Dirt Therapy

One of our local meterologists posted today that we are headed for an early fall. Music to my ears! It only got up to around 70 yesterday and we had an all-day marine layer. That hasn't happened in a long time. Today is equally tolerable and there has been some light rain showers.  Summer is my least favorite season so I'm happy to see it go. On the minus side, August was one of the hottest on record for Portland and it is so dry that some plants in the garden are showing stress despite being watered. Relief is in sight - there is an 80% chance of rain on Thursday. Some shots from the garden today - Zinnias and Aster 'Kickin Purple' Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' Rose 'Buff Beauty' Abelia 'Frances Mason' (a gift from Paul Bonine!) Persicaria 'Blackfield' Juniper 'All Gold' Vernonia baldwinii ( Western Ironweed )  Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

In my previous post about Joanne Fuller's garden , I mentioned that we also toured her next-door neighbor Linda Ernst's garden. It too was fabulous. They share a gate in their back garden. In the following photo, you can see the open gate. The banana tree is on Joanne's side. Doesn't it look great behind Linda's wall? We saw Linda's back garden first since we entered through the gate. The first thing I saw was a gorgeous 'Zuni' crape myrtle that had recently been planted. It was full of blooms. Apparently I did not get a photo of it. There was so much to see, I was overwhelmed. Lots of vibrant colors and beautiful plantings. Notice the purple glass panels on the left wall? Linda does glass work. To the right is her studio - Leaving the back garden, we entered the side garden which used to be a driveway.  The rose is a David Austin variety and Linda said it was a very good one (sorry I don't recall the name) -  The neighbors on the other side put in a...

Crape Myrtle ( Lagerstroemia 'Dynamite') We had a string of really hot days last week, as high as 104. Yesterday and today have been perfect with temperatures in the mid to high 70s and no humidity. Hot weather returns tomorrow for a 3-day run. I hate it but these plants don't seem to mind - Of course there are the heat-loving crape myrtles. Incredibly beautiful trees and they thrived in the south - here they seem to do rather well although not as fast growing.  'Dynamite' starts blooming in mid-August for me. 'Catawba', a purple variety planted next to the back deck, usually blooms earlier but it was late this year. 'Catawba'  One of my favorites is 'Lunar Magic' which I grow in a pot. The deep burgundy foliage perfectly contrasts with the white blooms.  'Lunar Magic' One of my favorite small trees - the Chaste Tree ( Vitex agnus-castus ) -  Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' in a pot outside our front window. We have one in the gro...

When the temperature is predicted to be 104 degrees, touring a garden is probably not a wise decision. Nevertheless, plans had been made and an appointment to see Joanne Fuller's garden as well as her next door neighbor Linda Ernst was set - at least it was morning and relatively cool. The two gardens are located in a beautiful neighborhood with tree-lined streets. Joanne's house is elevated above the street and steps bordered by terraced beds lead up to the front porch. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of the front since I had not asked permission yet and by the time we worked our way around to the front again (from Linda's side), I forgot to go back and take photos. Stepping into the back garden leads down a shady pathway bordered with a tapestry of contrasting foliage. Joanne loves bold foliage and she is especially fond of podophyllum. I lost count of how many varieties she had - all beautiful.    The garden is also filled with art. This Buddha statue is a memoria...