Some people are bor n with
natural talent and the desire
to
create
beauty.
Dorothy
Lind s e y
was
one
of
those
people. Combining those traits
w ith an eye for the use of the
u n u s u a l , a no-nonsense attitude
and practicality, and a g e n e r
ous spirit, she encou r a g e d and
led man y of us gardeners to try
to follow her example of the
ga r d e n she created that su r
rounded
her
home
on
Laurel
Street in Cannon Beach.
Harvey and Dorothy Lindsey
and their two sons, Peter and
Tim, moved from C alifornia to
Cannon
Beach
in
the
late
1 950's.
Harvey had retired
after
selling
his
business,
Lind s e y Can Company. He devoted
his r etirement years to build
their new two-story home on
Laurel Street. At the age of
72, Harvey, a talented w o o d
worker,
built
their
entire
house, work shop and garage by
himself,
only
hiring
Paul
Bartel to build the fireplace
and a friend to help w i t h the
shingling.
Dorothy and Harvey were a
talen t e d team. She d e s i g n e d and
plan t e d
the
garden.
Harvey
built all the structures that
surr o u n d e d her garden. On his
d aily w alks on the beach, he
found and collected cedar logs
to build fences;
for posts,
stickers and cribbing w a s h e d up
from passing freighters; pieces
of
h a r dwood
were
made
into
tables. He c o llected sticks of
dri f t w o o d or cut lumber to make
t r e llises or stakes for Dorothy
to use for holding up her tall
plants. Others who he l p e d him
collect these sticks labeled
the m "Harvey S t i c k s ."
G a t hered beach rocks were
used
to
line
ga r d e n
paths.
Washed
and
chopped-up
kelp,
Doro t h y use d for fertilize r to
enrich the clay soil. Some of
the
windows
used
for
some
structures came from torn- down
buildings. Pieces of d r iftwood
and
9"
dee p
tria n g l e - s h a p e d
wo o d e n
containers
left
for
scrap by the telephone company
were made into planters. N o t h
ing
wasted,
nothing
wanted,
b oth Dorothy and Har v e y made
use of all they found.
Harvey e n c losed the front
garden w ith a split rail fence.
In front of their house Dorothy
plan t e d pine trees, escallonia,
hydrangeas, skimmia and a pink
b l o oming camellia. Entering the
front garden through a gated
han d s p l i t shaked roof pergola
c o v e r e d with honeysuckle, the
p ath leading to the front door
was bordered by tiger lilies.
"Watch out,
the pollen will
stain your clothing," Dorothy
would
say
whe n
g r e eting
visitors. The o r a n g e - flowered
tiger lilies, "Lillium lanci-
folium
splendens,"
produce
numerous bulblets which form in
the crevice between leaf and
stem. The bulblets, whe n fully
mature,
are released by the
plant and, if left to grow, in
a few years create a large bed
of lilies.
These lilies can
g r o w to 4' or m o r e , as man y as
six or more blooms to a plant.
Her lily bed had grown quite
large.
On the south side of the
front garden the small garage
topped
with
a
cupola
and
w e a t h e r vane was later use d for
Dorothy
to
store
her
prize
g e raniums and fuchsias through
the winter. Later a bay was
added and during the summer the
bay was filled w ith bright red
b l o oming
geraniums.
Late
spring, south of the garage, a
bed of y ellow/white b u t t e r c u p
like
flowers
she
called
Meadowfoam
(Limnanthes
doug-
lasii) bloomed. She would leave
them
to
re-seed
each
year.
Eventually these plants formed
a
large
carpet
of
flowers.
Dorothy was also known as a
c r e ative
chef
and
on
the
sunnier
south
side
of
the
garage
she
planted
a
small
v e getable and her b garden.
Her backyard garden, not
seen from the street, was made
m ore private by grape stake
fences,
Harvey's
workshop,
trees of M o u n t a i n ash, spruce
and alder and shrubs of hardy
fuchsias,
heather,
rhododen
drons, azaleas, hydr a n g e a s and
a stand of bamboo. She planted
drifts of color and textures of
man y perennials, shasta d a i s
ies, o r a n g e - f l o w e r e d alstroe-
meria, lupins, calla lilies and
rudbeckia. Seeds of calendula,
pansies
and
columbine
were
either sown or left to reseed.
Every year a surpr i s e plant
w ould g row in paths or d i f f e r
ent areas of the garden and
left to grow. The path leading
to Harvey's w o r k s h e d was lined
wit h beach rock, and g r o w i n g in
the
crevices
were
perennial
sw e e t - s m e l l i n g
old
fashioned
violets.
Two
clema t i s
vines
"Henry I" (white) and purple-
flowered
"Jackmanii,"
and
a
special red c u t - l e a f e d maple,
"Acer
palmatum,"
all
three
g iven places of honor. In the
spring blue scilla, daffodils
and primroses bloomed, tucked
u nder shrubs of rhododendrons
and azaleas followed by Lily of
the Valley.
All colors of geraniums
and hang i n g baskets of fuchsias
were
placed
throughout
the
garden. T hese plants were held
over each year and mult i p l i e d
by
Doro t h y
pott i n g
cuttings
from the mo t h e r plant. Some of
these plants she had brought
w ith her from her California
garden.
Dorothy's ga r d e n was not
large. O t h e r than a few plants,
neither did she p lant rare or
unusual
flowers.
The
most
signif i c a n t
expre s s i o n
of
Dorothy's ga r d e n was her a t t e n
tion to detail. A small cement
statue of a peas a n t girl set
off
among
flo w e r i n g
shrubs.
D r i ftwood
or
unusual
shaped
wo o d e n
planters
filled
with
varieties
of
sedum
spilling
over
the
sides
or
colorful
arrangements of flowers. On the
front gate she hung a basket
that she k ept filled w i t h fresh
cut flowers or plants in the
summer. For w i n t e r color, cut
boughs of red berr i e d skimmia.
