Last week my partners each wrote plant features: one a new discovery and one an old favorite -- both dramatic beauties with sexy texture for days. Wanting to be one of the cool kids I thought "what plant should I write about?" and looked around my garden for some...
Somehow, this plant escaped my notice, and boy do I feel silly. It has everything I love in a plant. Dramatic, cascading, pendulous, prolific, foot-long green flowers! Which is quite enough for me. But it's fragrant, bee-friendly, and evergreen to boot? I am dying....
I admit, I've been avoiding the garden, Oh, it's been warm enough to be out there, and I'm at least keeping my bird feeders full. The problem is, every time I go out there, I see weeds. And I'm not done with my inside projects. So many test colors on so many wall. Ai...
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...
Last week I meant to get around to the topic of plants that are still looking good in there garden. Of course, if you avoid going outside because of pesky record rainfall, tornadoes and stuff, you'd never know. We've had day after day of 2-3 inch rain, followed by...
No, I’m not talking about the harvest. For most of us autumn means an abundance of falling leaves. Leaves you rake, leaves you use the blower on, and then there are these. These you simply pick up by their stems, almost like you’re collecting a wildflower bouquet. I...
Writing for two blogs (this one and my personal blog, danger garden) it's sometimes hard to decide where to post certain stories. In early September I had the pleasure of visiting Gossler Farms Nursery and accordingly took a gazillion photos. When I finally started...
Occasionally, Xera Plants in Portland hosts a plant sale from Gossler Farms, which means we get to shop two excellent nurseries at once. Gossler Farms is worth the trip, but it's a two hour trek from Portland, so I don't get over there as often as I might like. It's...
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...
We had a wonderful, cool misty break from summer heat last week. The plants and the Portlanders seem to be in much better spirits. I know I am. We've naturally been showing off sun worshipping plants the last few months, but I don't want the woodland plants to feel...