20 July: evening at Markham Farm

Saturday, 20 July 2019

Markham Farm

We arrived back at our guest cottage at 6:45 and had a look at the little garden there, where I saw tadpoles in the pond.

Allan’s photo

After a brief rest, I walked on down to the farm ahead of Allan.  The evening sun highlighted the garden bed that I saw the first time we visited here two years ago; I remembered that moment when I knew we had arrived at a wonderful place.

While I am not well traveled, I have toured dozens of Pacific Northwest gardens and this is my favourite of all.

One of the reasons I love this garden best: It has horses.

Gus

Woody (Allan’s photo)

Verbena bonariensis

left side of the driveway

the pollinator garden

an embrace

Barry

I kept wandering, with Barry and Gus the only residents I had seen so far.

The property includes many wooded acres and a beach.  The garden itself is three? or five? acres.

The giant white froth of persicaria above is well behaved and is not Japanese knotweed.

looking back along the driveway

I entered the shrubbery.

hypericum in foreground

Another reason I love this garden best: It is multi-layered and intricate with little or no space between plants, and yet the plants are also well defined.

Another reason I love this garden best: lots of hydrangeas.

an enviable Hydrangea aspera

dinosaur footprints, which I soon learned were a recent acquisition, destined for the grandchildren’s woodsy camp

Allan’s photo

repurposed satellite dish

Right about here, I heard rustling and met Terri and Ilsa wandering the paths from the other direction. We then wandered together, soon joined by Allan, and Terri showed us some favourite plants.  She said she had recently realized she “gardens in vignettes.”

(Terri, Ilsa, Bill, and Barry are four more reasons that this is my favourite garden.)

Ilsa

Waldo Pond has a little leak this year.

Stewartia

when Allan found us

the light at 7:50 PM

Ilsa leads the way.

daylily, maybe Ice Carnival

Allan’s photo

We walked to the other side of the driveway to admire some new daylilies.

looking toward the blueberry field/bird feasting area

Terri had limbed up the Fuchsia magellanica by the pavilion (an old remodeled garage, site of an old forge).

I remembered how I’d limbed up fuchsias in my old garden and now felt inspired to do so again when we returned home.  Another reason this garden is a favourite: it gives me ideas.

I doubt I have the story entirely right about the sculpture, below; something like…it used to be in Terri and Bill’s old Seattle neighbourhood, and then it was sitting out for free and they were able to snag it and bring it to Markham Farm.

Another reason this garden is my favourite: It abounds in garden art, much of which  is found, upcycled, or gifted, nothing ostentatious, nothing that tries to be more important than the garden.

After our garden walk, we entered the house…

..for some cheesecake garnished with three kinds of berries.  The dessert was deliciously photogenic but good conversation distracted me from saving its image for posterity.

kitchen window

We were able to return to the guest cottage without feeling the sadness of departure, because tomorrow we’d be in the Markham Farm again with friends.

 

 

 

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11 Feb: Long Beach planters

Sunday, 11 February 2018

We decided to work on the downtown Long Beach planters and street trees.  I had big ideas that we would also get to the Anchorage Cottages garden and then get rugosa roses cut down in the beach approach garden by the arch.

As I began with the southernmost planters, Robert (wasband and former co-gardener) bicycled up and we had an interesting chat, reminiscing about our friend Lily who died some years ago of ALS.

Robert

My mission was to trim back any Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ still standing and to clip santolina hard so it will make a nice round ball instead of getting rangy.

before

after; this planter has too much of a boring little hardy geranium but is not one I plant to re-do.

crocuses in a planter

crocuses and an iris reticulata

santolinas, before

an after from across the street, because I forgot…

before

after

Would be huge escallonias that we cut back hard by the pet shop last fall are leafing out:

anemone

After clipping and tidying in eight planters and three trees, I re-joined Allan who had been working on a difficult tree garden that whole time.

before, with an unfortunate batch of rugosa roses

Those roses reseeded into there, and I thought, years ago, how cute, and let one or two stems bloom.  Oh, what a mistake…and yet it does look pretty when blooming in summer.

after; unfortunately, the roses will come back.

after; will this be the year we prevail?

I notice every time I come to a clump of narcissi and find flower stalks picked.  (Deer are not the culprits here, although they might be with tulips.)

Why not leave ALL the flowers for all the people to enjoy?

It was not a pleasant weather day, with wind that became increasingly strong and cold.

not feeling comfortable

Another street tree job by Allan:

before

after (the stems are a hardy fuchsia)

In another tree, we worked on eliminated all but two corners of Geranium ‘A.T. Johnson’; I planted too much of it way back when I had a low budget, and it was free (for good reason).

before

after

sidewalk display at The Wooden Horse gift shop

In the last two blocks, the wind was much colder and stronger.  We were determined to finish.

We cut back these chrysanthemums, with foliage undamaged because of our mild winter.

Allan cut down the other two escallonias that are crowded into a planter.

before

after

I came along behind him and trimmed those green santolinas hard.

At home, I was able to erase the Long Beach downtown planters from the work board, and added the Pop Outs (little gardens on Ocean Beach Boulevard).

There may be a reader who is wondering when Kite Museum will appear on the work board.  It finally got added on Feb. 14th!

It took hours after work to finally feel warm again.

 

 

 

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7 November: windy walk through the Bayside Garden

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

We had run into Steve and John at the 6×6 art auction three days before and were invited to tour their latest garden expansion.  On this cold and windy late afternoon, we bundled up and examined the entire garden…except for the beds on the east side, by the bay, from whence the wind came.  The tour was so interesting that we hardly commented on the cold.

