Dirt Therapy

Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' I was really too harsh in my last post concerning the weather. It has actually been a very mild winter, and looking back, I see that I have completed several projects. The first, back in November, was a redo of the twig fence. This has been an ongoing project that has left me unsatisfied. At the beginning, I just piled the twigs up, along an existing chain fence, and soon realized that they would never stand on their own. Critters (squirrels!) continually knocked twigs out of the arrangement, but over time, it was simply gravity that caused problems. I used various methods to try and keep the twigs in place, including using wire to tie them and fence posts to brace them. All temporary solutions. Gravity always reared its ugly head.  At the end of summer, I decided on a different approach. The sheer weight of the twigs made a deep wall impractical, so I decided to construct a shallower fence and secure it with a stronger support.  This is how it l...

It's beginning to feel a lot like spring, especially today. What a difference a day makes. It seems as thought we've had rain for the past week. The past two days were extremely wet, too miserable to get outside. I never thought I suffered from seasonal depression, but I think I'm beginning to, especially when the gray days go on for long stretches.  Today, we are back to sunny and dry, and it looks like it may continue for at least a week. Hooray, there's so much to do. And there are things to see... The little yellow crocus at the top of the page has been blooming for several weeks. The purple ones were just beginning to bud this morning - By the end of the day... A few days ago, as I was taking the kitchen compost out during the endless drizzle, I almost stepped on these Iris reticulata 'Little Gems'. I planted these last fall. They were on the end-of-season markdown at Lowe's.  The hellebores have been blooming for some time now.  I know people complain...

Cha No Niwa - Japanese Tea Garden Now, on to the show gardens which are undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the show. There were 15 official show gardens and I got photos of most of them, but not all. I'm beginning with the most popular, which was the "Cha No Niwa - Japanese Tea Garden" which won the RHS Garden of the Year award and was the People's Choice winner.  This garden was designed by Japanese designer Kazuyuki Ishihara . Queen Elizabeth II referred to him as "The Magician of Greenery".  I would say the second most-popular garden (judging by the crowds) was Jo Thompson 's Glasshouse Garden. The Glasshouse Garden The inspiration for this garden came from The Glasshouse, an organization that supported women leaving prison through horticultural training, resettlement and employment.  The following photo gives you an ideal of the crowds. This garden particularly was constantly surrounded by a thick barrier of people. I tried several times to get bet...

Next to the last day of the England tour (the final day was at  RHS Wisley , which I just covered). I've saved the Chelsea Flower Show for last. We were lucky to have had exceptional weather during the entire three weeks of the trip. In fact, our tour guide, who has been to England over twenty times, said that he had never seen it so warm and dry. Today, however, there was rain, but it wasn't a lot. It reminded me of Pacific Northwest rain - just drizzle and sprinkles. This is how it looked as we boarded our rides to the show - By the time we arrived, just a few blocks away, the rain had stopped, and it stayed dry about ninety percent of the day.  At first, I thought "this isn't too bad". Roaming around the displays on the outside, there didn't seem to be that many people. That quickly changed, however, and by the time I entered the Great Pavilion, it was very crowded. The show gardens (which I will do in my next post) were especially difficult to see with so ...