Dirt Therapy

Bleeding Heart ( Dicentra 'Gold Heart') Weather is in the news a lot these days and it always seems to be for the wrong reasons. Just the past year has seen records in temperatures (last summer), diminished rainfall (most months) and late snowfall (this month). But now, a statistic to cheer about - the month of April has seen a record amount of rainfall. Recordings at PDX show that we got a total of 5.37 inches. One year ago (April 2021) was the driest on record at .37 inch.  The rain is welcome although the weather hasn't been conducive to working in the garden. In addition to the wet weather, it has been really cool and night temperatures are still dipping into the 40s. I'm sure vegetable gardeners are having a frustrating time. Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' Camassia leichtlinii Daphne cneorum (Rock Daphne) Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Acer palmatum 'Murasaki kiyohime' and Black Mondo Grass ( Ophiopogon planiscapus ) I love this time of year when the garden looks fresh and unblemished. The plants are tidy (if you've cleaned up, of course) and they stand out individually, unencumbered by their soon encroaching neighbors. Today was another round of cold rain, typical lately on my off-days, but it was beautiful yesterday (Easter Sunday) and we worked in the garden all day. I've been bringing home loads of bark chips to mulch the beds, so far just one load per week because of the weather. Yesterday we edged the grass walkway as well as the Pan garden in back. I'm hoping to get a major project completed - edging the grass area of the Pan garden with bricks - before our open garden. If the weather continues to be uncooperative, that chore may get delayed.  The grass pathway in front looks so good! Some blooms from yesterday - Geum 'Mango Lassi' Windflower ( Anenome blanda ) Anise ( Illicium for...

Rhododendron 'Blue Baron' After yesterday's snowstorm, we had a bone-chilling day today with a few sunny spots. This afternoon, a freakish hail storm or so I thought - apparently it was graupel? A new term for me. Tomorrow's forecast? Snow in the morning but hopefully nothing like the one yesterday.  Get a load of this - Viewing the aftermath from yesterday's snow, it was comforting to see that the garden had rebounded nicely. I suppose that most of us underestimate the resiliency of plants even after working with them for decades. Our tendency is to panic and expect the worst but I now always think about a phrase that a co-worker tells customers - "Plants want to live!"  I didn't spend much time outside today because it was cold and wet but I did get the Azara ( Azara microphylla) upright again. Yesterday - Today! - It wasn't bad at all. I picked it right up and used a large stake to secure it. I didn't feel any roots as I lifted it and I won...

Mother Nature continues to throw us for a loop. Michael woke me up early apologizing but said that I might want to look outside at some of our trees. I was too groggy at first to understand what had happened. It was snowing lightly when I went to bad shortly after midnight. The weather forecasters were talking about snow but I've got to where I take what they say with a grunt of disgust because 90% of the time they are wrong, especially when they forecast rain or snow. Well, we got snow all right. I did not measure but later heard that the official total for Hazel Dell was 7 inches. And it was a heavy, wet snow that was very destructive. Here is a fact to ponder - The Portland / Vancouver area has never received snow in April (except for traces). The latest measurable snowfall on record was March 25, 1965. We could see out the window that our beautiful strawberry tree was splaying in all directions and there were some obvious broken limbs. Looking out the back windows brought furt...

The front beds still awaiting mulch. A great day in the garden and we got so much accomplished. It was Michael's first day in the garden (the slacker!). We spread a load of mulch, more pruning and clearing up debris and getting some containers potted up. Rain is on the way and we hope to get a good soaking overnight. Things are popping up all over and I swear I noticed new growth and flower formations by the end of the day that I didn't see this morning. The rain is sure to bring a flush of activity. Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles 'Double Take Orange Storm') and Veronica 'Georgia Blue has been blooming for several weeks now.  Rhododendron 'Taurus', an early blooming variety, provides a much-needed shot of vibrant color to kick-start the season. Watch my video to see the bloom progression . Lavender 'Platinum Blonde' is certainly the most attractive lavender in the garden this time of year. I've still not mastered how to prune or care for them. Mos...