For some, it was too much gorgeousness to take in.

Visitors seemed dazed, and could be heard muttering, “Oh, my God.  Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”  If you took their reactions out of context, you might have thought they’d been in a car wreck and were in a state of shock.

But I forged on, exploring Old Germantown Gardens—the incredible, almost two-acre garden that Bruce Wakefield and Jerry Grossnickle have built over the past 24 years around their home in the Northwest Portland hills.  They opened it up to HPSO members last night.

The sun sets early in the Forest Park hills, and many of the plants were bathed in the glow of the last rays of evening sunlight. The lovely rock walls anchoring several of the terraces were still warm to the touch. The hummingbirds were in full force.