sprig to twig

The rain ceased, the clouds parted and a patch of blue sky could be seen: a fine opportunity for a walk around our place and up the road. I spent a long time looking for my ‘Thunderhead’ pine back before they started popping up everywhere. It has been in place now for about four years and was beginning to earn its name, before this drastic pruning job administered by Mom Nature. It lost a good half of its volume. Several less precious pines out in the front hedgerow suffered lesser damage.

We have a little grove of birches along the entry drive. Several of them had their main leaders broken off.

Of course, the birches had been weakened by the attack of the sapsuckers, who had drilled them full of holes before R put the protective cages of chicken wire around them. This latest of several home remedies seems to be doing the trick, especially if I keep the suet feeders full.

Grasses that had been standing tall have been beaten to the ground. Guess I can’t put off cutting them back much longer.

Out on the road, the remnants of the snow storm linger. Many of our neighbors had burn piles going to deal with the debris. With all that wet material it looked like they were sending smoke signals back and forth.

The forest gets thinned out naturally from time to time. This go-around left broken branches and fallen trees all over the place.

Loosened rocks fall onto the roadsides every winter. We hauled home some beauties today.

Here’s a rock from a previous plundering party that has had a chance to settle in and accumulate some moss. Seldom have I met a rock that didn’t call out to me for adoption.

It was pointed out to me by Loree, that most dangerous of gardeners, that I have been largely absent from the blogosphere of late. I was touched to have it noticed. I guess I am beginning to feel some spring-like stirrings that should prompt a spate of new subjects to spout off about. Thanks you, as always, for stopping by.

Jane, the Mulchmaid suggested that this would be a good Christmas card image, and I agree. So…I am sending it out to all of you, who have enriched my life in the year that is drawing to a close. I wish you well…more than well…I wish you joy! It can’t get much better than that, and you deserve the very best.

Just when everything was beginning to look slightly bedraggled, along came Jack Frost with his pot of ice crystals. See how each seed head on the Northern sea oats is outlined with icy edges.

Even something as mundane as fallen leaves on the driveway takes on a shimmering beauty.

The tiny leaves of the Ceanothus could pass for a courtier’s embroidered frock.

The leaves of Phlomus.

This is what I think Christmas should look like.

This reminds me: I’d better get out there with some warm water to help the birds out…suet & seed already in place. But before I do, let me direct you to Linda’s site. She has posted some stunning frost photos the last couple of days.

Now that things are slowing down in the garden, it’s a good time to trot out some of the things stored away that didn’t quite make it into previous posts. When I visited Mississippi Ave a few weeks ago, I took quite a few pictures of a place I find inspiring, The Rebuilding Center. If you drive toward the river on Fremont, you will come upon it where Fremont intersects with Mississippi.

It is a place where builders and remodelers can drop off unwanted building materials that are then sorted, priced and put on display.

Bulletin boards hold ideas for ways to use cast off materials in ingenious ways, but perhaps the most inspiring examples are to be found in the building itself. Here is a wall incorporating a hodge podge of reclaimed windows. Greenhouse, anyone?

Scrap metal has been welded into a decorative fence.

The main entrance is a fantasy land, with built-in benches at the base of trees whose branches, adorned with sparkly elements reach for the vaulted skylights.

Here’s another look at that entryway.

The space is huge, with enough room for separate areas dedicated to doors, windows, etc.

In the lighting department, whole fixtures hang from above while shelves of globes and shades fill the dense shelving below.

This is one of those places to come with an open mind and let the imagination roam free. Who knows what manner of garden structure might result.

Back to my original plan to take you on a stroll along Mississippi Avenue in North Portland, but first I suggest that you visit Digging to see Pam’s tour of the greatest fall display I have ever encountered.

This is one of those areas that has been in transition for a number of years. Unlike the urban renewal model, the process has been organic, leaving old houses like this one, complete with a yard full of roses, to cozy up next to a brand new building housing shops and businesses.

New housing complexes raise the density along the street,

complete with a bamboo-lined pedestrian alley that extends the storefront shopping experience.

Many of the storefronts have a funky, reclaimed quality about them, like this Mexican restaurant.

