{"id":100922,"date":"2022-06-07T20:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T00:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/?p=100922"},"modified":"2022-06-07T20:00:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T00:00:20","slug":"a-rainy-spring-early-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/?p=100922","title":{"rendered":"a rainy spring\/early summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Eryngium x zabelii ‘Big Blue’ putting out some very marbled, spiny growth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em>! And like a starving person led to a banquet, I’m probably the only one in town who isn’t bored, irritated, or disgusted with it yet. But coming from the land of mega-droughts, rain to me is still a miracle, a resounding Yes<\/em>! from the universe. I haven’t yet tired of the sound of it, whether it drums softly or blows in hard and slanted, whether it comes in dollops of big drops or a fine mist. July is forecast to be dry, so I admit I’m savoring these last few days of rain. And weirder still, at the same time, I miss my dry garden plants and SoCal garden. But on some primal survival level, an abundance of water just feels so reassuring, so…life-affirming. If entertaining two diametrically opposed opinions indicates intelligence, what do two diametrically opposed emotions indicate, (other than paralyzing ambivalence?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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my first garden encounter with Sicilian Honey Garlic Nectaroscordum siculum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But near-constant rain and cool temperatures do not encourage growth in a young garden. I am told there will be a tremendous surge when the rain abates and the soil has a chance to dry out and warm. Yet even with the delay in growth, already I have experienced new horticultural wonders like the Sicilian Honey Garlic. And, damn, it’s a beauty! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And like I’ve said before, the geums are invaluable for filling out and blooming early even in a cool, wet spring, when so many other plants are waiting for more warmth. Because it’s such a great plant, you’d think ‘Totally Tangerine’ is in danger of becoming as ubiquitous as Geranium ‘Rozanne.’ — not that I’ve seen it much local.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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osteospermum — what a surprise to find that this overwinters here. Big patches are in bloom in spring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A dormant salvage habit I brought with me north has been re-awakened now that I found a welder in town willing to sell me some scraps. Simple daisies seemed appropriate for a pipe lettered with the words “Viet Nam.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bottomless trough was a steal at $5. Without really planning to, I’ve started to plant around the stock tanks into the rocks. I’ve noticed the rocks act as a sun trap, as does the reflected light off the stock tanks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Crambe maritima was a shoo-in candidate for the new garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Textural study Bigelowia nutalli in the foreground, Eryngium ‘Charleston Blues’ behind. I’ve indulged a long-simmering eryngium habit here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And the shadier, patio side of the stock tanks are getting planted up too, here with Cyrtomium falcatum, the Japanese Holly Fern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And another moisture lover, Filipendula ‘Red Parasols.’ <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Everything in the stock tanks is growing really well. A plant that made the move north, Metapanax delavayi, is showing new growth — so glad it survived! From the Guizho and Yunnan provinces of China, the climate here is much more to its liking than Southern California<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arctostaphylos ‘Sunset’ is thriving in a stock tank. I’m not sure about planting arctos in the ground here yet. A berm is probably the right idea, and I’m thinking of going in that direction with the front garden, which will have woodier plants. Omphalodes llinifolia was a seedling from the Long Beach garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Euphorbia ‘Dean’s Hybrid’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oregon Sunshine Eriophyllum lanatum has silvery, artemisia-like leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Senecio candidans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s a strong possibility this very finicky senecio may find conditions suitable on the Oregon coast. Silver leaves almost always denote a need for hot, dry conditions — except when they don’t, like in this senecio’s case, coming as it does from the cool environs of the Falkland Islands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll see what June brings!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[2807,550,5119],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNJ2E-qfM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100922"}],"version-history":[{"count":69,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100992,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100922\/revisions\/100992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}