Dirt Therapy

  I had been wanting to see Lisa Fuller's garden for a long time and I finally got the chance this week. It was a cold morning and her garden is very shady and I was thankful I remembered to bring my jacket.  What a serene garden this is! Located in the Garden Home area of Portland, you would never know the bustling city is just right outside the neighborhood. Large pines, Douglas firs, Sitka spruce, Oregon ash and western red cedar tower over the canopy of this half-acre woodland garden. The understory is filled with native plants like Indian Plum ( Oemleria cerasiformis ), red osier dogwood ( Cornus stolonifera ) and serviceberry ( Amelanchier ).  It is a haven for birds and wildlife. We were continually serenaded by birdsong, many of them unfamiliar to me. When she first moved in, she spend a year clearing out blackberry and ivy. After that, more and more native plants began to appear -  salal ,  snowberry, deer fern, sword fern, twinberry, douglas spirea, St...

A war breaks out in this household every year around this time when it is time to bring plants inside the house. If you know Michael, you know that he is a neatness freak and keeps the house in a spotless condition. If you don't know him, you can get an idea by watching this clip from one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies - "Mommie Dearest" -   That's him! Michael feels that houseplants make a mess by shedding and to appease him, I try to keep the inventory to a minimum.  To be fair, I'm not exactly that great when it comes to houseplants. I am much better with outdoor plants. Our last house was drafty and plants didn't do well at all. Here, they do better but most of the good light comes through the south windows and we don't have many places to store them. Really the only space we have is this little greenhouse box that is attached to the kitchen window - Most of the larger plants end up i n my study/library, on the north side of the house, and s...

We have a wonderful service in our area called Chip Drop . Here is how it works - you sign up at the website to receive a huge load of wood chips from local arborists dumped in your driveway (or wherever you want it dumped).  The service is beneficial to both gardeners and arborists and is an overall good thing. However, there are some disadvantages although I don't think they outweigh the advantages.  Here are some things to know: Although the service is considered "free", you can donate any amount you choose. I always donate $20 (which is suggested). However, one time I did not donate and I waited forever to get my delivery. It could have been a coincidence (I have also waited long periods for orders that I paid for) but I do think donating gets you faster service. If you are paying, you are not charged until your chips are delivered. Another disadvantage, if you want to call it that, is that you do not know when you will get the delivery. I have waited as little as 3 ...

Begonia 'Bonfire'   According to the data, the average frost date for Vancouver, Washington is around the first of November. We are a bit early this year as we had a light frost last night. The weather forecasts show temperatures down into the 30s for the next week.  That means the days are numbered for the tender plants. That is a shame, because as you can see in the above photo, the 'Bonfire' begonias are spectacular. I covered them last night and will do so again tonight.  Spanish Flag ( Ipomoea lobata ) Another plant that I hate to see go is the Spanish Flag vine ( Ipomoea lobata ). This is the first time I've ever grown it and I was amazed at how spectacular it has been. Also amazing for me is the fact that I grew it from seed which means it is a very easy plant to grow. It starts to perform very late, late August if I recall correctly, but what a lovely thing it is. I did not cover this (that would have been a chore) and I could tell it was not as vibrant...