Shore Acres Gardens Online Preview (For other online garden tours, see the listing at the bottom of this page.)   Shore Acres Gardens are located on a high cliff above the pounding surf of the Pacific Ocean. Shore Acres Gardens are lush, verdant, and quite remote.  These gorgeous gardens in a state park are, however, worth the detour from Highway 101 to the Cape Arago Highway, south of Coos Bay, Oregon.  Begun in the early 1900s by Louis Simpson, a lumber and shipping baron, the gardens were carved out of a densely forested stretch of the Pacific Coast as part of an enormous and impressive estate.  No expense was spared.  In the early 1920s Louis Simpson's home burned to the ground, so he and his family moved into the gardener's cottage (in this photo) while his new, and larger, mansion was being built.  The new home was not yet complete when the 1930s brought financial ruin to Simpson. The estate was sold to the state of Oregon in the 1940s and became a park.  Over the decades since, the gardens have been beautifully maintained, but the partially finished mansion was razed.  An open meadow facing the Pacific is all that remains. To the south of the formal garden is a large lily pond, shown here in mid-July. Two hidden treasures of the Shore Acres gardens are beyond the lily pond.  A trail that appears to lead into the woods, leads instead to a formal rose garden just south of the lily pond that is more lush and healthier than any rose garden we have ever seen -- ever.   Another path goes to the sheltered cove where the Simpsons entertained the many guests who visited them.  Nothing remains of the cabanas and other amenities Louis Simpson had built on the cove's sheltered beach. Take these Hot Gardens online preview tours, too:     Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden  - near Pasadena Huntington Gardens Desert Garden - near Pasadena  Descanso Gardens - near Pasadena  Arlington Garden - in Pasadena Getty Villa Gardens - Malibu South Coast Botanic Garden - southwest Los Angeles   Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden - Claremont, California Santa Barbara Gardens - Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara Botanic Garden  - Santa Barbara, California Tucson Public Gardens  - Tucson, Arizona Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden  - Phoenix, Arizona Balboa Park Gardens - San Diego, California Tropical Garden in the Dominican Republic Shore Acres Gardens - Coos Bay Oregon San Luis Obispo Creek Park - San Luis Obispo, California Japanese Garden - Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California Japanese Garden - Long Beach, California

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Our 8 Most Popular Hot Gardens Newsletters: 

1.  Flowering plants that reliably bloom in scorching mid-summer heat.

2.  Australian plants and trees that grow well in hot, dry climates.

3.  Weather-proofing palms for winter; cold weather palm trees.

4.  A white garden for night time viewing.

5.  Topiary can be easy to create and add charm to your garden.

6.  Techniques to combat death by heat exhaustion of plants in pots.

7.  Cactus as security barriers for your property.

8.  South African aloes for brilliant late winter color in your garden.

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