Category Archives: Oregon garden
long summer days
After three years, these long summer days still amaze me. These photos were taken at 9 p.m. last night! On the 4th fireworks were useless until well after 10 p.m. — but that didn’t stop the neighbors. Loud booms are … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
7 Comments
Three years in a zone 8 garden (toddler phase)
I broke my shovel yesterday, the trusty decades’ old one I brought up north. There’s a metaphor there somewhere. It’s seen a lot of action, especially this spring/early summer. The back garden has left behind that deliciously expectant phase, like … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
6 Comments
June 13, 2024, Oregon Coast
Even without much heat, it feels as though we’ve reached that turning point when spring finally retreats and summer growth gains the upper hand, if only by virtue of sheer day length. It’s light out til 9:30 p.m. now! In … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
10 Comments
wet and cool in a temperate rain forest
I get it, most local people I talk to are ready for sunnier days. This day has flushed sunny, rainy, and sunny again several times, all before noon. The 90″ of rain that makes this temperate rain forest possible, a … Continue reading
Posted in climate, Oregon garden
9 Comments
mid-May 2024 Oregon Coast
Morning is always my favorite time in the garden, with the plants softly exhaling into the warming air while the sun slowly traces its way through tree canopies and clouds. The surrounding town is quiet while I study the garden … Continue reading
Posted in cut flowers, journal, Oregon garden
10 Comments
more camas, please
This last Sunday of April has been misty and rainy, the same conditions since mid-week. Until the rains returned last Wednesday, I personally felt we had gone too long without rain (almost a week). But I know the farmers were … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, journal, Oregon garden
9 Comments
Rosy Rhodocoma capensis
I’m not sure when the rhodocoma started blushing pink. In fact, before this morning I didn’t even know to expect such a phenomenon, but trusted resources have this to say: San Marcos Growers: “Upright growing clump forming (tussock) grass-like plant … Continue reading
Posted in Oregon garden, Plant Portraits
8 Comments
my own private tulipomania
There’s a lot of the traditional horticultural canon that can be grown well here at the moist Oregon Coast in zone 8b/9a that I’m skipping so far– hellebores, roses, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, hostas, maples, Oriental poppies, peonies, clematis to name a … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, Oregon garden, pots and containers
5 Comments
new to me; Fritillaria persica and others
Last spring a local nursery had planted whiskey barrels with Fritillaria persica. Which jarred me into the realization that I could too, that fritillaries were a green light on the Oregon coast. This March it is such a kick to … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, journal, Oregon garden
8 Comments
March mixes it up
The month of March, fittingly named for the god of war, here at the coast is a pitched battle between winter and spring. Winter battles for supremacy lobbing hail, snow, and night-time freezing temperatures, but it’s a dead-ender’s ploy. Spring … Continue reading
Posted in blog, climate, Oregon garden
7 Comments