sprig to twig

The folks at HPSO talked Loree into opening her garden to a small group and sharing her tips and tricks for growing succulents. I have long admired this garden and gardener online, so I jumped at the chance to meet them both in 3D. I kicked myself for failing to bring my camera (it was hiding out, having learned something from those devious car keys), but I needn’t have worried. Loree does a much better job of chronicling than I ever could here. She almost apologetically admitted that all of her expertise comes from personal experience rather than study. As far as I am concerned, that is the very best kind of knowledge. Plus, I happen to know that she gobbles up every book on the subject before experimenting freely on the hundreds of plants in her collection.

As if soaking up this fabulous garden and pelting Loree with questions were not enough, she used her considerable pull in the local plant community to procure donated plants. There were just enough to go around. I fell somewhere in the middle of the ingenious drawing system for choosing. The big, showy numbers had already been snapped up, but I had had my eye on this little guy right from the start. I never met a Euphorbia I didn’t like. E. mamilaris ‘varigata’ stands 4.5″ tall and is a perfect fit for one of three little metal containers I found in a thrift shop. Doesn’t he look like he is holding up his paws and shouting “Pick me! Pick me!”?

Planting him up gave me a chance to put new information into practice. We had been warned that most succulents will be planted too deeply. Sure enough, you can see the dark line where the soil level reached in the nursery pot. I can see why they do it that way, because he wanted to flop over when the soil covered only his shallow root system. Aha! Here is where the recommended layer of gravel top-dressing came in. Not only is it attractive, but it holds the plant upright without retaining moisture. I applied this same technique to an Agave pup that had been struggling.

Since she knew of the death, last year, of my prickly pear, Loree had saved a paddle from one of hers for me. I am taking no chances with this one, so more potting practice, using 70% potting soil to 30% chicken grit and once again topping off with gravel. I noticed that the Danger Garden employs many cachepots with no drainage holes, so the watering of this plant, similarly housed, will need to be even sparser than usual (I am sure that Loree will correct me in the comments if I am wrong about that). Update: I was right: see comments for the straight scoop.

All in all, this was a perfect way to spend a beautiful, sunny morning. Thanks, HPSO, for convincing Loree to step outside of her comfort zone and try something she wasn’t sure she would be good at. Hah! Loree…I think you might just be finding yourself in demand. You were great!

Almost every Sunday at 1pm there is a seminar of some sort at Joy Creek Nursery. Last Sunday Roger Gossler of Gossler Farms in Eugene, Oregon was the featured speaker.

He was talking about late-season plants, especially shrubs and small trees, to bring interest to a time when many gardens seem to be exhausted by their spring efforts and taking a breather before their fall show. He brought a load of plants to illustrate his points.

He is much in demand as a speaker, so he is comfortable in front of an audience and knows how to keep us engaged and interested. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Springfield, Oregon, just outside of Eugene, a fine experience awaits you wandering through the magnificent display gardens. Barring that, a mail-order business puts the plants within your reach. A nice tour of the gardens can be found at nest maker. Do not fail to follow the links to part two.

After soaking up all of the stories and background information we were ready to shop. I came away with Rhododendron ‘Ebony Pearl’. Now I am trying to drum up interest in a trip south.

quick as a cat can wink its eye

This pie cherry tree looked like a goner when we first moved here. R can’t stand to see anything die, so he did a lot of pruning and staking and babying. Last year we had our first cherry pie. This year it has gifted us with a regular crop.

To fill a one quart freezer bag it takes four cups of fruit, one heaping cup of sugar (the cherries are very tart) and two tablespoons of minute tapioca mixed together before stirring in. To some, I added a few drops of almond extract. Others got the zest of a lemon. Many cooks swear by gadgets like cherry pitters and apple corers, but I find that my fingers are the handiest gadgets around.

