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More South Portland Study Weekend Gardens, pt. 2

The last three gardens on last Saturday's tour included a large shade garden, a tropical oasis and an Asian-inspired retreat. First, the Hilderbrand garden in Oregon City. This garden is set in a grove of Douglas Fir trees and has paved pathways that meander through plantings of dogwoods, hydrangeas, viburnums, kalmias and other shade-loving plants.  The garden of Michael Hicks and Megan Big John is a quarter-acre plot in West Linn. This garden is packed with plantings of tropical plants with big beautiful leaves and vibrant pops of color. Helena Wagner's "4 Seasons Garden" is a garden that I have visited in the past. It features an Asian-inspired theme with beautifully placed plants, with nice colors and contrasts. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Gifts for a gardener

My birthday was last week and I received some nifty gardening related gifts. Michael's aunt, cousin and a good friend pitched in and got me this wagon - I guess that is what you call it - and I was excited to get it. My wheelbarrow is on its last leg and I'm sure this little guy is much stronger - they say it will hold 1500 pounds!



I had hinted to Michael that I needed a new pair of lopers and he went beyond the call of duty and gave me these which feature an extension - you rotate the knobs and it will extend a foot or so. I had never seen any made like this and I'm sure they will come in handy when I resume the pruning of Rambling Rector.


Comments

  1. I have that wagon and lopers. You will love them both!

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  2. Cool wagon. What a great gift! Our local nursery has a version of that wagon sans sides. They're heavy but very sturdy but be sure to grease the axles well because I believe the wheel bearings are sleeve bearings and not ball bearings. The ones at the nursery are left out in the elements and are not greased often if ever and some of them are difficult to lug around and even more so when loaded with heavy plants. The ones with inflatable tires are also easier to pull if inflated properly.

    There's many a time when I wished for more leverage using the loppers. That's a great idea to have extensible handles. The only problem is that the cutting head and pivot need to be heavy duty too with the extra leverage you can exert as that seems to be the weak spot with the two loppers I have.

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