sprig to twig

Hortlandia gets the buying season off to a flying start. I had a cold. This is where gardening buddies are invaluable (as well as in many other ways). Loree asked if she could be on the lookout for anything for me. I immediately thought of a plant I’d been admiring in her Danger Garden, Acanthus sennii, above. True to her word, she looked, and she found. Woo hoo…add another star to Loree’s crown.

Means Nursery is so nearby that I can easily pop in whenever I have a special need. Two ipomoea batatis ‘Mardi Gras’ and one Coleus ‘Chocolate Drop’ filled the bill…

to fill this red pot that had been standing empty.

When it comes to plants, I can never stick to a list. I’ve been wanting a daphne, so Daphne odora ‘Mae-jima’ came home with me too.

Next up: the Oregon Bloggers’ Swap, with the welcome addition of several Washingtonians. Starting from the top, let’s go clockwise, skipping the two pots disappearing from the bottom of the photo. A nice flaming Euphorbia whose name I can’t remember…maybe Dixter?; Rubus lineatus; Pacific Coast Iris; Polypodium scaulen; Dicentra spectabilis

Sorry, that big pot still fails to show off Iris confusa, but believe me, it’s a beauty; Arum ‘Jack Sprat’; Pulmonaria; ‘Ron Davidson’; and a pretty little frosty Heuchera whose name escapes me (it’s ‘Snow Angel’. You guys are so good!). The bloggers are all true plant nuts, and they bring fabulous stuff to our swaps. By the time someone has spieled about a beloved plant, I’m a convert even if I never noticed that plant before. What a fabulous way to introduce new material into the garden. Somehow I failed to get photos of the nice big clumps of Polygonatum and Convellaria majalis, but they’ll be showing up in future posts, you can be sure.

Last Sunday, Linda and I met up at Joy Creek to wander the display gardens and shop for plants. Linda never arrives empty handed. This time she brought me a couple of primroses I had admired in her garden and a Hellebore to try. She says to plant it in sun, so that may be the problem with those I have (all in shade).

Heading to meet Linda, I stopped by Means to get a few things for porch pots: upright Fuchsia ‘Firecracker’ to put in a cachepot; two Impatiens and Lysimachia ‘Midnight Sun’ to spill from a wall pocket.

And finally, here’s my haul from Joy Creek: center front, Erodium chrysanthum; front left and right, Zauschneria ‘Everett’s Choice’; top left, Phlomis italica; top center, Oxalis ‘Klamath Ruby’ with purplish undersides to the leaves; top right, Oxalis oregana. I probably should have waited for cooler, overcast days to do the planting, but I’ll just have to be a diligent waterer until we get back to some Oregon weather. We will, won’t we?

With the last stretch of nice weather, I was finally able to address the issue chronicled at the end of this post.

Digging out the area and storing the soil in wheelbarrows and tarps was the hardest part.

Meanwhile, I unrolled the wire mesh and weighted it down with rocks to help it uncurl. The plain old garden dirt was mixed with 1/4-10 gravel and dark hemlock mulch before returning it to the screened bed.

Several plants had been waiting in pots (one for years) for this day. Two Acorus gramineus variegatus from Home Depot were divided into enough plugs to cover a large area. The pot in the above photo contains Itea ilicifolia, a plant I have high hopes for. See it here on Plant Lust. I’ve killed it before, but maybe the care that went into preparing this bed will do the trick.

In the foreground is the lovely small tree that inspired the making of this bed. It has lived in a large pot for several years, and it was showing signs of longing for liberation. I thought it was ‘Red Bells’, but when I compare it to the excellent photos on Plant Lust, I think, instead, it is Enkianthus campanulatis var. sikokianthus. To its right is Hypericum inodorum ‘Albury Purple’. Impossible to see at this stage is Disporum hookerii. The sweet flag plugs take up the middle of the bed, where their root system is meant to protect the water lines beneath. In the distance, on the left, is a Pineapple Guava (Acca sellowiana). An Osmanthus too small to see is somewhere there in the middle distance, and on the right is the Itea. Where the new bed joins an existing bed a vigorous ground cover of Hypericum ‘Brigadoon’ will pretty rapidly migrate into the bare patches.

Looking west…

And one last shot, looking east. Take That! evil gophers! With this project taken care of, I guess it’s back to weeding for me.

