Dirt Therapy

Last year, one of my favorite gardening books was A Tapestry Garden by Ernie and Marietta O'Byrne. In the book, they show how they created their beautiful, multi-faceted garden beginning in the early 1970s with 70 acres and a farmhouse dating back to 1918. I've always enjoyed reading about how gardens were formed and this one was particularly fascinating. Later, Marietta O'Byrne gave a talk to the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, and talked more about their gardening experiences.  I've been wanting to visit their garden since reading the book but never found the time last year to take the 2.5 hour drive down to Eugene. The O'Byrne's also operate a hellebore nursery ( Northwest Garden Nursery ) on their property and this past weekend they opened the nursery and garden for their annual Hellebore Garden Open Days. Since I was free, I decided to drive down there. I was unprepared for the tremendous crowd (this is a very popular event) but I enjoyed my...

My latest horticultural obsession has been Cecil Ross Pinsent (1884-1963). I first became aware of him while watching "Monty Don's Italian Gardens". In Part 2 of 3 episodes, Monty visits I Tatti, the remarkable garden Pinsent designed when he was only in his early 20s. Later in the program, Monty visits and one of Pinsent's last and most famous garden La Foce. Both of these gardens are discussed in Ethne Clarke's book "An Infinity of Graces" that covers Pinsent's remarkable work, which sadly has been overlooked in garden history. Remarkably, many of the traditional elements that comprise an Italian garden were started by Pinsent, who was an Englishman. Pinsent was born in Uruguay and lived there for five years before his family moved back to England. As an adolescent, he enjoyed photography and developed an interest in architecture. Despite his father's objections (who wanted him to follow in the family tradition of law), he gave in to Pinsen...

Freshly mown grass always makes me feel better!   The weather gods are being very kind this week. The weather here is glorious - sunny and in the 50s and no clouds whatsoever today although we woke up to a chilly 29 degrees and a big frost. The forecast for the remainder of the week only gets better. The best part of this is that I have most of the week free! I  have one more day to work at my winter job at Target and then I'm off to Alabama for a trip and following that, I will probably be starting back at Yard N' Garden Land for the gardening season. I'm thrilled to have so many days in between with some great weather. The pruning chores continue. This morning after it warmed up a bit, I got out and started working on the border next to the street. Before - And after - The daffodils and crocus are blooming. Now that the grass is sheared away from them, you have a better look -  My first grevillea has survived the winter nicely. ...

I am a day late for Gardener's Bloom Day ( hosted by May Dreams Gardens ) but I was busy yesterday working for the coroporate beast.  But frankly, there isn't too much to share. The crocus, just planted last fall, is on the rise and a sure sign of spring. This week promises to bring temperatures in the 50s and sunny days. I know a lot of gardeners around here are going to be very happy. People think it rains here a lot but here is the way it is and this is fairly typical - this morning was sunny and bright and as we were out having breakfast and doing errands, I kept thinking "I really should be in the garden". After we arrive home, it suddenly gets very dark with ominous clouds on the horizon. Suddenly, it starts pouring rain, an event that lasts all of 4 minutes. Then, the sun appears again, and the garden is a sodden mess. That has happened twice already today but overall, it is mostly sunny. The hellebores continue to be astonishing. I vow to plant more - ...