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| Wandering through Darlene's garden it is hard to imagine that it was once forest and brush on a very steep slope at the base of a rock bluff. |
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| Karl & Darlene hugging an old growth cedar approximately 500 years old that used to stand where the path through the main garden now begins.Unfortunately this tree was rotten in the middle and a hazard, so it was cut on site into siding for their 2nd home that Karl has built because of his love for the beautiful Sayward Valley which reminds him of his home in Austria. |
| With pick and shovel in hand Darlene began to clear the hillside of trailing blackberries and salmon berry bushes while leaving the stumps for a natural look. Taking small sections on at a time, Darlene began to dig away removing the rocks for border walls leaving the heavy ones for Karl. She did not have an overall plan but had to follow the course of the rock bluff itself. Working where there was the most dirt and where there would be no rock itself in the way for making the path, Karl then hauled all of the bark mulch for the paths up the hill in pails and constructed the stairs out of yellow cedar. The strength of this garden truly is in the rock. |
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| Darlene has been gardening for the last 30 years and is entirely self-taught. "I love my rhodo's." She says with a smile. Darlene has been collecting them since 1973. There is over 250 on the property. In June and July when the roses are in full tilt and the delphiniums are reaching for the sky, this is what gardening is all about. |
| A garden in the making. 1995 |
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| Pat Austin Rose |
| This is a garden that you want to have plenty of time to view. The surroundings are geared for relaxation and tranquility. From the fragrance of the roses which will delight your senses to the sound of the waterfall in early spring. |
| The perennial beds in an array of color straight from the painters palette and the cool woodland trails flourishing with trees over 80 years old make way for the magical height of the rock cliffs. Periwinkle spills over rocks, wooly thyme and sedum are planted amongst the crevis' and high up where there was enough dirt you will find a rhodo Darlene has tucked away. Perhaps you will even come upon a climbing hydrangea, a rambling rose, or even a honeysuckle making its long climb upwards. |
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| Woodland trail |
| After the main garden behind the house was finished, both Karl and Darlene started to work on the 3 flights of stairs that leads to the woodland trail. The stairs are equipped with handrails to aid in the steep climb where you will find yourself surrounded by wild forest. Looking up at the enormous rock walls you will find them covered with a blanket of moss cascading with ferns. |
| Hillside garden |
| Welcome to Darlene & Karl Huber's "Northern Corner of Paradise" |
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