construct deer fence. Construct attractive entrance gate area and 2 utility gates.
Phase 6: Place shrubs, vines, trees, ornamental plants. Place garden art. Install educational signage/
learning elements.
Phase 7: Teach the public!

The THPRD crew has rototilled the whole area for us, a big thanks to Mike and his team! A donation of compost from Nature's Needs (Recology) has been delivered, each garden section has been staked, and as soon the ground thaws we'll be working there!

Next post I'll cover each section's design within the garden.