Excuse me…I don’t mean to go all Biblical on you, but after playing the acquisition game for a while there’s nothing for it but to get some of that new stuff in the ground. And what a day for it! Yesterday was bright and clear and today a gentle rain is watering in all of the new plantings.

First up, the group of plants I got from the Yamhill native plant sale. A friend told us about this, and volunteered to pick up our plants when he took the drive to collect his. The prices were good, and the website was easy to navigate. I ordered five Camassia leichtlini var suksdorfii to plant at the woodland’s edge, hoping that they will naturalize over time; two Asclepias speciosa (showy milkweed); one Disporum hookerii (Hooker’s fairy bells); three Sequoia sempervirens (coastal redwood); two Arbutus menziesii (Pacific Madrone); and two Cornus nuttalii (Pacific dogwood). I asked Bob to pick up some huckleberries if they had any on hand, and they did, shown bottom left and center. Turns out they had run out of dogwoods and sequoias, so they substituted extra Madrones, a couple of Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) and nine crab apples (Malus fusca).

Not sure what to do with all of those crab apples, I potted them up to grow on for a while. They can reach thirty five feet and enjoy moist conditions. I might put a couple of them in the front hedgerow, but if they appeal to you, let me know…or I can bring some to the next plant swap.

What to do with five Madrones, when they can top out at twenty to fifty feet was an even bigger challenge. Well, they’re supposed to be slow-growing and appreciative of poor soil with good drainage, so I just stuck them at intervals along the border I’m developing approaching the house. We’ll see what happens. I can always cut them down or, if I don’t wait too long, dig them up for relocation. As you can see by the first photo, most of the things in this batch of plants pretty much disappeared when planted. If they prosper and put on a show, they are sure to show up in future posts.

The Yard, Garden and Patio Show came next, and the only plant I bought was this Dyckia hybrid. It is meant to take the place of a deceased Echeveria in a pot of succulents. I hope I will have better luck with this. I rarely go on a buying spree at the show, because I don’t want to haul plants around with me, especially when there are so many stellar nurseries nearby where I can just drive up and load plants into the car. I am kind of kicking myself for not picking up a few of the unusual dahlia bulbs (or whatever you call those things) on offer, though.

A quick and dirty stop at Means to pick up a couple of things to stick in porch pots yielded this perky Primula Elatior Reno mix (I like the way the flowers rise above the rosette of leaves) and a surprise. As I browsed the tables, a young man approached and inquired if I needed help finding anything. What?! He proved to be quite knowledgeable and friendly, running counter to the reputation of an outlet that has sold boring plants in quantity with no one in the place knowing anything about the merchandise. When I called this to the attention of Ransom, he chuckled and allowed as how that was their reason for hiring him. Guess I’ll be pulling off the road on my way to Freddy’s more frequently in the days ahead.

I was surprised to find small pots of Hellebores for a mere $6.50. See how nicely ‘Pink Beauty’ nestles into the cachepot that sits next to our front door? I’ll find it a permanent home later.

I’ve long admired the foliage of Salix integra ‘Hakuro Nishiki’, but hadn’t realized how colorful the bare branches were in winter. This will be a great addition to the driveway border that is oh-so-slowly coming together.

The Open House at Dancing Oaks yielded more than plants. Who could resist the cold pressed hazelnut oil at right? As you can see, we didn’t even try, as we have already drizzled it over the incredible (and colorful) eggs. Front, left, is Nandina domestica filamentosa, which will form a dome similar to Japanese maple, but lacier and more see-through. Behind that is Acanthus Syriacus to add to my “collection” of three. In the center is Cyclamen coum, silver form. New stems form in cunning spirals. This may go under the Nandina. The last plant is hiding beyond the frame, but wait…

There it is: Corokia cotoneaster and yes, I’m ready to give it another go after having destroyed a couple of them.

On Sunday, Scott, of Rhone Street Gardens brought me this wonderful bunch of grasses: three Muhlenbergia cappilaris, a huge (like its name) Stipa gigantea and in the bag, I believe, a Miscanthus, but which one escapes me (Scott?). Next time the sun breaks through, I will get these into the ground. Since Scott was mainly making room in an already crowded garden it was not quite a swap, but I did serve pie…and on our walkabout we identified a couple of things he’d like (next time).

Now that I have most things planted, I can forge ahead into Spring with a clear conscience. Hortlandia will be coming up soon, after all.

