Dirt Therapy

I love seeing other people's gardens and the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon's Open Gardens is a terrific opportunity to see great gardens every weekend through October. I did not visit as many gardens last year as I did the first year I lived here so I hope to do some catching up this year. This morning we drove to Clackamus to see Michael Bostwick's garden. This is a small garden inspired by the owner's hikes in the Pacific Northwest. A pathway leading from the side of the house and into the back area is bordered by raised beds that ends in a beautiful waterfall and pond.  There is a wide variety of plants, including dwarf conifers, maples, native plants, wildflowers, iris, trillium, orchids, hellebores,  shrubs and many unique perennials.  A huge sumac hangs over the waterfall. It was just beginning to leaf out. I am sure that this is a stunning site when all the leaves are open. Michael said that after this season, he would be moving the entire garde...

Two full days of work and we are about 99% finished with staining the new deck/pergola. We took the supposedly "rain free" opportunity to get the job done and of course we got sprinkles yesterday afternoon and evening (the weather people here are the WORST!). No worries, however, as it did not seem to spoil anything. When we had it built in January, Michael said that it would be nice if we could have stained the wood beforehand, especially the 2 x 2 slats that go across the top. Of course he was right as usual. It was a nightmarish job trying to get all the slats stained and I realized that in order to get the top of the slats covered, I would have to climb up on it and do the job sitting on top. Not much fun and very hard to move around. We can hardly move tonight. I am smiling but I would rather be planting the plants I got at Hortlandia. This is Michael on day #1. He used a car wash brush with an extension handle to apply the stain to the floor. This made the...

Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) I have been dealing with a nasty head cold for the past few weeks but I am feeling much better and managed to get back out in the garden this weekend. We are having a rainy April which is fine with me but it does hamper the ability to get some much needed chores done.  The April showers are bringing blooms out everywhere. My first time growing Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) (pictured above) and both plants have blooms! This is a shrub (or sometimes tree) that is well-suited for Mediterranean climates and they do well here.  Also very popular here is Rhododendron 'PJM' (below). I fell in love with it after we moved here. It seems a bit old hat now but I still think that color is fabulous! Rhododendron 'PJM ' I am disappointed that Rhododendron 'Vulcan' only has one bloom but that one bloom is pretty spectacular - Rhododendron 'Vulcan ' Rhododendron 'Blue Baron' is very puny but the color of these bl...

This is a spectacular native shrub that grows in woodland areas from California up to British Columbia west of the Cascades. Ribes sanguineum (better known as Red Flowering Currant or Winter Currant)  begins to bloom late March to early April and stays in bloom for up to a month. The deep pink to red racemes of flowers are a beacon for hummingbirds, especially the Rufous hummingbird, who might just stop by your garden if you have this beauty in bloom.  There are several varieties available which include a white blooming one. I bought this one at the Clark County Master Gardener Plant Sale two years ago (it was planted on May 14, 2107). If you don't know about this plant sale and are in need of plants at ridiculously low prices, I urge you to visit. The sale is Mother's Day Weekend at Heritage Farm. The crowds are huge and so are the deals - I got this one for $3. The plant tags are usually not very detailed though, as in the case of the currant so I have no idea whi...

The Lavender of Sequim: America's Provence by Bonnie Louise Gillis, published by Books Out Of The Blue, 2019. Since moving here, I have visited tulip farms, rose, lily, iris and peony gardens but I have yet to see a lavender farm although I have seen signs for them. I have also not ventured any further north than Woodland, Washington although I hope to remedy that soon.  I have heard of Sequim, Washington because I have a co-worker who once lived there. It is located in the northwest corner of Washington (northeast of Seattle). The Olympic mountains shields the town from getting rainfall and their average is about 12 inches per year.  Early settlers to the area knew they had to do something so they embarked on an ambitious irrigation project to bring water to their town. It worked and they still have an Irrigation Festival every year to celebrate that achievement. Cattle farming became the main economic booster for the next century. In the 1990s, developers began bu...