Here they are, all zipped up and ready to be popped into the freezer. There is limited space in there, and I can’t imagine having more than four cherry pies in a year. The birds and the raccoons are happy that we left some for them. We came upon two raccoons feasting on cherries. They were so absorbed that they barely noticed us…either that or the word has gotten out that this is a no-kill zone, no matter how annoying the critters become. More about that next time, but now I would like to direct you to Wendy’s blog for more ways to enjoy the season’ bounty.

I am leading with this photo because I just read a post over at Lost in the Landscape where James has a few things to say about dead trees as ART. I happen to think (and I think James would agree) that Mom Nature has done a pretty good job of turning this dead tree into ART all on her own. We spent the weekend at Sunriver, a resort near Bend, OR. It is a kind of wilderness version of Disneyland, where families can access entertainment for all ages, and an event like the wedding that brought us here can achieve the iconic status that will burn itself into the memories of all who attended.

Just get a load of this room, where the reception took place. The “Great Hall” was a part of the fort that was later renovated as one of the key buildings giving the resort its character. It would be hard to top this as a setting for a wedding reception.

But we had lots of free time, during which we chose to explore the outer limits of the resort. The stable offers many levels of equestrian adventures. In that field behind the horses we spied many ground squirrels. Overhead, the red tailed hawks were perusing the menu. I did not happen to see one zeroing in on his dinner, but R claims that he saw one of the hawks soaring overhead with something dangling from its beak. It’s one thing to watch these things on “Nature” and quite something else to experience them first hand.

This old horse looked like it would be about my speed, if we had not been committed to proceeding on foot.

We did, at least, stick to the horse trails, which took us off the paved paths for bicyclists and into areas where wildflowers like Indian paintbrush flourished.

Backing up a little bit, we can see the grasses and shrubs where the paintbrushes have chosen to proliferate.

The pine forests have none of the underbrush typical of the other side of the mountains.

We might not catch sight of all of the creatures living here, but there is no mistaking the signs of beavers working the woods.

The meadows are composed of many different grasses. It is hard to capture the undulating beauty of these seas of nodding seedheads, shimmering in the breeze.

Some of the wildflowers and grasses are familiar, but others are peculiar to this region.

Where landscaping has taken place, there is a heavy reliance upon grasses, day lilies and willows. I think they must water these bioswales with some regularity to keep them looking this lush.

The wedding took place on the lawn, cocktails on the terrace, and then we retired to this magnificent room for dinner and dancing. The site was originally a fort, so when, in the sixties, it was reconfigured into a resort, the log structures became the main lodge and the great hall. I’m repeating myself here, but the first photo showed the chandeliers, while this one features the spiral staircase built around a huge tree trunk. What a romantic setting for two young people to join hands and set off into their future.

These are by far my most successful crop (R is the head food gardener around here). Maybe it’s the “Oregon” in the name: Oregon Sugar Pod II. Whatever, one half whisky barrel is usually devoted to them. I think next year I will plant more so that I can freeze some. They put out just enough that I can use them in something about every third day. My favorite dish so far was a stir fry with a little bit of sausage, the last of the bok choy, onions and garlic sauted in sesame oil with a splash of soy sauce.

Wendy posts wonderful garden-to-table recipes every Saturday. I’m jumping the gun (or dragging my feet, depending upon how you look at it) because we’re heading for Sunriver in the morning. My camera is all charged up and ready to go, so I hope to have fun shots to share when we get back. Have a great weekend!

We usually go to the Portland Nursery on Stark Street, but when we heard about a garden art fair at the one on Division, we decided to go the extra few miles to check it out. It was a gloomy, rainy day, so not much gardening was going to happen. I guess I am one of only a handful of people that think that way, because attendance was sparse.

A large area of the nursery was given over to tents for the artists, with one big one for performing musicians. The hay bale seating was a nice touch, considering the old-timey fiddling and such. I was expecting more in the way of garden art. I’d say at least 50% of the artists were jewelers.

