Stopping By: One garden, many gardens
The 100-by-100-foot lot at 1177 S.W. Courtney Laine Drive, a gated community off Fleishauer Lane in southwest McMinnville, looked completely different when Hall and Gates moved there from Beaverton in August of 2022.
The side yard had several trees that were planted too close to the house, Gates said. Bushes were overgrown. The back yard was “a jungle.”
But he and Hall saw possibilities. “I knew what I could do,” said Gates, a retired interior/exterior designer.
They worked together on the planning, as well. “We argue about things, then compromise,” Hall said. “Ultimately, it comes out better than either of us thought.”
Local residents can see the results, along with four other private gardens in McMinnville, during the McMinnville Garden Club’s annual garden tour on Sunday, June 14.
The other spots on the 2026 tour belong to Rich Pruitt at 927 N.E. 18th St.; Joyce Gerhardt at 1115 S.W. Patricia St.; Kari Rex, at 1305 N.W. Zinfandel Court; and Cami and Ted Nyquist, at 3580 N.W. Hill Road.
Tickets are $15 and entitle visitors to see any or all of the gardens between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
In addition, anyone may attend the annual Garden Faire plants and garden art sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Cowls Street between First and Second.
Tickets for the tour are available at the fair or from the gardens and local garden-related businesses. Proceeds from both events go to the garden club’s activities to beautify McMinnville and present scholarships.
At the front corner of the lot, an Asian variety of dogwood stands tall inside a cage that protects it from nibbling deer.
Deer may not be welcome, but human friends are.
“We give lots of parties,” Gates said, noting that the backyard is lighted to allow guests to stay after sundown. “Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving” and other times of the year.
They also spend much of their time outside, relaxing or improving the garden. “I have a lot of energy and a lot of projects in my head that have to get done,” Gates said.
As a result of their hard work, the garden is uncluttered, and each beloved plant and statue can be easily viewed. Each element is important to both its setting and the overall appearance of the space.
“We’ve always had an Asian garden,” Gates said, explaining the style. “To me, it’s very zen, very peaceful.”
The style was inspired by a neighbor, who visited Thailand, “He gave me a buddha, and that started it,” Gates said.
They since have traveled to Asia themselves, and Hall visited gardens in Shanghai during five months he spent working for Textronix in China in 2010.
Some of their myriad buddhas are from Thailand, along with two pairs of large cranes. Other buddhas, birds and pagodas were purchased closer to home.
Gates is originally from Boston; Hall, a graduate of Linfield University, is from New York. They moved to Oregon separately before meeting. In their 29 years together, 11 of them married, they have lived in several places. This one is their forever home, they said.
Here and there, yellow lilies, yellow roses and other bright flowers bloom. “I love yellow,” Gates said. “It’s sunshine.”
That may reflect his background: Boston has lots of snow, but the sun is out when it’s not snowing, he said. In Oregon, he often needs some extra sunshine.
He has a large viburnum bush and a star magnolia, both with white flowers reminiscent of snow.
Many other plants in their garden show off whites, as well as greens, he said — rhododendrons, including those familiar to Oregonians and more unusual varieties such as spider rhodies; azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, irises, ferns and annuals in baskets.
Colorful flowers and scattered black grasses add interest. In front, a large pot holds black-leaved dahlias that produce single-petal blossoms.
Outside the kitchen window — which Hall and Gates added after moving in — a maple with multiple branches creates a scene. “It’s like a painting when you look out,” Gates said.
On the other side of the house, a birch tree with peeling bark and a red-leafed maple stand over a tiny Asian garden. Behind them, a line of trees has been trained so branches meet overhead, forming a natural tunnel leading to the backyard.
The rear garden includes many more vignettes, including small but heavy brass bells and a bubbling fountain, as well as a cut flower area with dahlias and a Snow Lady rhodie in pots.
Everything looks healthy and grows vigorously thanks to generous applications of organic compost and, in hanging baskets, a little fish fertilizer, Gates said. No chemicals needed — or wanted.
“My tomato plants grow 10 feet tall,” he said, pointing out the 3-by-32-foot vegetable garden where they raise much of their summer produce: rhubarb, peppers, zucchini, green beans, basil, eggplants, cucumbers as well as tomatoes.
Everything seems to grow quickly. The trees that form the tunnel, for instance, get cut back “almost to nothing” every year, but quickly grow back. A single hosta flourishes despite constant trimming.
“My plants just thrive — or if they don’t, I move them to where they’ll be happier,” he said.
Mac garden club gives scholarships
The McMinnville Garden Club awarded $1,000 to two scholarship winners for 2026-27. Each recipient is a Yamhill County student majoring in horticulture, agriculture or natural resources.
Reagan Cater graduated from Newberg High School and will attend Oregon State University to major in animal science. She wants to complete the veterinary program and work as a livestock veterinarian.
Cater volunteers in the summer at a horse rescue organization and a local animal shelter, in addition to working as a ranch hand for a local goat breeder.
Kyra Navari, a Dayton High School graduate attending OSU, received the scholarship for the second time.
She is majoring in agricultural food and business management and is active in Sigma Alpha, the professional agricultural sorority at OSU. She also participates in an agricultural mentorship program, working with professionals in her field.
She hopes to work for an agricultural company after graduation.
The garden club scholarships are funded with proceeds from the club’s annual garden tour and faire.
This year’s event will be held Sunday, June 14, with tours of the five gardens from 10 am to 3 p.m.; tickets are $15. The free fair will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Cowls Street downtown.
For more information, visit mcminnvillegardenclub.org.
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