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Portland Study Weekend Gardens - West Linn, Clackamas & Oregon City pt. 1

Last Saturday, I saw the six gardens featured on the HPSO Study Weekend tour. These gardens were in the southern part of Portland. I was excited to see Sherry Sheng's garden. She has visited our garden in the past, and I got to know her better when we were on the England trip together.  Her garden was a delight with something fabulous at every turn.  Next, the Connall garden which has a Mediterranean, drought-resistant planting scheme. The Harry Landers garden was packed with colorful flowers and a koi pond - Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden - a book review


The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden
by Stacy Tornio
Timber Press, 2024

This colorful guide is a good introduction for beginning gardeners who want to attract wildlife. The focus is on four major groups - birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. There is also an additional chapter on "Other Wildlife" which offers brief notes on attracting dragonflies, spiders, amphibians, reptiles, earthworms, etc. It even mentions squirrels and rabbits, but my question is - who would want these in the garden?!!

Each section begins with profiles of the major players with a description, photo and list of statistical information such as physical characteristics, nesting habits, diet and range. This is followed by a section of plants that are beneficial. The plants include trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.


A section titled "Show Me How to Plan a Garden" features five or six plants with an illustration to use in whatever type of garden you are making (shade, drought-tolerant, songbird, hummingbird, etc.). 



A final FAQ section answers questions about native plants, organic gardening and problems one might encounter.

The book is well illustrated with beautiful photographs and drawings. I would recommend the book as a gift for someone just starting out with gardening or for someone who wants to identify birds or butterflies. I'm not sure I would use the word "Ultimate" in the title as the information on both plants and birds is quite minimal, but it is a good starting point.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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