Monthly Archives: April 2026

the old cedar

Even as a part-time local, it took me a couple passes to find the tight entrance off 101 to the Cedar Wetlands Nature Preserve just outside Rockaway Beach. (I think there’s a small sign if you’re heading south on 101; … Continue reading

Posted in garden travel, plant crushes | 5 Comments

Presidio Tunnel Tops

I first heard of what has come to be known as the Presidio Tunnel Tops in 2015, when visiting landscape architect Rania Reyes mentioned her involvement in a new Presidio Parklands Project in San Francisco. Rania was being given a … Continue reading

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, succulents | 9 Comments

some April PDX gardens

(“Oregon Route 6, known as the Wilson River Highway, is a scenic but treacherous 52-mile route connecting Tillamook (U.S. 101) to the Portland metro area (U.S. 26) through the Tillamook State Forest. Completed in 1941, this critical coastal artery is notorious … Continue reading

Posted in garden visit | 8 Comments

microabundance/Granada Coffee Shop

In spring 2025, Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson was published, a nonfiction work examining why we can’t seem to get things built for the common good anymore and the bureaucratic difficulties facing small businesses. Using examples like California’s … Continue reading

Posted in artists, commerce, garden visit | 4 Comments

back in the Oregon Coast garden spring 2026

It’s raining. There’s tons to do. Five minutes home and we’re already chopping up the neighbor’s downed tree limb and beginning cleanup. Absent since November, there’s that burning question immediately upon arrival in spring: How did the garden fare over … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Oregon garden, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments