Category Archives: climate

full sun near the coast

Democracy is a garden that must be carefully tended, said one of our 21st century presidents. (Care to guess which one? Hint: his spouse famously broke with protocol and planted a vegetable garden near the White House. Ah, what innocent … Continue reading

Posted in climate, journal, Oregon garden, pots and containers | 6 Comments

a rainy spring/early summer

In this notoriously rainy slice of the Oregon coast, 2022 rainfall has exceeded all expectations and delivered above average inches fall, winter, and spring. And how! And like a starving person led to a banquet, I’m probably the only one … Continue reading

Posted in climate, journal, Oregon garden | 8 Comments

new garden update

about the soil: “The Tillamook Series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in mixed alluvium on stream terraces. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 90 inches and the mean annual temperature … Continue reading

Posted in climate, garden travel, garden visit, journal, plant nurseries | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

crushed oyster shells and chanterelles

My new mantra, apparently borrowed from an old Swedish proverb, loosely translated: There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. To put it in gardener’s speak, we left frostless, drought-ridden zone 10b in early October and are … Continue reading

Posted in climate, journal, MB Maher | 11 Comments

dispatch from the Oregon coast

We’ve been at the Oregon house a little over two weeks, and this Tillamook Rainforest coastal area is now settling into a comfortable steady rain. Late October and November bring some of the heaviest rainfall to the yearly total over … Continue reading

Posted in climate, journal, plant sales | 7 Comments

swept away

Busy week, weather-wise, democracy-wise. There was a sweet piney scent to the air the morning of the 19th, which meant the wind had shifted and was coming from the east. I smelled it before checking the weather vane, which confirmed … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, design, journal, Occasional Daily Weather Report, succulents | 5 Comments

Fearless Gardening by Loree Bohl; a review/giveaway

I’ve been following Pacific Northwest gardens and nurseries for decades and often fantasize about having a garden in a modified-mediterranean, 40 inches-of-rain-a-year zone 8. There’s lots of plants I’d be able to grow for the first time, but there’d have … Continue reading

Posted in artists, books, climate, design, inspire me, pots and containers | Tagged | 12 Comments

clippings 6/22/20

Hope you find lots of interesting and diverting things to do this week. I’m tending new seedlings and waiting for another seed order to arrive — there’s got to be more empty pots around here somewhere…

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, climate, clippings, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | 6 Comments

sweat it out

It’s great to see the garden “sweat” again. Whether glistening from morning dew or transpiration, it’s a sight for sore (dry) eyes. The leaves of the tree aloe ‘Goliath’ were a grimy, sooty mess just a few days ago. Hosespray … Continue reading

Posted in climate, Occasional Daily Weather Report, science, succulents | 4 Comments

James Griffith @Craig Krull Gallery

Never mind Halloween, it’s been a scary week, and overnight more fires erupted, many much closer to home. Checking the Los Angeles Times for the grim wildfire updates brought some unexpected and sorely needed happy news: “La Brea tar is … Continue reading

Posted in artists, climate, science | 3 Comments