Our desire to stay in Oregon City led to the decision to buy 1 1/2 acres of rock. The property nestles at the base of a basalt bluff surrounded by big leaf maple and Douglas fir. Creating a garden in such difficult terrain became my life's adventure. Today gravel paths, cozy seating areas, mixed borders, Ben Dye's steel fence and art, Paul West's creations, Marcia Donahue and Jean Chapin's ceramic art, Bryan Myer's beautiful stone work and a sense of humor have transformed the dramatic setting into a peaceful garden. And then I took Amy Campion’s HPSO webinar and the peace was shattered. I learned that the hillside of ferns was akin to living on iceberg lettuce. Everyone wants to help butterflies but I wasn’t growing the plants that the caterpillars require. So I have spent the last year tearing out the sunny sections of the garden so I can replace them with native plants that will support pollinators. I have spent 35 years learning to garden among rocks and forest by trial and error. At my age I don’t have the time to learn by making mistakes. I was fortunate to discover Carly Thomasset of Bee the Change. She has the knowledge to plant natives that support each other and she took the work out of harvesting our first mason bees. We weren’t open earlier this year because we were still tearing out plants. But now we’re starting to replant (right before a heat wave). Come see our garden that has developed a conscience. Change has unexpected benefits. Tearing out plants has allowed the beautiful pile of boulders left by the Missoula Floods to struts its stuff.