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Are you ready to live the farm life? Welcome to St. John's Secret Garden. Located north of Columbia Blvd in a secluded tiny pocket neighborhood, this lovely midcentury style ranch house is tucked away in the woods, and brimming with life. I helped the owners of this house purchase it years ago, and it has been magnificent to watch it transform. The backyard was a tiny patch of grass with an ocean of blackberry vines. These two former big city dwellers pulled on the leather gloves and have ferociously reclaimed the land from Oregon's most notorious invasive. They've grown hundreds--maybe even thousands--of pounds of food here. They have a rule in August--no visitor to the house is allowed to leave with fewer than 5 heirloom tomatoes! I've very much enjoyed my visits here this year! Just a few of the things they've done in the yard: - installed over 40 cedar raised beds, with amended soil - fenced in chicken coop and duck yard - built a fire ring - mulched all the paths - epic weed control for long term abatement - Huge Gear Shed below rear deck with built-in shelving - Tool Shed with built-in shelving - Greenhouse - Chicken + Duck coops, chicken coop has been charred to prevent mites And the plants! European pears, Asian pears, Asian plums, four kinds of Apples, strawberries, goji berries, blueberries, 10 varieties of blackberries and raspberries, 3 kinds of grapes, 3 kinds of hops, kiwi, purple asparagus, green asparagus, kitchen herbs, medicinal herbs, potatoes that endlessly reseed themselves... and more.

2314 Se 90th Ave., Portland OR 97216 | .47 Acres | MLS# 20607589 | $375,000 Have you ever dreamed of buying some land with friends and building a few homes there? Do you imagine towering trees, an organic garden, established healthy fruit trees? I've got the spot for you. This awesome property is almost half an acre and it's within Portland city limits. Check it out on Realtor.com. The pictures really don't do it justice. When you walk up, it's like stepping into a living room of trees. It is so unbelievably peaceful. Steve, the owner, has lawn chairs set up there, and we have our meetings beneath 3 huge 60+ year old trees. The backyard is a faeryland. Timber bamboo lines a path that winds between 3 ponds, past 3 more huge old trees, past an asian pear, a european pear, huckleberries, raspberries, jasmine, to the perfect sunny corner that's been home to an organic garden for over 20 years. The raspberries and blueberries have been going off! There's a big compost area for amending your soil, clay ovens, a green house, paved stone paths. Everywhere you look there are little contemplation nooks tucked away behind the leaves. There's also the perfect space for building some units--half the lot has been a work area where Steve has done his plant magic and stored his things. There is so much established on the other half of the property, but you wouldn't have to lose any of it to build--you could use this less landscaped area. The owner would also consider doing Seller Financing. For those who don't know, this is when the seller of a property acts as the bank, so to speak. Buyers usually put down a fairly large down payment, and then make payments to the seller for a set number of years, usually 2 - 5 years. It's usually amortized on a 30 year term, which means 1) your payments wouldn't be insanely huge, 2) you are paying more interest than principal at the beginning, same as you would with a bank. The owner hasn't decided on his terms yet, but it is a possibility. Be careful of Seller financing, contract sales, and rent to own situations. There are scams out there and they've been used to take advantage of people, especially folks from marginalized communities. For example, Contract Sales were a key tactic in the economic disenfranchisement of African Americans in the 20th century. Have legal experts look over any documents or offers before signing documents or paying money.