Skip to main content

Featured

A Closer Look at Winter Damage

But first, take a look at this gorgeous rainbow that we had on Friday! The five-day stretch of warm temperatures last week really jump-started the garden. Now that plants are putting out new growth, it is easier to see what kind of damage the winter left. Back in mid-January, we experienced five straight days of below-freezing temperatures. This caused much damage in Portland and areas where frigid winds were a factor. Here, we were fortunate to not get the wind and the cold temperatures were dampened by a blanket of snow. That said, it was a tough time for the garden and there are noticeable casualties but no outright deaths that I have seen. The bottlebrush ( Callistemon 'Woodlander's Red') did not like the cold at all. It was planted six years ago, in the north-facing garden no less, and I've not experienced die-back on it until now. A local expert said to cut it all the way back so that is what I did. If it doesn't make it, I won't be too distraught. It is

Open Gardens: The Hardiman Garden

hardiman-garden-5

I was very excited to see the garden of Lucy and Fred Hardiman. Lucy Hardiman is a garden designer at Perennial Partners. This garden certainly did not disappoint. Full of vibrant rich colors (purples, blues and pinks, a favorite combination of mine) and accented with artistic architectural structures and art pieces, as well as some favorite plants like hydrangeas and lilies. Note the big crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia 'Zuni') in the above photo. They do grow here!

hardiman-garden-10

hardiman-garden-11

hardiman-garden-4

hardiman-garden-3
Just look at these lilies! I was intrigued by the blue flower and she told me that it is a perennial that she herself introduced to Joy Creek Nursery. It is Galega 'Lady Wilson'.

hardiman-garden-8
It was near sunset when I toured the garden and the diminishing light gave it a magical quality.

hardiman-garden-6
Perfectly placed art pieces

hardiman-garden-7

hardiman-garden-9
Yarn in the garden? Why not?

hardiman-garden-2

hardiman-garden-1
This is the front entryway garden that leads back to the main garden.
A big thank you to the Hardiman's for including their garden on the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Open Gardens Tour. It was wonderful!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Nice photos. Thank you for sharing. I bet the bees and hummers love this garden too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You caught Lucy's garden in its prime! Not that it's ever lacking for charm, but I've never seen it so floriferous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! That's an incredible garden but one would expect no less from the amazing Ms Hardiman! Love the tree with all of the glass spheres!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've seen Lucy's garden a bit later in the year, it's looking just beautiful in your photos. It's a very colorful garden. Now I know what those large shrubs are that I saw in D.C. whose flowers reminded me a bit of lilacs. They must have been blooming crape myrtles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful photos show her incredible color discipline which gives such a dramatic effect. This looks like an entirely different garden than the one I saw almost 10 years ago, which I remember as a shared space among neighbors (?) or maybe it's just been completely reworked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not sure but her neighbor's garden next door was also open. It was very small but fantastic. I plan to post photos of it next.

      Delete
  6. An eye candy this garden is. Every picture is perfect and screams Summer.
    You say: Yarn in the garden? Why not? and I say Why Knot :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Riffing off of Denise's comment, this garden strikes me as a fantastic mix of whimsy and color discipline. Thanks for sharing it with us virtually!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for showing this beautiful garden

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my that's so lovely. My kind of garden.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You captured much of what has earned Lucy her big reputation. We (Joy Creek) had Galega 'Lady Wilson' for sale at Hortlandia but because it was not in bloom at the time, it flew under the radar. Right now, everyone is exclaiming "What's That?!" when they see it in the garden.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts