Every year, I aim to get a large project completed when garden activity is low. A project that was high on my list for many years was replacing the ugly chainlink fence that divides the driveway from the back garden. I had contemplated doing it on my own but thank goodness I finally had the sense to call a professional. It was a thrill to get this installed.
February
We got a big snow on February 12 that lasted for days afterward (it took about a week to completely thaw). We managed to duck the ice that parts of Portland received. There was a large limb broke on the strawberry tree but not damage overall.
March
A fairly uneventful month but the last week brings the promise of spring with new leaves on the roses. The early morning sunlight illuminates the New Zealand orange sedge and the boxwoods.
It was also a good time to make an insect hotel -
April
Another project I wanted to get done was the replacing (or re-doing) of the grass pathway in the front garden. I worked on it on and off through the previous months and finally finished it in early April and got grass seed planted. I eventually had to add more grass seed to get it thick enough. The grass part took longer than I expected but it looked great by the end of summer.
May
It amazes me how different the garden changes in just one month. By the end of May, everything was filled in and vibrant.
We got the fence stained around the 10th once it started to warm up and get drier. It was actually a very dry spring.
On the last days of the month, we had our first HPSO Open Garden. It is was an "appointment only" affair with the Covid situation but still had a nice turnout over several weekends.
June
The end of June brought record-breaking temperatures that lingered for several days. We reached 112 (unheard of in this region) and other areas got even higher. In our garden, most of the damage appeared on conifers, especially the smaller ones. I covered a lot of plants with shade cloth but a searing east wind was like a furnace after the previous day's heat.
JULY
After the shock of the heatwave in early July, the garden slowly returned to normal. I saw new growth on many of the damaged plants, almost immediately.
I embarked on a 3-day garden tour in the Seattle area and saw some really wonderful gardens.
Heat damage on Trochodendron araliodes (Wheel Tree) -
August
In mid-August, we had another hot spell. It wasn't as bad as the previous event but temperatures still got over 100. Very annoying!
Later in the month, I find photos of the garden and plants looking well. It is always a thrill when having a plant bloom that knocks you over. In this case, that would be the crape myrtle 'Lunar Magic'. It look a long time to bloom but when it did, it was stunning -
September
I was up on the roof in September and took some aerial shots of the garden. I've always wanted a drone but this is the next best thing.
The late flush of roses were especially lovely this year - this one is 'Cornelia' -
October
I love October and November in the garden and this year the fall color was so nice. This is a view of the front borders. And you can see that the grass finally filled in on the pathway. That is The dogwood on the left is Cornus kousa 'Celestial Shadow'. On the right is a dwarf burning bush 'Rudy Haag' and the Sourwood Tree (Oxydendrun arboreum) behind it. The dark maple in the back is Acer palmatum 'Skeeter's Broom'.
Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' is really late to change color. This was taken the last day of October -
November
Here is the same view that was posted for April. The garden is winding down and a little blowsy.
One of the most spectacular fall color trees is Nyssa sylvatica (Black Tupelo). It changes color really late but when it does - stand back!
December
And here we are again in December where it has been a really wet month and, in the last week, a snowy one. (The above photo was taken on December 28th).Best wishes to you and yours for the upcoming year. Let us hope that it is one with better weather and a healthier environment!
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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