Share the joy2 So, I’ve been looking for a plant to screen a gap in the hedge that looks right into the neighbors’ backyard (and trampoline). I thought a well-behaved clumping bamboo might do the trick, and I checked out the helpful website of Bamboo Garden Nursery near Portland, Oregon. It seemed the common and quite hardy (to Zone 5) Fargesia nitida… Read more →
Share the joy 7 The nursery industry is big business in Oregon, but most members of the general public will never get to see what goes on behind their gates. Many of the nurseries in the Willamette Valley are huge wholesale operations that sell their plants all across the country, but they don’t sell to the public. My old buddy Don Blocker, who… Read more →
Share the joy 6 For some, it was too much gorgeousness to take in. Visitors seemed dazed, and could be heard muttering, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” If you took their reactions out of context, you might have thought they’d been in a car wreck and were in a state of shock. But I forged on, exploring Old Germantown Gardens—the incredible, almost two-acre… Read more →
Share the joy 7 Yesterday I had the great fortune to visit J. Frank Schmidt & Son Nursery on a personal tour led by none other than the fabulous Nancy Buley, Communications Director at JFS. If you’re not familiar with J. Frank Schmidt, umm, it’s one of the largest and most respected wholesale nurseries in the country. They sell bareroot, B&B, and potted trees… Read more →
Share the joy If the gardening bug has bitten, sooner or later you’re going to want to start some plants from seed. Vegetable starts, bedding plants, perennials, and even some trees and shrubs (for the patient) can be grown from seed. When you’re ready to graduate from the sunny windowsill to a real propagation station, here’s a seed-starting rack you can make at… Read more →
Share the joy With MUCH fanfare, happy tears, hugs, and rejoicing, I am ecstatic to report that my garden buddy George the cat is home safe. That little fuzzy-faced muppet walked 12 MILES back to our old home after slipping out during the move across town. This is a cat who regularly locks himself in the bedroom when he accidentally nudges the door… Read more →
Share the joy I’ve been off-line for some time, in a deep and sorrowful funk. We moved into our new house two and a half weeks ago, which was a joyous occasion, but it was also the day our youngest cat, George, ran off in all the commotion, and we haven’t been able to find him since. He is microchipped, but… Read more →
Share the joy 2 “I don’t know what that gunk is in the jar, but can’t we get it off the kitchen table?”–This from my husband a few days ago. “No! That’s my soil test!” The soil at our new house seemed sticky to me, and fearing that I would be dealing with clay for the next several years, I did a simple do-it-yourself test… Read more →
Share the joy 10 On this trip around the neighborhood, I check in on conifers. Upstaged by the flamboyant flowers of high spring—azaleas and rhododendrons, peonies, irises, and poppies—conifers are often overlooked this time of year, which is a shame. Although they don’t make a big spectacle, conifers are undergoing changes now, too. I love the contrast between the dark green old… Read more →
Share the joy20 On my many walks around the neighborhood, I see a lot of personalities expressed through front yards. Many front yard landscapes leave me with a distinct impression of the sort of people who may live inside. Do you interpret them the same way I do? Front yard fruit and vegetable gardens sometimes make the news when city officials want to see… Read more →
