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The Garden Awakens

Anise 'Woodland Red' ( Illicium floridanum ) A few weeks ago, I thought spring would never arrive, but now the change is astonishing. The nights are still cold (40s and sometimes even 30s) so planting tender annuals and vegetables is unwise although I have already succumbed, but covering and uncovering things gets old quickly. Someone made a wise comment last week and I must agree with them - "Don't plant anything tender until after May 1". Several plants are blooming like never before. One is the Anise shrub (above and below). I don't know if the recent tree pruning, which is allowing more sun into the woodland path, is affecting it or perhaps it is just age, but I've never seen so many blooms. Michael refers to this as "the stinky fish shrub" and I have to admit to smell of the flowers is quite unpleasant. It is so beautiful that I can overlook that. The old pink dogwood tree, which was already here, shades our woodland path and it too is prett
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Heirloom Roses (St. Paul, Oregon)

heirloom-roses-1
When we first started our garden in Alabama, we fell in love with antique roses. We ended up with a hundred or so and some of them came from Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, Oregon by mail order. Now that we are living in Washington state, Heirloom Roses, as well as many of the other great plant nurseries, are within driving distance.

Last week, we drove down to St. Paul, about 45 minutes south of Portland, to see the nursery and the display gardens. The Oregon countryside is absolutely gorgeous. It is just one farm after another. Fields of fruit orchards, grapes, hops, conifers, blueberries, and strawberries are just a few of the crops that we passed on our way.

It has been a while since I purchased roses. The first thing I've noticed is that they are much more expensive now. Heirloom's roses are $40 for a gallon pot and $27 for a quart sized pot. Actually, if you are ordering by mail, this is a good deal because they do not charge extra for shipping. I was a bit surprised though that the roses at their retail nursery are the same price! We could not find the roses we wanted at the nursery (they had an open house the previous weekend and had sold out of most of their varieties) but after we got home, I visited their website and they were available. I guess they have a separate inventory for mail-order. Anyway, I ordered a few and actually thought that the roses that arrived later in the mail looked better than the ones they had in their greenhouse. So, if you are shopping at Heirloom, I could recommend mail-order.

On the other hand, if you actually visit, you get to see their beautiful display gardens. Here are a few photos. 
 heirloom-roses-4 heirloom-roses-7 heirloom-roses-10 heirloom-roses-11 heirloom-roses-12 heirloom-roses-8 heirloom-roses-6 heirloom-roses-5 heirloom-roses-2 Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Lisa at GreenbowMay 23, 2016 at 3:50 AM

    When I see roses like this I crave them but I have never had a rose that grew like this. I have given up on them.

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  2. Hoover BooMay 25, 2016 at 11:25 AM

    $40 for a gallon size. OMG.

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