A few remnants of the old neighborhood remain untouched.

Food carts are a big deal in Portland. Since this one is on private property, it can build some covered seating for its customers without running afoul of city ordinances.

Art on the street runs the gamut, from this minimalist gallery presentation

to these farm animals strutting their stuff on the sidewalk.

SunLan carries nothing but light bulbs. You never saw so many light bulbs…of every size, shape and description. It almost resembles a curio shop.

While across the street a new building sports this sleek entry

with modern, sophisticated planters. You wouldn’t think that the disparity of styles would work, but it all seems to hold together and exude personality in a way that monocultures like malls try so hard for and miss by a mile.

This brand new covered portal would seem to suggest something coming soon to this currently almost vacant lot, but on Mississippi you never can tell. It may have been built entirely for its own sake.

Most of a block is lined with new shops fronted by a courtyard punctuated by these large stone orbs.

One of the shops is emblematic of the quirky nature of the street. The Meadow is devoted almost exclusively to the world of salt. A selmelier is to salt what a sommelier is to wine. They have one.

Yep, that’s a wall of salt, all right. There are tester jars of each variety, and little cups of water to clean the palate between tastes.

Those handsome slabs in the foreground are Himalayan salt blocks. They can be heated or chilled to serve a variety of foods while imparting a delicate hint of salt.

To round out a true gourmet shopping splurge you can pick from a nice selection of flowers (while I was there last summer, a biker type in studded leathers chose a perfect, small red rose, had it beautifully wrapped in tissue, tied with a ribbon and off he roared…presumably to his lady love, but it might have been his mom (there was that tattoo). The Meadow also has a selection of high end chocolates, wines and bitters.

Having guided me through a tasting session, this delightful young woman is bagging up my purchases: smoked Malton finishing salt, truffle sea salt and a tiny silver spoon (suspicious if I am ever in a drug bust). The salts are expensive, but potent. They are used at the end of cooking or at the table, and the tiniest bit packs a wallop. So you see, Wendy, I did wind my way around to a little bit in this post that justifies linking to your Garden to Table Challenge. I guarantee you these salts will bring out the best in anything from your garden or farmers’ market.

A little drive to St Helens took me by this “hedge” of Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’. I usually prefer it as a single specimen, but must admit that a long line of it massed along the meridian was a show stopper.

On the way home, I stopped to take a picture of this motorbike-cum-dragon. It was a poor day for picture taking, but I have passed by this so many times with no camera on hand that I decided to just go for it.

On Sunday, Din took the whole family to brunch at the London Grill in the venerable old Benson Hotel. As we gathered in the lobby, I was mesmerized by the floral arrangements, wondering where they ever found Oriental lilies of such a saturated orange.

Closer inspection told the tale: fake flowers, all. HPSO members are spoiled by the massive flower arrangements of the real thing gracing every one of our meetings. Brunch did not disappoint, however. The wood paneled, clubby restaurant puts out five or six tables groaning under the weight of every conceivable edible that might be taken in at that hour of the day.

Walking it off, we found ourselves in The Pearl District, checking out the new digs of PH Reed. That back pot contains black bamboo that tops out at about 12′.

At the other side of the alcove bracketing the new shop sits another grouping of the same pots, different plantings. The new iteration of this home furnishings and accessories shop is much smaller than their last venue. It has served to focus their selections and makes for a pleasing experience. Good to remember that bigger is not always better. Should probably have kept that in mind when loading up on eggs benedict and hazelnut torte.

Our friends who downsized from a big old Victorian in the alphabet district in NW Portland now have this view of the Fremont Bridge looking downriver.

While in the other direction there is the Broadway Bridge in the foreground, backed by the city’s skyline. The sidewalk you see here is part of a 40-mile loop trail for walkers and bicyclists. The water of the Willamette River is so high right now that parts of the trail are submerged, but that won’t last for long. We plan to bring our bikes sometime soon.

The condo building is surrounded by something like a moat. This is the view looking from the sidewalk out between the two buildings with the river in the distance and industrial buildings and docks on the far shore.

Down the sides of the buildings the water cascades down these concrete spillways. The reflecting pool in the last photo has similar levels that can be seen through the water, but not easily photographed.

