A visit to Chickadee Gardens
I was excited to finally get to see Chickadee Gardens last week. I have followed Tamara's blog for years. She and her husband garden on 2 acres in Saint Helens, Oregon. When you look at the map, it appears that St. Helens is directly across the Columbia River and slightly to the north of us. However, there is no convenient bridge to get over to the Oregon side. You must go north to Ridgefield, Washington (about 30 minutes north of our house) and go across there or travel through Portland and then go north through Scappoose. Either way, it is about a 45 minute drive. I decided to try the Ridgefield route and I was glad I did. Not only did I not have to contend with Portland traffic (it was Rose Parade weekend), I got to see country on the Oregon side that was new to me. Tamara used to work at the beautiful Joy Creek Nursery (my favorite, but alas they are now closed) and she now works part-time at Cistus Nursery. She focuses on native plants and sustainabili...
Isn't this crazy?? Well you can make a picture for your Christmas cards next year. The best part about all this is that your young plants are covered and safe from the worst of the cold. It is an amazing amount of snow. I bet you don't even have a snow shovel. Be safe and warm.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd known and gone out last night to shake the snow off ! This morning I couldn't see or remember what was under the snow . I keep running out to swipe more off buried shrubs ;(
ReplyDeleteHard to believe that this area is near Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. The red house is brilliant, shows color while everything else is white. Excellent photos as usual, especially like the dogwood and apple shots.
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing driving on this lovely fluff?
ReplyDeleteI did okay driving on the previous snows but they were not this severe. I was scheduled to work today but I called in. I am not going to attempt it. They are really good here about keeping the major roads clear. It is the side roads you have to be careful on.
DeleteDoes your town shut down like we do down here in the south when it snows?
ReplyDeleteYes, all the schools close and most residents do not know how to drive in it. I am surprised though at just how much traffic is on the roads while watching it all on the tv news. I guess a lot of people just have to go out (although a lot of people just got caught in it).
DeleteIsn't this just crazy? I can't say I'm a fan...but you've probably already figured that out. Hope you're enjoying your forced day off.
ReplyDeleteSnow is so beautiful on Christmas cards and from a distance. (like from here where we have none.) Hope you stay safe and sound.
ReplyDelete... But it's so beautiful. No major storms yet here in Virginia.
ReplyDeleteRay
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you can hibernate indoors until it melts.
(I must say I'm surprised the dogwood took the snow so hard. Is it a C. florida? BONAP shows them as being native up into Michigan and New Hampshire, so I would have thought they'd take snow like champ. Maybe yours got soft living in Oregon?) ;)
Hope all your other plants are safe and comfortable under their insulating white blanket!
Aaron, it is c florida. It is the largest tree on our property. There were three broken limbs. Not bad, I suppose. It was just a lot of snow!
DeleteYour winter is as wacky as ours has been! Better photo ops for you, though. The wet sidewalks here are kind of boring.
ReplyDeleteIt's like day 5 right?? I'm over this snow. It's suppose to snow and then melt here in the PNW. So melt already! :)
ReplyDeleteYou have to admit that it's lovely! But wow, way too much for the area, am I right? You probably never saw that much snow in Alabama, so you've already learned that a nice blanket of snow can actually be good for your plants, protecting them from the bitter cold.
ReplyDeleteRobin, we would occassionally get a snow like this in Alabama but it would be gone the next day. It certainly never hung around for a week!
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