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A Visit to Cistus Nursery

I rarely go to nurseries anymore since I work part-time at one and another reason being that I don't have much room for additional plants. When a garden fanatic runs out of room, the brain goes into overdrive, dreaming up ingenious ways to incorporate more plants. And another thing happens - a burning desire to obtain rare and unique plants. I've been moving plants around, a tricky process that has a domino effect. A plant is unhappy - it is getting too much shade or perhaps too much sun. There is a plant that did not get as large as you thought it would or it is just a slow grower and now it is hopelessly hidden behind a taller plant. Sometimes a plant is just a dud for reasons unknown (Rhododendron 'Golden Gate' anyone?). I find the plant in question a better home, but it means that another plant will have to be moved. And the merry-go-round continues to turn... However, for those plants that are to be discarded, a space opens up for a new one! I decided to move a Mou...
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Open gardens


It seems that there is so much going on in the gardening world here that it is hard to keep up. Case in point - the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Open Gardens. These are private gardens open to the public. Every weekend (and some on Monday evenings), there is a list of gardens to pick from. Just deciding which ones to go see can be a difficult decision. It seems that a lot of the gardens on the tour in previous months were in far-away locations (or they seemed far to us) but now there are more appearing on the list in Portland and Vancouver. 

We had a great day on Saturday. We visited three gardens on the list and made a stop at Fabric Depot, a humongous fabric store that Michael had heard about. Fabric stores are to Michael what gardens are for me. He does enjoy the gardens as well, or at least he says he does. :)

On this trip, we saw a lot of clematis! In fact, the first stop was the Rogerson Clematis Gardens, a test garden for all types of clematis.

The huge yellow clematis is 'Bill McKenzie'. This was about 8 feet tall.
 
A close-up of the blooms

 
'Polish Spirit' seems to be the clematis that does spectacularly well here in the Pacific NW.

 
Next up was the Tuttle garden. For sheer flower power, this one was amazing. It was a huge property, complete with orchards, woodland areas and wall-to-wall flowers!





Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden
The last garden we visited was Kathy Whitman's, who had a long border of shrubs and perennials. She uses lots of chartreuse as accents and the effect is lovely.

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden

Portland garden
The massive fuchsias continue to amaze!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Anne BoykinJuly 13, 2016 at 6:11 PM

    Phillip, Thanks for the lovely pictures of the gardens. How lush they seem! It's hot & humid here in Georgia, of course. When I lived in California they had problems with fushia mites. Maybe it hasn't reached the Pacific Northwest. I hope not, it disfigures the beautiful flowers and foliage. Glad you're enjoying your new home.

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 14, 2016 at 7:55 AM

      I have not heard anything about the fushia mites. I hope they are not a problem!

      Delete
  2. EveJuly 13, 2016 at 6:19 PM

    You must be in heaven Phillip! The word LUSH keeps popping in my head! And I'm not talking about the drinking kind. Haha! What beautiful gardens.

    ReplyDelete
  3. danger gardenJuly 13, 2016 at 9:39 PM

    As though to prove your point...I've visited many HPSO open gardens (just last weekend two of them) and yet never visited these three. There are so many gardens to chose from!

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  4. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 14, 2016 at 5:12 AM

    Thank you for all the eye candy. I can never get enough of it. I love going to fabric stores and I don't even sew. I go with a friend that does. I could have stacks of beautiful fabric sitting around the house just to look at. The garden is what thrills me though. I love seeing all of these plants so big. The hostas look so healthy. The forest grass is so lush and yes that fuschsias are amazing. I am forming a serious crush on those tall lilies too. I don't have many of them but that will soon be remedied.

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 14, 2016 at 7:53 AM

      Those are the nicest hostas I have seen so far here. Slugs are a common problem. Most of the ones I have seen do not look that well. I should have asked the gardener how she kept hers so nice.

      Delete
  5. NicJuly 15, 2016 at 5:12 AM

    Sounds like a wonderful Saturday - and those gardens are just picture-perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  6. RobinLJuly 18, 2016 at 7:26 PM

    I see why those gardens are open, they're gorgeous! I wish such a concept would fly around here. That combo of the yellow bell shaped clematis with the purple open ones is just perfect together. What does Michael like to make with his fabric? Clothing? Home Decor? Quilts? Crafts?

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 18, 2016 at 7:46 PM

      Robin, he can make anything. He just finished two quilts (I posted photos on my Facebook and Instagram pages). His specialty though is clothing for fashion dolls. His website has not been updated in a while but you can see some of his work there. http://michaelscottdesigns.weebly.com/for-sale.html

      Delete
  7. AaronJuly 19, 2016 at 10:05 AM

    The idea of a garden tour in Tennessee right right now seems hilarious. The tour would have to be at 6 a.m. before the heat and humidity had the tour goers dropping like flies!

    I see that the Pacific NW is one of the few areas not affected by this burgeoning Heat Dome that's going to squash the rest of the country over the next week or so and feel some deep envy for you.

    Deep. Envy.

    :)

    All the gardens look very lush as others have said. "Exuberant" is another word that comes to mind.

    Is that a purple garden phlox (P. paniculata) in photos #3 and #4?

    Also, random question, but do you see a lot of pollinators flitting about in the gardens you visited? Although the heat wears on me, it seems that hot, sunny weather brings out the bees, wasps, etc...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 19, 2016 at 9:35 PM

      Yes, Aaron, that is phlox. I have seen pollinators everywhere. I am noticing more and more in my garden too.

      Delete

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