A gardener’s hands do not make the best showcase for jewelry, so I zeroed in on…big surprise…succulents. I thought these hanging snail shells, each with a little succulent, were delightfully inventive.

There were succulent terrariums in bowls,

and hanging globes,

and hanging teardrops.

But here we were in plant central, so it wasn’t long before we were out there inspecting plants. This outlet of Portland Nursery lacks the display gardens of the Stark Street location, but they compensate by using every vertical surface for displays like this one.

There are large hunks of real estate given over to displays like this one featuring many styles and sizes of fountains.

This cascading fountain was set apart at the entrance to the shade house.

The pot selection is impressive, especially for this late in the season. I was wowed by these massive concrete numbers.

I found this unique sedum in the native plant section. Sedum oregonense ‘McKenzie River Form’ is touted as evergreen-ever glaucous.

I fell for this little guy: Thuja occidentalis ‘Golden Tuffet”, which caused some hilarity when R discovered that I had purchased…yes it’s true…an arborvitae, after having spent the better part of our gardening life together vetoing his every attempt to sneak one in. I guess that proves that there is no such thing as a “bad plant”. How about you? Is there a family of plants you profess to hate? Has one of its distant cousins crept into your affections when you least expected?

I’ll start with one that I am hoping someone will identify, as it grows profusely around here.

Mostly, the cast of characters changes dramatically from month to month, but the dainty little candy flower sticks around long enough to pair with the emerging ferns.

I pull these out of my borders, but along the roadside the masses of wild geraniums are a delight.

Judging by leaf shape and flower form, I’m guessing that this is a wild heuchera. One has taken up residence in a border and chose its placement so well that it will stay.

In the wild, the Solomon’s seal stays low to the ground, unlike the one in my woodland garden, which is 3′ tall.

False Solomon’s Seal shares the same leaf shape, but instead of dangling bells, the flower is a white pouf similar to goatsbeard at the end of the stem.

Here’s a closer look at that flower form.

The banks along the road are covered with wild strawberry plants. I must remember to keep checking to see if any fruit escapes the notice of the critters to be plucked by me.

Coming out of the woods, where the dominant color scheme is green and white, things get more colorful. Scotch Broom was introduced to the US in the late 1800’s for use in stabilizing mine tailings and other types of erosion control. With its deep root system and tough persistence, people came to like it for easy-care landscaping. Uh oh…those qualities also mean that it is tough to eradicate as it makes its way onto the ‘noxious weed’ lists of many states. It is just beginning to gain a foothold along this bank, but there are many hillsides that are bright yellow (the color of highway warning signs) as far as the eye can see.

We always seem to be walking the line between trying to find plants that will thrive effortlessly and those that will overrun us with too much of a good thing. One plant like this can produce 15,000 seeds in a year. Digging them up is not a good idea, because disturbing the soil will just bring more of those seeds to the surface where they can germinate. While the plant is toxic to most animals and humans, goats can be pressed into service. Brooms hate shade, so providing a canopy of shade can be a long-range solution. Cutting off and painting the stump with glyphosate might be one of the rare instances where chemical warfare could be justified.

Enough with the ranting. I am going to take you back into our cool woods, where one of our neighbors is building a wattle fence. When I stopped to chat with her about it, she was thrilled that I knew what it was (apparently it is a foreign concept to folks in our neck of the woods). I volunteered the prunings from our fruit trees, but I think what is really needed here is a helper. Wattle building is mighty slow going.

Wildflower Wednesdays are the brainchild of Gail at Clay and Limestone, so hop on over there if you want to get in on the fun.

Last year, when I wrote about Janet’s Sale a lot of Portlanders expressed interest in the next one. Well, it is coming up this weekend. Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 3pm.

