MT HOOD ATTRACTIONS
A Walk in Beauty
Wy’East Rhododendron Gardens
Lady Clementine Mitford, Chevalier Fexlis de Sauvage, Countess of Athlone, Duchess of York, Lady Primrose…these are royal names of distinction in Great Britain and the European continent. And you can make their acquaintance through colorful plant specimen names in the 55-year-old Wy’East Rhododendron garden at the historic Zigzag Ranger Station, Highway 26, just one mile east of the village of Welches. 
Colors as rich as these illustrious names burst forth in the spring: purples, yellows, pinks, reds, white, and even a shade of blue. These colors seem all the more intense in their contrast to the many hues of green that surround them in the mostly shaded forest clearing.
The gardens were first conceived in 1952 as a roadside beautification project. Initially, 100 plants were donated by nurseries and individual rhody enthusiasts. By the garden’s dedication on May 24, 1953, 235 rhododendrons had been planted. Subsequently, James P. Langdon, District Ranger at the time, donated additional plants, mostly trees and shrubs from his private nursery. These included both native and rare species, including the very rare Dawn Redwood.
Over the years, some plants were overtaken by faster growing neighbors. Frost and other natural calamities destroyed more. Yet today, you can still find 50 beautiful rhododendron specimens and 150 other trees and plants flourishing in the moist acidic soil at the Forest Service compound. Many of the trees are those you would find along hiking trails throughout Mt. Hood National Forest and its surrounds, such as Western re
d cedar, big leaf maple, vine maple, red alder, cascara buckthorn, Pacific dogwood, and Douglas fir, to name a few.
For a quiet walk in beauty, take time to stop and stroll through these gardens. The grounds are open year round. Forest Service staff can provide you with a map that lists all 50 of the rhododendrons, and 17 of the trees. A brochure for the gardens also includes a brief history of the Zigzag Ranger Station which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1986.
For further information, call the USDA Forest Service, Zigzag Ranger Station, 503.622.3191.
MAy/June 2008 « Back to this issue...