The landscape designer was meticulous to the point that the first rocks in this dry creek bed had to be removed because they were the wrong color. These rocks are exactly the color of the sidewalk and nearly uniform in size.

I am normally not a petunia person, but I find the large blocks of bright red ones in concrete raised beds surprisingly pleasing.

After passing through a lobby with falling water on both sides (just in case we haven’t had enough rain) we made our way to our friends’ condo, where they have this view from their balcony. They can watch all of the river traffic and the loading and unloading of cargo ships across the river. If that isn’t enough excitement, the Portland Police’s horse barn is off to the left, where the horses are worked in the ring. They miss having a space to garden, but the low maintenance will make room for sailing getaways, etc. Looks like a pretty good life to me. Now I am off to spend the next three days of promised sunshine mucking about in the garden and loving every minute of it. To each his own, right?

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.

Nettles have been showing up on chi chi menus of late. These are growing along the roadside, giving them two strikes against them: 1) they are about to bloom. Nettles must be harvested before they flower. Once flowers form, harmful crystals form within the leaves that can irritate the urinary tract. 2) the roadside location means that they have been polluted by exhaust. We have plenty of nettles out in our woods, where they get less sun so are still early enough in their evolution to serve a culinary purpose. If you have ever tangled with a patch of nettles, you know that it can be a painful experience. The stinging hairs are on the underside of the leaves. Be sure to cover up and wear gloves if you want to harvest some nettles. Cooking removes the sting. Sauté, steam, boil or simply soak in water for 20 minutes and they are ready to be used just as you would spinach, chard or kale. The water left behind makes a good fertilizer.

I can’t say that the taste differential between a quiche made with nettles and one using plain old spinach is outstanding, but there is something sort of charming about harvesting foodstuffs in the wild. The chefs around town obviously think it adds cachet to the whole “NW Style” thing.

Once upon a time, walking around 23rd was all about the little boutique dress shops and such. Now I gravitate to places that grow things. Oh, I must admit to stopping by Dazzle, a shop that has morphed from artful home goods with a smattering of jewelry to artful clothing, still with a smattering of jewelry. The fancy duds are as flamboyant as any bouquet, and I dare you to pass by their windows, on 23rd and Irving, without sneaking a peek inside.

The most industrial corner on the street (most of the shops along it are in Victorian houses, or new structures built to look at home in such a setting) is softened by these beautiful flowering cherry trees.

Just a little detour down Lovejoy St leads to Jennie Greene Designs “a unique flower shop”, and it really is.

As I approached, Jennie’s sidekick (who, by all appearances, is as talented as is Jennie herself) was putting the finishing touches on this window display, an architectural wonder utilizing bamboo to support the grid of flowers.

That same architectural approach is evident in arrangements using unusual materials to support and enhance the flowers and branches.

It isn’t very often that I feel the need to go for the extra WOW factor beyond a posy from my garden. When I do, this is the place for it.

Something as simple as an assortment of Hellebore blossoms floating in a bowl is sure to be put into practice at my house.

Framed moss: now there’s an idea I can get behind.

Succulents in a trug: how cute!

Then there were the tulips and twigs in a rustic basket. Is my enchantment showing? This shop started in a tiny space converted from a shipping container next to the coffee shop on 23rd and Pettygrove. They outgrew that space and set up shop just east of 23rd on Thurman. This, then, is their third location, destined for razing in the near future. All this flitting may explain why the A-board above still displays the last address. It could get frustrating, but this is one shop I find worth following around, so I will give you a heads up when they settle into a new space.

Back to 23rd, I was stopped in my tracks by this sidewalk display.

The red bench surrounded by all the greenery would have done the job, but just beyond it:

Succulents, a few of them new to me.

The rusted decorative gate made a perfect foil for the entryway, decorated to within an inch of its life.

Now if what I was after was a selection of unusual material by the stem, I would come here, to Luv “N” Stuff. As it was, I blew the last of my cash on succulents. Just as an aside, it seems that while succulents are the new “hot” plant, none of the suppliers provide labels for these fascinating plants. We should lobby for them to do that, but I have no idea where to start. Any ideas?