The weather gods must be having a good laugh. Some gardeners in the Pacific Northwest got a little ahead of themselves, imagining it was already spring. Guilty. I came darn close to digging and dividing a few plants. Let's hear it for procrastination. Around these...
Flower or seed head: debating which I like more. As you can see, it's a tough choice. Right now I've got Cirsium occidentale planted next to Echium wildpretii, a happy accident, aka a place where I could still see dirt. I've got a feeling both plants will have seeded...
There was a rescue operation, on a hot and miserable morning back in August of 2014. I'd taken a walk past Patricia's old garden and spotted a new crop of Echium wildpretii seedlings. Knowing the new owners were planning on a clean sweep (out with the plants, in with...
Have we complained enough? It's been wet here in Portland, way beyond the norm, as in over 10.22" since the beginning of December, where as normal would be 2.80". Before the month is over (there's nothing but rain in the forecast) we will have set an all time record...
The big winter weather joke around the Pacific Northwest is a forecast calling for "snow on the valley floor." That's the Willamette Valley we talking about, and we hardly ever get snow, at least on the northern end. Those of us who grew up here are always rooting for...
Greetings gardeners. I'm giving the gray matter a wee rest this week, so I don't have a story for you. I know, hard to believe. Instead, I thought I'd share a few pictures of plants behaving themselves in the late summer garden. Have you noticed when you focus...
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...
I am blessed to live in an area with great nurseries and great gardeners. That point was driven home again last weekend when I crashed a friend's open garden. Our local Hardy Plant Society was playing host to gardeners from all over the Pacific Northwest (and beyond)...
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...
It’s one of the best known meme’s for garden bloggers – the 15th of each month is given over to photographing (and sharing) what’s blooming in our gardens. Even a foliage lover like me can be seduced by a few flowers now and then. Flowers are fleeting, but foliage is...