By Kellie Oosterbaan
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Master Gardener Marcy Hasegawa while learning a bit about Hood River history.
Born and raised in Parkdale, Marcy’s roots in the Hood River Valley run deep. Marcy’s family owned and operated an orchard and thus her earliest childhood memories were “always outside.” Marcy’s mother worked hard running all things related to the family orchard while her father worked at the Dee Mill. Family lore is that Marcy’s mother stapled a baby blanket to the inside of a fruit crate, placing Marcy in the crate to play under the trees while her mom worked from tree to tree.
Thanks to Mrs. Hasegawa’s green thumb, plants and flowers were abundant both outside and inside the home. Marcy’s mother loved raising orchids and African violets inside while keeping a large flower and vegetable garden (and an orchard) outside of the home. Marcy remembers that her grandmother was also a phenomenal gardener and she fondly recalls people stopping by her house on Portland Drive to take pictures and admire the flowers. Marcy quickly observed and loved the aspect of making other people happy through flowers.
Around the age of 5 or 6, Marcy began helping her mother in the orchard by raking brush, changing sprinklers and picking fruit. She was also active in 4H gardening and entered flowers in the fair. By the age of 14, Marcy began searching for a job “with better labor standards,” knocking on every Oak Street door to find one. She was eventually hired by Betty and Jerry at Betty’s Restaurant. Marcy continued to work for Betty’s throughout high school and into college, while working at the orchard on days off from the restaurant or school.
Although Marcy has an apparent genetic predisposition for gardening, she admits that gardening did not always come easily for her. When she left for college at the University of Oregon, Marcy brought indoor plants that were frequently returned to her mother to nurse back to health.
After college, Marcy was excited to explore the world. She worked in retail management and then became a branch manager for Washington Mutual and then Chase banks. Marcy began opening branches in Southern California and moved outside of San Diego for 15 years where “I tried to garden. Everything bolted. We were in the desert.” They tried covering plants, drip systems and a variety of vegetables and flowers without much success. Marcy made the most progress with jalapeños, which were large and scorched the tongue.
Marcy moved back to the Hood River Valley in 2018. She began tearing apart her yard for planting. After being away for 38 years, Marcy recalls an adjustment period while relearning the local conditions. With her enthusiasm for the Northwest climate and soil, Marcy began starting seeds indoors for spring planting. She planted in April “and then they froze. Then I planted in the middle of April. And they froze.” She was reminded by a family member to never plant before the snow melts on Mt. Defiance.
From her home in the upper valley, Marcy worked remotely in a corporate job for recruiting. The yard quickly became her “happy place. I kind of went crazy.” Marcy discovered Lore Sampson with Rarity Gardens and spent several hours touring and exploring Lore’s peony gardens. Marcy bought 22 peonies the first year and returns each year for more.
After the peony years, Marcy bought 2 dozen heirloom roses and started a “go big or go home” rose garden. The 5 acre family property was previously a farm with rotating livestock, which created lovely fertilized soil.
Marcy describes her gardening style as casually organized, “I’m not a landscaper. I’m a designer’s nightmare. I’m a linear thinker and my garden has a linear layout. There’s a triangle of peonies, a section of 24 roses. Each things has it’s section.” Marcy grows vegetables, fruit trees, pollinators, and propagates annuals.
Marcy also enjoys growing dahlias and has learned that they don’t need to be coddled. In line with her typically enthusiastic and thorough style, Marcy ordered a couple dozen dahlias and received tubers from friends when she became interested in the flowers. To research the new plant, Marcy went online, joined dahlia forums, bought individual tubs and shavings for storing, and made a schematic spreadsheet of the heights for each variety. At the end of the season she dug them up, rinsed and dried and then divided the (now 5+ tuber) plants and put each in an individual shoebox. She put styrofoam and cardboard underneath the storage containers, along with a temperature gauge. Wow.
Lessons learned…Marcy now digs her dahlias up with a tractor, hoses them off, and puts them in a large labeled bin.
Marcy retired in 2023. She decided to start a small nursery and join Master Gardeners. She built a greenhouse and registered her ‘Blossom Haven’ business with the state. She now sells annuals and perennials April, May and June with the goal of “staying small, being outside, meeting people and making a little extra to travel” with her husband and 2 adult sons.
Marcy is a caregiver for her aging parents and her garden supplies fresh bouquets throughout the summer for their home. Her flower stand also sells bouquets for donations to Hood River Adopt a Dog and Meals on Wheels. In the summer, you can find Marcy at the Senior Center where she delivers fresh bouquets for the enjoyment of the community, reading or listening to an audio book in her garden, and/or planning a trip.
Marcy finds inspiration in the resiliency of others as well as “so much joy in things that grow.” She often wakes before dawn to drink her coffee and spray Neem oil if it’s needed. She often discovers bumblebees sleeping on the flowers of her bee balm and finds herself outside in the dark at times with a flashlight looking for them.
Marcy recalls being interested in Master Gardeners for years, “but I thought that I didn’t know enough.” She now wishes that she would have joined the Master Gardening program in the 1990’s when she first became interested. Her advice for new trainees is to “experience it all. Try all the different gardens. Have fun and meet as many people as you can. Go to the classes in person. Don’t sweat the test.”
Fortunately for the community, Marcy has jumped in with both feet with Master Gardening. You can frequently find her working in the gardens, especially the Parkdale Memorial Garden. This year, she joined the Executive Committee as an Oregon Master Gardener Alternative Chapter Representative to help with the business side of the organization. Marcy hopes to help with organizing field trips and observation opportunities for fellow Master Gardeners this year.
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