What can we say? We are here because we love plants. You’re probably here because you love plants. We talk a lot about the plants we love, covet, admire, have watched grow happily in our gardens, tried and failed, the ups and downs of tending our own gardens and visiting others. It’s a happy place here, join us.
Big leaves, spiky leaves...my love for both is well documented. However, I'm also drawn to the tiniest of leaves and especially love them when seen in combination with the big ones. It's all about the contrast. Acacia dealbata and Paulownia tomentosa,...
Oh sure, there's a lot going wrong with this dog-forsaken weather. But there's also quite a bit going right. So today, I'm looking at the garden as half full. (Even if all the rage is warning us we're due for a 9.2 earthquake that will swallow up 700 miles of the...
If I had a dime for every time someone has pointed at my Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' and asked “what’s that doing here”... I get it, I’m a foliage gardener, why did I plant a shrub that’s all about the flowers? Because it’s beautiful, because it looks tropical - but...
Someone has been adjusting the color in my garden. Several of my cherished dark burgundy and purple foliage plants have gone green. I am not happy with this development. Is it the heat? The relentless sun? Stop laughing! Yes I garden in Portland, Oregon but...
When I started my post last week, I meant to write about a trip to Cistus Nursery with Loree, intrepid Mistress of Danger Garden. But once I got on that Highway, there were so many other fascinating places to visit--at least in my fanciful imagination. So back to the...
My friend and fellow blogger Anna, who blogs at Flutter & Hum, has been posting a single photo, sometimes two, on Wednesdays under the theme "Wednesday Vignette." Anna's got a great eye for color and pattern, and these posts tend to display that gift. She's...
I mentioned Darcy Daniels last week as one of our areas many talented garden designers. Well, lucky us--members of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO)--Darcy held her garden open last week, giving fellow gardening enthusiasts an opportunity to ogle her collection...
Every garden needs some big-ass leaves. Who couldn't use a little big-leaf eye candy to kick off the short work week? Tetrapanax 'Steroidal Giant' is kicking off the parade up top. The Plume Poppies are really bringing it this year. A Rodgersia podophylla at a garden...
We get a lot of people searching plant lust for serrated leaves, and I often wonder, are people seeing some jaw-dropping Melianthus out in the world, and searching for the name? I can see it, because that plant is always love at first sight. Or are people searching...
All the “how to” websites will tell you silver foliage is a great addition to the garden because it cools things down and plays nice with the hot colors. Then they go on to show photographs of plants that are actually grey, white or blue. I have nothing against those...