Yard of the Month

            Nancy Kirkelie 2037 NW Doral Nancy lost her husband two years ago and moved to McMinnville from Lebanon to be near daughter who helped her design her new yard.  Nancy brought some of the plants from her yard in Lebanon to use in her new yard in McMinnville. Nancy…

  Michael and Tiffany Philips, 1322 SW Blaine St Michael, who does the gardening, works as a baker for La Provence Wholesale Bakery in SE Portland. He and Tiffany have lived at this house for 11 years. They started with a bare lot and have developed the landscaping which includes lavender in several colors along…

Kent Taylor, 1925 St. Andrews Kent retired in 2015 from 43 years in city management, including 29 years as city manager of McMinnville. He started mowing and weeding a big NE Portland yard where he grew up, Other than hiring help for stacking rocks, Kent has done all the yard work himself. A pilgrimage to…

        Peg Miller, owner Jack Sawcheck, gardener 1815 NW Michelbook This month we chose a yard due to multiple requests from the public over the years. Our guidelines do not allow us to select professionally kept yards which this one is, so we have had to enjoy it but have not been…

Evelyn and Jerry LaMotte, 115 NW Baker Creek Rd Jerry is semi retired and Evelyn is retired and volunteers for Encompass Yamhill Valley which provides help for the houseless. They make bike pods and shelter for the homeless. They have lived at this address since 1999. The house is on Baker Creek Road which is…

Liz and Ben 1525 NE 18th St McMinnville, OR 97128 Liz is a retired substitute teacher and Ben was a vocational agriculture teacher and a millwright before retiring. Liz loves her garden and it has been her sanctuary for 36 years.  The whole yard is very charming. There is a big bear looking it over. …

John and Beccie 212 SW Cypress St John and Beccie have lived at this address for 38 years. John works for Linfield University in ground maintenance while Beccie concentrates her skills on the home yard and garden. Besides working in the garden, Beccie plays in the “Second Winds” band. She plays 4 different instruments.

Elsie Williams 1035 NW Crestbrook Court McMinnville, OR 97128 Elsie and her husband Jack moved to McMinnville from Milton-Freewater in 1993. In Milton-Freewater, Jack was a school councilor and Elsie was a physical education teacher for 30 years.  They came to McMinnville because Elsie was raised in Yamhill. Jack died in 2005.  Elsie stayed in…

Zealand Reynolds & Phil Londan 521 NE Newby St. Phil works for Cameron Winery and Zealand is a 4th grade teacher at Wascher Elementary School. They moved here from Santa Cruz, California and have lived in their house for 2 years. They have a beautiful display of flowers in the from yard that they initially…

Gale and Mary Ellen Johnson Home 2095 NW Willamette Drive The Johnsons have lived here 4 years.They moved from a house in the country in order to downsize in retirement.  Gale owned and ran Mac Prescription Shop in McMinnville for many years. They retired 20 years ago and have done some traveling as well as…

Kathleen McKinney Home 2160 NE Village Court, McMinnville. Kathleen has lived here since 2012.  She brought many of the plants from her former home in Washington to plant in her garden. Her house was built on a former walnut orchard so she gets starts of walnuts coming up here and there in her yard.  This…

Forway/River Home Michele and Claire have lived at this address for 2 years.  Both are teachers in McMinnville. Michelle at Columbus grade school  and Claire teaches 5th grade at Newby. They have 3 five year old boys who help in the garden. Michele is from McMinnville and Claire previously lived in Bend and Newberg.  I…

Tom & Jeri 2166 SW Alexandra Tom and Jeri moved here from Costa Rica in 2000.  Tom works as an estimator for a roofing company. Jeri is the gardener and takes pride in keeping the yard immaculate. You won’t  find a weed in it! There are benches around the corner lot so people can sit…

Leonardo and Julia Ramirez 785 Border Lane Leonardo works for Franz Bakery and Julia works for Meggit Polymers and Composites in McMinnville. They have three children. The Ramirez’s have lived in this house 15 years. Leonardo is the gardener.  He learned his love of plants from his father’s farm in Mexico.  He has many colorful…

A Great Pair – Mark and Teleda Rodman 1925 NW Cedar St Mark is a retired nurse, and Teleda works for Beavers manufacturing. The name on the house says it all: ROSE COTTAGE.  Teleda collects roses and she has moved some of the plants from house to house. Teleda directs and Mark digs!

Randy and Michele Wall 1320 SW Fellows Street Randy is a building contractor and Michele an office manager for Freelin-Wade. They have lived in this house for 4 years. Randy is the gardener and has planted many, many flowers in the front yard. I liked his lilies that are of many different colors and very…

Santiago Tenesaca and Hanna DeMaster 329 NW 10th Santiago and Hanna are both teachers and have three children. They have lived in this house 1 1/2 yrs, and Hanna is the gardener, although she claims to be a beginner. Their garden has a vegetable garden in raised beds,  and she uses the rails from her baby…

David and Ann Widen 671  92nd Jake’s Ct David and Ann have lived in their home for 6 yrs. David is a retired pharmacist from Safeway in Portland, Ann is also retired from the Hallmark card shop in  McMinnville. The bright pink blooming dogwood with teapot birdhouses hanging from its branches caught my eye. The couple…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month April 2018 Owners: Jonathan Taylor and Kate Pabst 510 Fleischauer  St, McMinnville. Jonathan works for New Energy. Kate works as a software consultant. Tucked behind 4 giant fir trees is this cute blue cottage  with daffodils that line a path. The path leads from the sidewalk around through the…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month September 2016 Owner: David and Linda Johnson 1208 NW Meadows Dr. Directions: What catches the eye from the street are the large rock steps leading up to the front entrance along with some artistically pruned trees and shrubs. There are also rock retaining walls and a lawn. Ten…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month August 2016 Owner: John and Janet Keiser 1074 SW Courtney Laine Drive Directions: Take 2nd street West. Just past Newby School, turn left onto SW Fleishauer Lane. Turn left onto SW Courtney Laine Drive. Watch for 1074. John works as a financial advisor and Janet works part time…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month July 2016 Owner: Brian and Jenifer Rucker 1025 SW Fleishauer,McMinnville Directions: The Ruckers both work for Yamhill County, Brian as a probation officer and Jenifer with developmentally disabled clients. They have lived in the area for several years and Brian went to school in McMinnville. They have lived…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month June 2016 Jose Elias 600 NW Beary Street Directions: Take 2nd Street west to Michelbook Lane, turn right. Next turn right onto Wallace Road and then an immediate right onto Beary. Home is near the end. The owners have lived in this house for 20 years. Their yard…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month May 2016 Mike and Kari Rex 1305 NW Zinfandel Ct Directions: From Baker Creek Rd., take a right onto Merlot Drive. The house will be on the left at the corner of Zinfandel and Merlot. Mike is a teacher for Patton Middle School and Kari is 1/2 owner…

McMinnville Garden Club’s Yard of the Month April Don & Edie Rissberger-Stow 2235 NW Pinehurst Drive Directions: From Baker Creek Rd., turn south onto Pinehurst. The house will be on your right. We picked the yard for its structure and colorful foliage. This delightful couple work as a team on their yard. Edie makes piles…