She d e s i g n e d the garden to have
con t i n u e d interest t h roughou t
all seasons.
Being g e n erous in giving
plants, seeds or cuttings and
helpful hints of g a r d e n i n g to
anyone interested, she did fail
to say good soil also makes
h e a l t h y weeds. Since she was
known to get u p at the crack of
dawn to search and attack the
army of slugs pre v a l e n t in our
area, she p r o b a b l y attac k e d the
few weeds that found t heir way
into her garden. T here never
seemed to be laced leaves from
slugs
nor
evidence
of
any
weeds.
Some
ga r d e n
quotes
of
Dorothy's g a t h e r e d from family
and friends:
also circular. The two b u i l d
ings
s u ggested
the
flower
shop's name, "Mulberry Bush."
The
new
building
was
divi d e d into three shops. One
sold baskets, another antiques,
and Lindsey and Mason's flower
shop. They sold bedding plants,
but mostly d i v iding and potting
plants from their own garden.
Lindsey became known for her
arrangements c o m bining plants
in unusual containers such as
hollo w e d
driftwood,
small
wooden boxes or decorated p o t s .
W hen asked, she gave instruc
tions
of
care
for
the
containers,
or
how
to
take
cuttings
from
geraniums
and
fuchsias, and what grows best
here on the coast. Lindsey was
always w i l l i n g to share her
expertise.
Many years later when Beth
Holland opened her garden shop
in back of Pat's Coffee, H o l l
and c o m mented that some of her
customers
still
remembered
Dorothy L i ndsey's shop.
Dorothy
was
raised
in
Portland.
Her niece,
Barbara
(Bobbie) Bosse, told the story
that one d a y when Dorothy and
Bosse's mother, Mabel, played
tennis
in
W ashington
Park,
Dorothy snapped a branch off
one of the park's special trees
and jammed it into the ground
in front of their home. The
next spring it sprouted. The
tree gre w so large, in time it
had to be cut down. This may
have started Dorothy's interest
in gardening. Dorothy finished
her s c hooling at Portland's Art
M u s e u m School of Fine Arts and
later taught wit h the director
Rachel Griffian. She continued
u sing
her
talent
painting,
sculpting and, later in life,
crea t e d
in
man y
different
mediums.
After
their
beach
home was completed, she made
ho o k e d
rugs
for
the
stair
treads. Each step had original
designs of pictorial scenes of
events that had happened in her
family's life. Her table s e t
tings, always a bowl of fresh
flowers. You never saw a paper
ca r t o n of m i l k on her table,
always a special pitcher. Her
flower arrangements were works
of a r t .
Each corner of the
house was created like a still
life composition.
Dorothy die d in February,
1981,
but
her
garden
and
generous spirit of both garden
wisdom
and
sharing
inspired
man y of us. G e n e r a t i o n s of her
original Tiger Lilies, alstro-
emeria,
c u t tings
from
her
hydrangeas,
seeds of meadow-
foam, calendulas and columbines
g r o w in many gardens throughout
Ca n n o n Beach, and a friend has
p r o mised me a plant of sweet
smelling
violets
that
have
m u l t i p l i e d from violets Dorothy
gave her years ago.
II From
beach
Io boulevard,
a natural choice for
wom en's clothing.
Portland (503)239-4605
Cannon Beach (503)436-1572
B IS T R
reservations :
436-2661
263 N IIEMLOCK • CANNON BEACH
° VSTER f
* / Io n ic o f th e W ild O y s te r “
on W illa p a Bay
N a lic o tta , W ashington 98637
Foi Rpsfivalions or Information
(360) 665 4543 - F a i (360) 665-6687
TABARD
I N N
1739 N SI., N .W .
W ashington, D .C . 20036
(202) 785-1277 lax: (202)785 6173
Next
month,
the
story
about
Jubi l a t i o n
Park,
the
small park Judy and Will Osburn
crea t e d after they bought the
grocery
store
now
called
Osburn's Grocery.
§teve's
aaf E
Don't bother with petunias,
they need too much deadheading
and
the rain
spoils
their
petals.
S p e c i a l i z i n g in :
Environmentally .friendly
Window Cleaning
-Sirw J C g M o n ta g m
Huge lawns are a waste of time.
r.o. n»x afín
Arcadia
Cannon Deacli, ()$ , R7f ¡0
A machete is the best garden
tool to cut down all the heavy
growth.
(30 3 ) 4 3 0 - 0 9 4 2
1
A n d her favorite:
H.MWJE
FESTiCOEUSE
If something doesn't grow well,
pull it out.
In the 1 9 7 0 's Dorothy and
friend Betty M ason opened a
flower sho p in the b u i l d i n g now
k nown
as
Pat's
Coffee
and
Basket Shop.
Mason owned the
property. A groc e r y store that
had been there for years burned
dow n
and
Mason
hired
Joe
H o l l i n g s w o r t h to c o n struct a
c i r c u l a r build i n g like ones he
had built in other parts of the
town.
Peter,
Dorothy's
son,
b uilt them a green h o u s e from a
kit. The green h o u s e style was
TOREDUCEOfi
ATTENTION BUSKSSES
I WE CREATE 1MAINWN
ROWER BOXES RANTERS
»
MMOCBASffTS
F
43M73flfcS
i
UCEhSEC-SOWa
WSÄEO
M2
Come join us for
dinner near the
pounding surf at
Laneda A Carmel
In Manzanita
G ourmet pizz A
A
selection of
OREGON WINES A
fine BEERS
always on hand.
503/368-5593_
UPPER LEfT Eb&E. MARCH 1WZ
I
3