But the community of Ryder Lake has their own little garden tour in June...and that took place just recently...and so I talked hubby into joining me on the Ryder Lake Ramble this year.
Ryder Lake is a sub-alpine hamlet in the foothills of the Pacific Mountain Range...and just a ten or fifteen minute drive from our farm. Our heifers know it well...since we send them to pasture (summer camp) in the Ryder Lake area for the summer months. It is a community of small and medium family-owned farms...
...surrounded by beautiful mountains. We toured on a cloudy day (as most days have been here this spring)...and so the peaks were shrouded in the mist.
Since this area is at quite a high elevation...spring comes a little later than on the valley floor. The lilacs were in full, fragrant bloom!
We quite enjoyed strolling through the gardens of the homesteads situated in the valley bowl.
Some had many acres of gardens...and kilometers of woodland trails. And these are gardens of retired folk. I don't think they are finding retirement one bit boring!
For years I had heard of a plantation of Siberian irises up in these hills...and was delighted to find the iris garden on the tour.
We strolled through old growth forest to the secluded plantation...which features irises in every colour of the rainbow. So they say!
Because we have just had the coldest spring on record over here...and because Ryder Lake is at a higher elevation...the irises were just beginning to wake up to spring. The little bit of blue poking out above...was about all the colour we saw. But we met the colourful gardener...who was a pleasure to chat with!
He retired twelve years ago...to a life of farming flowers up in the hills. It is far removed from his career in the medical profession...and he loves every minute of it. He seems to have found a way to do all the work from his tractor seat...and that to him is bliss!
We enjoyed our ramble through Ryder Lake...where their theme is 'a community worth caring for is a community worth sharing'. So true!
How idyllic! Looks so serene and beautiful. I'm gonna have to get out my thesaurus the next time I comment on your blog. I keep using the same words over and need some new ones besides beautiful, fantastic, awesome, gorgeous... (laughed at the cows getting to go to summer camp!)
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting and lovely tour Judy! You do them so well. I feel like I was right there with you.
ReplyDeleteWhether it's a stroll through the gardens, or a bike trip down the Vedder, or a hike up to Lindeman Lake, we are forever noticing God's magnificent playground right here in our own area.
ReplyDeleteThat's the best therapy.
How very lovely! There's so much to enjoy in our own backyards!
ReplyDeleteRyder Lake looks very peaceful, and it must have been nice to experience a second Spring. Gardening is a fruitful hobby to have when one is retired!
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFUL TO SEE!!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
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Lovely photo's of beautiful gardens. You certainly live in a very pretty part of the world
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery! Your grandson must be thrilled to have a lake named after him (or was he named after the lake? : )
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that you have to miss the garden tour with your sisters, but this one looks like a very nice one too. Everything looks so lush and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy garden walks. In fact I'm going on one Saturday. It's so inspiring to see all the beauty of the gardens and also a bonus to be able to talk with the gardeners.
Oh my, what wonderful gardens and views, and setting. You live in an idyllic area.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a creative God we serve! It certainly was a treat to spend time in these gardens. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
ReplyDeleteMy co-worker goes to the Ryder Lake Ramble. One of these years I will have to join her. Glad to see a bit of it here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty ramble that must have been. I am trying to grow irises this year, and I love that blue!
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