A Whirlwind in the Garden

With a name like Tornado, arriving quietly may never have been part of the plan.

He came to Schreiner’s Iris Gardens during one of the most colorful moments of the Willamette Valley spring, when the paths were bordered by tall lupines and the iris beds had begun unfurling in nearly every imaginable color.

Tornado explored it all with bright eyes, upright ears and the unmistakable confidence of a dog ready to see what waited around the next bend. And because every good adventure is better with a friend, he brought his best friend, Lief, along for the morning.

A Valley Grown in Color

Long before Tornado and Lief wandered its garden paths, the Schreiner family was building a legacy—one iris at a time.

The family began growing and breeding irises in Minnesota in 1925. Seeking a climate better suited to the flowers, they moved their operation to the Willamette Valley in 1947, purchasing the land that would eventually become Schreiner’s Gardens.

Nearly a century after that first iris was planted, the family farm continues to fill the Valley with color. Each May, row after row of blooms opens across the fields while the display gardens come alive with irises, lupines and carefully tended paths.

For a few brief weeks, the garden becomes one of spring’s grandest celebrations—and an excellent place for two best friends to explore together.

Valley Field Notes

Location
Schreiner’s Gardens, north of Salem in the Willamette Valley

Color of the Season
Late spring in violet, rose, gold and blue

Bloom
Bearded irises, lupines and the layered plantings of the display garden

Peak Moment
May, when the iris fields and garden beds reach their fullest color

Valley Fact
The Schreiner family moved its iris-growing operation from Minnesota to Oregon in 1947, drawn by the Willamette Valley’s mild climate and fertile soil.

Listen For
Bees moving between the flowers, birds calling from the garden edges and the quiet shuffle of paws along the paths

Look For
Ruffled iris petals, towers of lupine—and Tornado making certain Lief is never far away

Better With a Best Friend

For all the color surrounding him, Tornado never had to explore the gardens alone.

Lief joined him among the lupines, along the winding paths and beneath the spring trees. Together, they paused for portraits, investigated the garden and settled comfortably into the flowers—two best friends sharing one more adventure.

The irises may have brought the color, but Tornado and Lief brought the story: some places are simply better when explored side by side.

Every Story Begins Somewhere

Every dog featured in the Colors of the Valley 2027 Calendar has a story.

Many of those stories found a new beginning through 4 All Muttkind Rescue. Because someone opened their home. Someone opened their heart. Someone believed that every dog deserved the chance to belong.

Today, those second chances are exploring orchards, wandering through fields of flowers and discovering the changing colors of the Willamette Valley—often with a best friend beside them.

That’s the story we’re celebrating.

Next in the Valley → Meet the next 4 All Muttkind alumni as Colors of the Valley continues through another season, another place, and another unforgettable dog.

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Tornado in the Spring Gardens

A Whirlwind in the Garden

A Valley Grown in Color

Valley Field Notes

Better With a Best Friend

Every Story Begins Somewhere

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