The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

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Garden in the Desert

On a once-barren bluff overlooking the Wenatchee Valley one family's vision has transformed the desert into a bit of paradise.

Surrounded by vast treeless hills, the green alpine forest know as Ohme Gardens has grown over a period of fifty years to stand as a beacon to human vision and determination, and to the power of plants and water to bring life to the land.

In 1929 the bluff was simply part of a 40 acre parcel of land on which Herman and Ruth Ohme planned to start an orchard. Born in Illinois, Herman Ohme was fascinated by the rugged mountains of the West. Impressed by the bluff's spectacular views of the Columbia River and the Cascade Mountains, the Ohme's set out to begin transforming the dry, rocky hill into an alpine forest. That vision became a dream to which they devoted the rest of their lives, and the dream has been carried on by their children and grandchildren.

Working by hand, the sagebrush was grubbed from the dry slopes to make room for trees and shrubs transplanted from the Cascades. Large boulders were moved and the first ponds were dug with the help of a mule. By 1939 the results of their efforts were already becoming apparent to people in the valley below. Visitors persuaded the Ohme's to open their garden to the public. Today the cool green garden, set against spectacular sandstone formations, covers nearly ten acres of former desert and attracts more than 30,000 visitors a year.

Where hot, dry winds once swept unobstructed, the bluff is now protected by more than a thousand ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, grand fir, western red cedar, mountain hemlock, and alpine fir. Hand-hewn stone paths and steps connect sparkling pools, streams and waterfalls which flow among meadows of thyme, dianthus, phlox, sedum, vinca minor, mosses and ferns.

The Ohme's goal was to re-create a natural high mountain forest overlooking the arid valley, and Ohme garden is a delight. It is, however, far from being a self-sustaining landscape. Water, sometimes as much as 100,000 gallons an evening, is pumped from the Columbia River to the ponds, and from there through the irrigation system which makes the emerald forest and beautiful flowers possible.

The Ohme family achieved its goal of bringing the forest to one piece of the earth. The costs in terms of energy and water were not a primary consideration, as they are today. But by adding drought-hardy plants, a similar accomplishment is possible on a sustainable basis by using drip irrigation and other water conserving techniques. The Ohme family's achievement, however, still serves as an inspiration to people working to restore green to arid landscapes.

Ohme Garden is located three miles north of Wenatchee. Visitors are welcome to tour the grounds from April through October for a modest admission fee. For more information, contact Ohme Garden, 3327 Ohme Road, Wenatchee, WA 98801

The Future is Abundant A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

Garden in the Desert

The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture