Category Archives: journal
what’s up (April 2023)
Waiting, longing, wracked with anticipation for the garden to jump into growth is an entirely new experience for me, born and raised in the eternal sunshine of zone 10. When the slow emergence of spring in zone 8b begins — … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
8 Comments
Billie in the snow
February was not just about prettily frosted plants. Later in the month the garden was buried in almost a foot of snow. Unheard of amounts of snow, I’m told! Schools and city hall closed for a couple days, and the … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
6 Comments
really gets me frosted (February in zone 8b)
Changeable, volatile, sunny, rainy, hail for 5 minutes, sunny again, pouring buckets an hour later — this slice of temperate rain forest is all the weather I never got in LA…in one day! I used to perceive LA’s skies as … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
6 Comments
Oregon garden in late December
Yesterday, Dec 22, temps hovered at 20F all day, the first time that’s happened this winter, possibly not the last time though. The night-time numbers usually ease back up during the daytime into the high 30s/40s. The concrete walkway to … Continue reading
Posted in climate, journal, Oregon garden
10 Comments
scenes from November
How are we all holding up? Mid-term elections over, one major holiday in the can, another looming, but as usual I’m determined to go full contrarian and resist its gravity pull until the typical last-minute panic. (If Christmas involved nothing … Continue reading
Posted in journal, MB Maher, Oregon garden
5 Comments
a May 2017 look back at the zone 10b garden
On the northern Oregon coast, we’ve been in a sunny, dry spell for a week, with rain due to return next week. Frost has blackened the dahlias — I sound like an old hand writing that, but this was another … Continue reading
Posted in journal
8 Comments
on the rocks
The one-half inch ‘California Gold’ granite laid down last winter was an emotional decision made during the muddy season, and even then, though I told no one, putting down all that rock made me a little nervous. But it’s become … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
5 Comments
mid-September coastal Oregon garden
I was actually hoping to do a Bloom Day post for the 15th, but photos wouldn’t load, etc. For the time being, this little becalmed boat of a blog seems to have righted itself and is wobbily under sail again, … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
6 Comments
glistening September views
This morning’s mist was heavy enough that the downspouts gurgled. The garden embraced the moisture with its leaves and petals, in a heart-melting effect that can best be described in one word: glistening. A full rainy day is predicted for … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Oregon garden
14 Comments
coastal PNW gardens late July
Driving north on Highway 101 now is a very different experience than just a few weeks ago. The roadside attractions are no longer mauve foxgloves, which seemed to go on forever, but now mauve fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium (formerly Epilobium angustifolium), … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, Oregon garden, Plant Portraits, pots and containers
6 Comments