A Guide to the Connie Hansen Garden
An oasis of blooms, ponds and trees, the garden is open year round dawn to dusk.
History
In the mid 1970s, a retired Constance Hansen came to Lincoln City and began a 20 year passion for gardening. Starting with Iris flowers, Connie Hansen cultivated native Oregon flora and fauna, from Sitka spruce to magnolias, maples and dogwood, transforming nearly all of her property into a colorful collection of garden beds. During the final years of Connie's life, the Garden fell into neglect due to her illness and advancing years. Several months before her death in 1993, Connie sold, and moved from, her residence at the Garden. Few gardens outlast their owners, but the neighbors in the community wanted to preserve the Garden and the Connie Hansen Garden Conservancy was created. Generous bequests allowed the Garden to be purchased from the real estate investor to whom it had been sold, and today it is maintained by a small group of dedicated volunteers.
Flora & Fauna
While much of the Connie Hansen Garden is alive with color year-round, to catch it at its most stunning, stop by in the springtime. Connie Hansen was an avid collector of rhododendrons of all shapes and sizes, both species and hybrids. There are hundreds of rhodies in the garden, ranging from the tiniest varieties with appropriately dainty leaves to tree-like growers such as Cynthia, Sir Charles Lemon and Dame Nellie Melba, which are covered in a multitude of blooms.
The Gift Shop
After wandering the winding and flower lined pathways of the Garden, stop by the Gift Shop, where Connie Hansen’s garden journals are on display. There are regular plant sales and events from March to mid-December. The gift shop is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and while admission to the garden is free of charge, donations help keep the flowers blooming.
For more information visit ConnieHansenGarden.com.