We had dinner at Cuvée Friday night and spent the night in Carlton. The next day, my friend Susan and I headed even further into the countryside to visit Dancing Oaks Nursery. I had only been there in high summer and Susan had never seen the place. It is far FAR off the beaten path, but well worth the trip through gorgeous countryside. The above scene is the one that greets you as you approach the nursery. Having driven through pounding rain, we were heartened to see the skies clear.

Nothing like a spiky greeting to get things off to a good start.

Where to start? We followed our noses through several hoop houses jam-packed with plant life, and in this case overseen by one of the many cats who rule here (see him stretched out over the door at the far end?).

Most of the plants under cover are well marked, like this Magnolia.

Here is the plant that goes with the label. Isn’t it a beauty?

It was the red leaves that attracted me, but knowing that this is a Tibouchina lets me know that velvety flowers are its real calling card.

Nice to know that it has another season in which to shine.

Can you tell that the people here have a lot of fun doing what they do?

Having combed through the greenhouses, it was time to stroll around the grounds. Still stripped down to winter bones…

sporting their own spare beauty. I neglected to ask about these trees, but I love them.

This is a good time to appreciate the garden art sprinkled about.

This colorful glass fish is nestled in grasses bordering a pond.

Across the pond, grasses and cat tails have been allowed to dry in place.

A little rill feeds the pond and serenades us all.

A rustic fence surrounds the rill, with seating nearby.

Transitioning to the pergola is this rough wooden structure.

Standing sentry at the entrance to the pergola, an Edgeworthia is just beginning to come into flower.

It will become a dark tunnel when things leaf out, but the sun plays peek-a-boo now, as we head down the path through the pergola.

Looking back the way we have come, a large pot catches the light and beckons to us.

A weeping blue Atlas cedar has been trained up one upright and allowed to weep down from above.

Some newer looking berms act as a buffer between the cultivated garden and the natural areas beyond. The star of this berm is this Eucalyptus, while beyond Agaves, Opuntias and Yucca reign.

A few flowering plants have broken dormancy to bejewel the landscape. These Iris r. ‘Pixie’ are joined by Hellebores

and random clumps of snowdrops.

At the pavilion, where goodies were being served, I loved this arrangement of pots, one holding a dramatic Agave, another filled with rocks to receive the runoff captured by the rain chain.

Don’t these willow chairs tempt you to sit a while and bask in those rare rays of sunshine?

As we wandered, refreshed, back towards the sales shack, I couldn’t stop clicking away. Here’s another of many rain chains, this time hanging from a tree branch. Pots are used throughout the garden as containers and as stand-alone sculptural pieces.

An ancient looking magnolia stellata seems to be saying “Come back soon and see me strut my stuff”.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you hurried away without indulging in some chit chat with the owners of this edenic corner of the world. Here’s the view out over the valley as we reluctantly bid adieu. I know you will want to know what came home with me, but that will come in a later post. I have used restraint at each stop on this spring’s buying spree, but the plants are piling up. I will soon need to deal with them, and then all will be revealed…I promise.

When I brought in the tender plants, the Elephant Ears, Kalanchloe behariensis surprised me. I bought it as a tiny thing several years ago. It had been sharing a pot with several other things that had begun to straggle. When I cut back its scruffy pot mates and took off the few lower leaves that were less than happy…Voila!

The texture of the huge leaves reminds me of a mohair couch my gram had years ago. It’s impossible to pass by it without caressing them. I hope they can stand up to all this love. I wish I had the photographic skill of some of you so you could see how remarkable this plant truly is. I think it deserves a name…any ideas?

Pop on over to Digging and let Pam introduce you to others with a passion for foliage with Foliage Follow-up. It happens on the 16th of every month, the day after Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

This strikes me as the epitome of autumn: leaves settled in the crotch of the ancient cherry tree.

As the leaves begin to fall from the Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’, the quirky, taloned branches form a tracery through which the colors of the season can be glimpsed.

The Kousa dogwood is doing its bit as it rises from the golden arms of the Lonicera nitida ‘Lemon Beauty’.

Not to everyone’s liking, but reds and purples is one of my favorite combinations: Beauty berry backed up by a common, low-growing form of Nandina.

Even in death, the Eutrochium nee Eupatorium (grrr) pleases my eye…

especially as seen silhouetted against a leaden sky.

Speaking of silhouettes, how about Anemone ‘Honorine de Jobert’? The petals having fallen neatly away, we are left with perfect round balls.

Here’s a less dramatic shot of Mme Jobert. The balls are shiny and green and provide a long-lasting element for late season bouquets.

