Main Entrance
Welcome to Ohme Gardens! Ohme Gardens, Wenatchee Valley's premier attraction, is now over 80 years old. Started in 1929 by Herman and Ruth Ohme as their private backyard, the Gardens are now a world-renowned showpiece not only for garden enthusiasts but for anyone to marvel at what hard work, determination and ingenuity can create. Indeed, visitors from around the world come to see this oasis high up on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the Columbia River.
In 1929 Herman Ohme and his bride Ruth purchased forty acres of land for an orchard. Included was a craggy, dry, desolate, rock-strewn bluff with a breathtaking view of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains and the shimmering Columbia River valley. The Ohmes loved to stand on the bluff and dream of flourishing alpine meadows, shimmering pools and shady evergreen pathways where the hot, relentless summer sun allowed only sage and scrub desert growth. They set their minds on achieving that dream.
Main Entrance Historical Reference
Admission Fee 1939
This placard shows the first admission price when the Gardens opened in 1939. $0.25 a carload!
The Poem
This picture is one of our favorites. It is the poem that you can see when looking into Ox Yoke Lodge
Stump Water 1967
Tapped in the early 1940s and it is still producing cold, clear water!
Stump Water
Still a favorite! Help yourself.
The Creature
This was a tree root that Herman Ohme dug out when planting the first trees in the Gardens. He saw that it resembled a mythical creature and loved setting it out when visitors came. You can still see it it you look to the left as you enter the Gardens.
Herman Ohme
Herman Ohme helping a young girl feed a golden mantle squirrel by the postcard rack.
Unique Natural Features
Herman Ohme would find unique burled logs in the forest west of Wenatchee. He would haul them back to his car, sometimes several miles, with the help of his mule.
Entrance 1959
After 30 years of development the Ohme's had completed seven garden areas.
View from the Hook Lawn
Pathway leads to the top of Sylvan Pool waterfall.
Entrance Lawn
Steps lead up through the fernery.
The Ohme's
Gordon, Ruth and Herman Ohme sit on one of their earlier wooden benches at the entrance lawn.
Kilroy
Kilroy was regularly seen by visitors nest to the stone registration table. His whereabouts are unknown, but the mystery of his disappearance lives on!
Old Fireplace 1936
This was one of the first stone features in the the Gardens and one of Ruth Ohme's favorites.