The Oregon Garden

After a delicious lunch at the Thai Dish in Silverton, we drive to The Oregon Garden. It’s less than ten years old, but the grounds are already lush with the many plantings. We ride the tram around the various gardens and then dismount to revisit the ones that catch our eye. I am taking dozens of photos and hope to find a scene to sketch. We take the Oak Grove trail and see the largest oak in the state. The guide said it’s being measured to see if it’s one of the largest in the world.

Back at the entrance, we stop for a snack, and I finally have a chance to draw. The landscape around the patio is a riotous display of plants and shrubs. I sketch quickly because I can tell that Tom is tiring. I’ll have to add color from the photo later.

We arrive at the monastery and join the community for dinner. Afterwards, Sr. Antoinette brings the memory book of the Nursing Center to share. She and Sr. Julia reminisce about their years when they lived at the center, even to the point of saying their daily office there. Sr. Antoinette tells how difficult it was for her to relinquish the administration of the center to the Sisters of Providence. She still goes back to visit both the nursing staff and residents.

Earlier I had told Sr. Antoinette that we were sorry that we would be missing her workshop on Thomas Merton and his poetry. Since it is scheduled for December, I know that it will be too difficult for us to get back for just a weekend. She offers to talk with us about what she will be covering. Since she and Merton are contemporaries, she feels an affinity for him and visits the nearby Trappist Abbey for regular sessions about him. We tell her the titles of some of the books we are reading, and she approves our choices.