Some things are struggling to make a showing before frost hits. I don’t think ‘Henry Eilers’ is going to make it. He will be moved to a sunnier spot next spring.

Kniphofia multiflora is giving Jack Frost a run for his money. I’m pulling for him.

I’d given up on this hardy Aloe long ago, but here it is, putting in its first appearance after hiding underground for a few years. Moral of story: never give up.

I never tire of the architecture of Phlomus russeliana. I will not cut these seed bearing stalks of pom poms until spring, and the whorls of leaves will hang on through the winter.

I spy the hips of Rosa ‘Dortmund’ through the stalks of Joe Pye. Have any of you made culinary use of hips?

I leave you with a peek at the last flowers holding on: Fuchsia ‘Golden Gate’. Where once there was a profusion, only a few intrepid die-hards remain. I love this season, how about you?

Our drive to Orofino ID was a forced march. As usual, we got a late start and finally arrived in the dead of night. Next day dawned bright and clear and I headed out with my camera to take a look around.

This is a place where the deer must be taken seriously. Hence the elevated vegetable garden surrounded by a sturdy fence.

The neighbor up the hill has horses…which accounts for the vitality of the veggies-on-steroids.

Vegetarian Nirvana, and the start of some mighty fine meals for the rest of us, too.

Outside the fence, plant selection must take the deer into account. Barberries, opium poppies and iris are pretty successful. Bishop’s weed covered this area along the side of the barn for years, until some of the herd developed a taste for the stuff and wiped it out in one short season. Maybe they could rent them out?

The beautiful Clearwater River rushes by the front of the house.

Plus, there is a small pond on the property.

Nature does a swell job of landscaping on most of the land. Here, chickory and thistle punctuate tall grasses with splashes of blue.

We were visiting R’s sister Kathryn and her husband John. Here is the entry to the lower level of the house, where we had our own apartment. They should be careful about making guests so very comfortable.

This rather grand entry was part of the latest remodel. They bought a little, nondescript house on a blank piece of land when they were first married and have been remodeling, in stages, ever since. With this last round, the house almost lives up to its “location, location, location!” Now they’re starting on the barn.

On the return trip, we got an early start so that we could dawdle along. The hay inside looks to be the only thing holding up this falling-down barn. When we pulled up, a couple of horses were nibbling through the openings.

Up the hill from the barn (one of many old barns that are sinking back into the landscape) sits an old fashioned windmill…

while looking down the road, you can see the new-fangled versions marching across the hillsides. I love these things. I know many people consider them a blot on the landscape, but they are so slim, so aerodynamic, so space-agey. To my eye, they take very little away from the scenery. If you squint, you can barely see that they are there.

I don’t know what this guy was doing here amid the cows, horses, sheep and buffalo, but he definitely got our attention.

Ghost town? Movie set? What do you think?

Just on the outskirts of the charming little town of Waitsberg we spotted a lavender farm. I would have called it Lavender Fields Forever, but they went for Lavenders R Us, and yep, that R was backwards on the sign.

But a cheesy sign could not detract from undulating seas of lavender, interplanted with a few xeric companions like Echinops & Achillea

Oh, to be a bee.

Can anyone identify this shrub we found as we bid the lavender fields goodbye?

A Close-up provides a little more to go on.

When I was in France, many years ago, everyone knew about Walla Walla WA because of the Pogo cartoons. Remember “Walla Walla wash and Kalamazoo”? Now it has a new claim to fame as the center of a rapidly growing wine center. In a town full of old brick buildings, this one faced with glazed tiles stood out.

And then we were back in Oregon. Time to stop at a roadside stand to pick up some Hermiston melons and Walla Walla Sweet onions. The last leg of our journey took us through the Columbia River Gorge, where my puny photographic skills had no chance of capturing the majesty of the scenery. Great trip! Good to be home!

I went to the show at Portland Nursery, Stark Street, on Friday so I could report in plenty of time for you to catch the show. Well, guess what: I got so sidetracked talking to the experts and admiring the plants that I left my camera behind on the checkout table. Sorry about that, but, as usual, Loree was way ahead of me with a post about last weekend’s sale at the Division St store. As everything was for sale, I am sure she got to see many plants that were no longer available by the second weekend. Still, I saw plenty that was new to me, so here goes:

This one was big: maybe 8-10″ across.

Not all the guys at this party were especially good looking, but they were all interesting.

Can’t say I’m crazy about the mylar table covering, but I can get past that.

some of them almost seem to invite petting, but that would be a big mistake.

