Category Archives: Oregon garden
notes on the September garden
September is a big month in this garden…the equivalent of a king’s tide (the highest full-moon tide that temporarily erases local beaches). But this is no act of nature. Big, tall plants have always been a preference. Still, the height … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit, Oregon garden, Plant Portraits
9 Comments
shopping for phlomis at Windcliff
“What looks good when the garden is just starting to stir in April? In my garden, in one word, phlomis. Unscathed, fully clothed, holding it together all winter. I didn’t expect phlomis could deal with this much rain, hail and snow, … Continue reading
Bloom Day August 2023
This little Salvia greggii pushing out a few blooms this week is emblematic of how small, well-timed interventions can mean a lot, especially in small gardens. The salvia was getting swamped in a stock tank and it became a case … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, Oregon garden
11 Comments
clippings 7/24/23; new views
Some recent small changes at home. This stock tank held that incredibly generous friend to bees, Anisodontea ‘Strybing Beauty,’ that I brought up from the zone 10 garden. In its second season here, the unexpected girth and height now completely … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, Oregon garden
9 Comments
garden impostors and other July blooms
The clumps of leaves on these two foxgloves were impossible to tell apart in winter, but in bloom Digitalis parviflora and Digitalis ferruginea are very distinctive. Apart from very different coloration, D. parviflora is the first to bloom, and D. … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, Oregon garden
7 Comments
July surges
On drives through the coast range I note the prominence of naturalized foxgloves in bloom is being replaced by fireweed (epilobium), the color and shape so similar that I didn’t notice the change at first. Around town rhododendrons are done, … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
8 Comments
Bloom Day June 2023
Not to be duplicative of recent posts, but just a few things that caught my eye this morning. I actually lost track of the Bloom Day timeline (15th of the month) but was out with the camera this morning to … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, Oregon garden
7 Comments
June takes over
June is happening. Whatever garden plans you made, whatever winter took away, June is here, right now, and blots out everything else. The job now, as I see it, is admiring the incredible architecture of plants in all their phases, … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
5 Comments
late May 2023
Fresh clumps of healthy new leaves covering the ground, strong clear colors — I really like the direction the 2-year-old garden is taking in May. Have a relaxing long weekend (Memorial Day in the U.S.) and see you in June!
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
7 Comments
covering the ground in early spring zone 8b
Dead or alive? Since April I’ve circled the garden carefully every morning, spine at a right angle to the ground, and posed that question to the plants…or the empty space I remember growing plants. Looking for signs of life in … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
6 Comments