Plants are being labeled and pampered in preparation for moving to new homes. If you think a trip out Lake Oswego way is in your weekend plans, you can email Janet at gamma66@msn.com and she will send you her address and a plant list. Oh, and for all you HPSO members, there is an open garden right on Janet’s street, so you can pump up the pleasure even more. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Even with the May(hem) of flowers running riot in our yards, foliage holds its own.

From the moment it begins to emerge from winter’s slumber, all bristling with fresh “new green”, to its red-tinged dying act, the foliage of Acanthus spinosa threatens to upstage its dramatic flower spikes.

The few 4″ pots of Cornus canadensis that I planted at the woodland’s edge are beginning to fill in nicely. Most of the dogwoods are deer magnets, but they seem to leave this alone (knock wood).

Ferns are beginning to migrate into planting beds, and welcome to them. Especially when they pair so nicely with the Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’.

The new growth on the evergreens gives them a wonderful dimensionality, like on this Picea abies ‘Nidiformus’, sometimes called a Nest Spruce, for the way it spreads out in a way that might invite passing birds to take up residence.

Maple leaves are beautiful in all stages, but especially in the spring and fall.

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ is at its best, with leaves and blossoms emerging simultaneously and still allowing the twisted, thorny nature of the superstructure to shine through.

As pretty as any flower, Heuchera ‘Caramel’ will keep this color nearly year-round, producing fairy wands of blossoms almost as an afterthought.

This is no afterthought: check out Digging and let Pam introduce you to others with foliage on the brain.

Mothers Day weekend brings the Rhododendron Society’s big sale in the parking lot of the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Since Richard is a fan, it has become something of a tradition with us. Here is what we came home with this time:

Rhododendron ‘Nancy Evans’ x macabeanum will have creamy yellow blooms with red nectaries (whatever that means).

This is the second Loderi in our collection, Rhododendon ‘Loderi White Diamond’. It should get huge in time, with large fragrant ivory trusses.

Bright red flowers attracted us to R. ‘Markeeta’s Prize’, even though we have had less than perfect luck with red-blooming Rhodys…fingers crossed.

While R was indulging himself, I was off browsing the other offerings. On the left is Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashura’, or Lion’s Head maple. This is an unusual form for a Japanese maple, tall and upright rather than low and weeping. I have been wanting one for years, so I was happy to find this small one in my price range. On the right is Pinus mugo ‘White Bud’, an Israeli introduction with “White buds that glow against the dark-green foliage in winter…”. The plant in the center is a Monkey Puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana, my Mothers Day gift. It is from Means Nursery, but that’s another story.

We though it would be fun to see a nursery and display garden featuring Rhodys to get some ideas about how to combine them with other plantings, so we headed over to Bovees Nursery

Behind this gate is a fully mature garden made by true connoisseurs of the species.

Several of these big-leaved guys took a big hit and were lost, but this one is looking good.

Mature trees like this maple with the beautiful peeling bark provide a canopy of shade.

As does this Prunus serrula.

Something to see at every level. Looking down, these moss-covered rocks give way to seas of white anemones as ground cover.

Other parts of the woodland floor are covered in lacy ferns.

These little pom poms were a form I had not seen before.

Following a trail around the house towards the greenhouse, we came out of the woods into a more open area just as the sun broke through for a few moments. We spent most of the day dodging hailstorms and cloudbursts.

The next few pictures were taken in the greenhouse, where the largest collection of the semi-tropical Vireya rhododendrons in North America (perhaps the world) are housed.

The owners of this nursery are slowing down as age catches up with them. It shows in the haphazard labeling and pricing, as well as their willingness to shoot the breeze endlessly with visitors. We learned a lot, and came away with a warm feeling about the place. We did not come away with any plants. We felt kind of bad about that, but it was hard to tell what was for sale (many areas were roped off with not for sale signs) and nothing that interested us had any kind of labeling. In hindsight we would have made at least some sort of token purchase, but the skies opened and we dashed for the car. Maybe we will go back on a nicer day, pick up an unusual plant or two, and remember to ask about those “nectaries”.