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.
I've previously visited The Oregon Garden only in July, you see a very different place in January. Maybe that's why, in past visits, I'd not noticed the small xeric garden to the left of the formal entrance. It doesn't look newly planted. Even if the Yucca rostrata...
One of the lovely things about the Lan Su Chinese Garden is the space outside the walls for passers by to enjoy. Like the garden inside, the mini-gardens bordering the block are full of plants that remind us that the garden is always changing. At the garden now,...
On the time moving quickly front, I've got plans up my sleeve that I'd love to implement this season. For me it's a matter of sorting out priorities, then figuring out which thing gets done first. I generally find if I just can get the ball rolling--a start anywhere...
The pot ghetto, we all have one right? This is the time of year mine starts to grow. From now until mid-April I’ll be accumulating, but not actually planting. The photo above shows what it currently looks like, well, what the shady/protected ghetto looks like –...
Think back to the first time you saw a Hamamelis (witch-hazel) in bloom. Did you think "wow, that's beautiful!" or were your thoughts more along the lines of "what's that freaky thing?" Don't get me wrong, I love them, but they are rather bizarre, like colorful...
Could you use a little break from cold wet winter weather where you are? We're approaching what I consider the "power through" part of winter in Portland. I get the winter doldrums later than some people, because I love it up through December, and clouds and rain feel...
When Megan was about eight, I used the "time flies" line on her. She kindly informed me that it does indeed--because each passing year becomes a smaller percentage of your life. Hmmph. Thanks, kid. There's good news on the time business: we're quickly winging our way...
I always love hearing how, and when, someone caught the gardening-bug. In my case it was destined to be -- it wasn't anything I decided to do -- gardening was just something you did, that everyone did. My grandfather grew a remarkable vegetable garden, wait -- make...
I love giving gifts to gardeners. They can be so easy to please, as long as you know a little about their style. Miniature roses for the cactus lover would be a miss (but the cactus called miniature desert rose could do the trick). But when you're talking about people...
Last week it was icy and cold, and I worried that I'd lost interest in gardening. Oh, I was still in it for my day job, researching plant info and managing the plant lust database. But I wondered if I'd made a switch akin to my relationship with magazines--wherein I'd...