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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

Staining the Fence

 


We finally got the fence stained. We were waiting for warmer temperatures to do the job. We started to do it two weeks ago but then decided against it after reading the staining instructions which called for night and daytime temperatures to be at least in the 50s. It is still getting down in the 40s at night although things are slowly warming up.  

We worked all day yesterday with only one panel left to do. Michael kindly volunteered to finish it this morning while I finished getting some containers potted. 

Here is the view from inside the back garden. It looks better without those nasty power lines mucking up the view -

The stain we use is Cabot Australian Timber Oil 'Mahogany Flame'. We've used it for all the other structures in the garden. How I wish that it would retain this luster. Alas, it will eventually fade and probably be soiled with bird poop.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. The Cabot products are really good. Your fence looks great!

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  2. It looks fantastic. Sadly, bird poop can't be avoided.

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  3. That's just splendid-the hard work paid off. I had two small redwood pergolas built last year and briefly toyed with the idea of staining them - clearly I would hate doing it so much I would be paying to have it done every couple of years. Your beautiful result seems well worth the effort !

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  4. I love your garden. You've done so much in such a short time.

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