I was drawn to the pink shades.

And also to the very pale specimens.

And no, this is not my haul (she noted wistfully). I discovered, too late, that I did not have a card on me.

So I was only able to scrape together enough coin to purchase these two little beauties. The one on the right is Gasteria nitida v. armstrongii. The other one had no label, but when I asked, it turned out to be a Gasteria as well…a name totally unfamiliar to be up to now. Providence was looking out for household harmony, as I don’t know where I could have overwintered all of the plants I desired. I learned a good deal about plants I already harbor from the enthusiasts manning the show and was invited to join the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society and/or drop in on a meeting any time. You can still catch the tail end of the show on Sunday, July 22, at the Stark Street Portland Nursery.

When they are good, they are very, very good…

But when they are bad, they are horrid! I am something of a timid pruner, but when Euphorbia wulfenii reached the above state, I had nothing to lose. I cut it back hard, with the expectation that I was performing stage one of a removal project. Guess what? It bounced right back, looking bigger and better than ever this spring.

So this year, when the blooming stalks began to discolor, I went right after it. The pile of debris with the wheelbarrow behind it for scale, is what was removed from the plant.

Each blooming stalk was cut back as close as I could get to the core of the plant, where a tangle of old wood can be seen.

And here’s the wulf…reeling a bit and trying to adjust to his new look. I have confidence that he will snap out of it and start strutting his stuff in no time.

At a Joy Creek pruning seminar, Mike emphasized the importance of keeping blades clean between cuts. The milky sap of Euphorbias leaves no doubt. In fact, I had to let a heavy spray of Lysol soak in for several minutes. then wipe and repeat three or more times. Finally, before putting them away, I gave them a good going over with an SOS pad and a spritz of WD-40. I have handled these plants before with no ill effects, but this time…despite long sleeves and gloves, I found myself with Popeye-proportioned forearms. Three days later, the itching and burning are epic still, but the swelling has subsided. I don’t know if it was the timing of the project, the scale of the operation or what, but I will never again scoff at cautionary tales. Next time (and yes, of course there will be a next time…I’m a gardener) heavy duty gloves and shirt fabric will come into play…Oh, and be sure to resist wiping your brow while engaged in this activity. I am not a pretty sight just now.

The mahogany in the foreground is the last of my tall Siberian irises to bloom. The blush, behind it, is the first, but since it is atypically long-blooming, the two bloom cycles overlap to create this stunning combination.

A closer look reveals the orange beard, a little surprise that sets off the blush tones perfectly. I would be happy to find more, besides Alstromeria, utilizing this color combo. This may be ‘Beverly Sills’, but there is a problem with names when it comes to irises. I ordered a collection and was careful to label each rhizome as it was planted. Only one, a white, came true to the picture in the catalog.

It may actually be ‘Immortality’ or it may not, but by any name it is stunningly pure white, opening from an ice blue bud. The collection was also billed as reblooming, and I have not found that to be the case. Oh well…

‘Champagne Elegance’ was supposed to have a pale blue/lavender tint to the standards (upright petals). Guess I will just call it champagne with a little c.

I’m calling this one brass, because the shading of yellow, brown and white give it a shining, brassy look.

I have lots of these two-toned purple irises. I suspect that after having been tampered with to produce ever more unusual colors, the iris wants to revert to this basic color. I have no concrete proof of this theory, but how else am I to explain the preponderance of purple in a bed that began with many colors represented?

The first iris to bloom in my garden is this smaller, deep purple bearded, in early May. Now, only a few of the tall ones are left, but the month and a half-long parade has kept things lively. I try to divide just one or two clumps per year, as described here. I use the fence line as a kind of testing ground, to see what colors I will get and where they might work in other beds. The fans of sword shaped leaves make a nice statement, and contrast with other foliar textures. When first transplanted, the blooms can be top-heavy and pull the whole rhizome out of the ground when they fall over. I would suggest staking the bloom stalk in the first year. After that, the rhizomes will begin to form a mat to anchor the flowers. A hard rain can still knock some over: perfect opportunity to cut them for an opulent bouquet to enjoy indoors. They can also be used to great effect singly, in Ikebana style arrangements. The scent is quite delicate and non-perfumy.

I will not be ordering any more irises through the mail, and why should I? We have some of the best growers right here in the Pacific Northwest. Scott did a post on his visit to one of those growers. Go there for more iris love.