Our tour started as we drove up to the house.

the driveway in

two beautiful piles of mulch that had just been delivered

young gingko by the irrigation pond

Met by Steve and John by the house, we began our walking tour.

This bed to the south east of the house was salal just a few days ago.  It is a hard task to get all the roots of that vigorously running native out of the ground, especially under a tree.

John picks a non variegated leaf off of a new variegated hydrangea.

The whole south side has been cleared of scrubby trees, including holly.

The tidal stream marking the edge of the property is now revealed.

Allan’s photo

I teased Steve and John that they would now be stretching a plank across the stream to lie on and trim the sword ferns on the other side.

I would have thought for sure the new shrub, below, in a new bed, was a rhododendron.  It is not.

Vaccinium glaucoalbum

Rhododendron ‘Pinky Purple People Eater’

Looking back on the new area. The tall old species rhododendrons to the left will enjoy the increased light.

Here is how it looked (not from exactly the same spot) earlier this year:

16 July 2017

We continued our walk to the west.

Foreground: Rhododendron ‘Cherries and Merlot’

Arbor Care from Astoria had done the expert clearing and had also limbed up the remaining trees. Steve and John said that when Arbor Care is done, you can’t even tell they were there (other than the results), because all the debris is chipped and cleaned up.

The photo below from January 1st demonstrates the difference in how the trees look now.

1 January 2017

We crossed the driveway, where the garden beds are also expanding.

a sinuous new bed

a fairly recent bed in the northwest lawn

Allan took notice of this tree, Athrotaxis cupressoides (Pencil Pine)

the very newest lawn bed of all

Each new plant gets some attention and admiration.

Quercus alnifolia (golden oak)

Quercus alnifolia (golden underside of leaves)

Allan noticed wire laid to discourage deer.

An independent minded dawn redwood which lost its leader and turned into a shrub.

The redwood on the other side of the driveway had behaved like a regular tree. This one…not. (Allan’s photo)

At least one big tree has been removed from this view, looking east over the pond.

Compare to May 2 of 2015.

May 2, 2015, on the Rhodie Tour

We walked back up the driveway, admiring the pushing back of scrubby salal and undergrowth on the south side, giving the garden greater depth..

Allan admired a fern.

the cryptomeria grove

Even though the photo below, from May 2, 2015, is from a little further to the east, it shows the difference that the clearing and limbing up has made.

May 2, 2015

center: Cryptomeria ‘Black Dragon’

right: Rhododendron ‘Ever Red’

Rhododendron ‘Hill’s Bright Red’

another new area

We admired more plants in the mature beds, planted in late spring 2009, to the northwest of the house.

Acer ‘Bijou’ in gold

Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’

Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’ blowing in the wind.

Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’ (Allan’s photo)

autumnal hosta

(background) Rhododendrons closing their leaves against the cold wind

Brrr. They will close their leaves even more against winter’s cold.

Allan’s photo

Rhododendron pachysanthum by the front door

in the courtyard, looking through the breezeway (Allan’s photo)

coral bark maples

the last of the dahlias and the green roofed pump house

falling leaves

a look to the west before retreating indoors

same view on July 16 ’17

From the kitchen, we looked across the lower level to the stormy bay.  At a high winter tide, the water will come up over the rough grass.

south east corner: The evergreen huckleberry glade and the outlet of the tidal stream

view to the north: To the rear is Sorbus ‘Pink Pagoda’

A friend had given John and Steve some quinces, from which John had made a special treat, Quince membrillo, served with Monchego cheese, a delicious cheese made from the milk of Manchega sheep.  Served on crackers, it brought back memories of my grandmother’s quince jelly.

Quince membrillo

We admired a new piece of art that they had recently acquired from local woodcarver Jim Unwin.

by Jim Unwin

We visited till early evening, about gardening and politics, little knowing the glorious news of the blue wave of Democrat victories that awaited us in the evening news.

If you would like to virtually tour this garden in different seasons, here are some of our past posts about it:

26 September, 2013

21 April 2014

16 June 2014

19 July 2014 (garden tour)

2 September 2014

7 March 2015

2 May 2015 (Rhodie Tour)

23 June 2015

21 April 2016

24 July 2016

1 January 2017

11 May 2017

16 July 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11 May: Bayside Garden between storms

Thursday, 11 May 2017

As one storm passed over and another was due, with far worse weather predicted for tomorrow, we arranged to visit one of our favourite gardens a day earlier than planned.

While this Willapa Bay garden merits a visit at any season, rhododendron time is its peak.  Some of the rhodos had already bloomed, starting in February. (As I was looking something up for this post, I ran across this article that I think will please rhododendron fans.)

Join us as we walk with Steve and John from the house, down through the gardens and back.   In the photo captions, which we hope are correct, R. of course means Rhododendron.  All mistakes in identification are completely mine and will soon be corrected, because Steve and John will catch them.  I have virtually no expertise in rhododendrons.  Until I began to visit this garden, I had no idea how wonderfully varied they are.

close admiration of the tomentosum (soft underside of foliage) on a trio of R. pachysanthum by the front door

One of a curve of five or six Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Vintage Gold’

John at the start of a new path laid by local landscaper Steve Clarke

A well-built Steve Clarke wall guides the path around to the pump house.

chives in the kitchen garden (Allan’s photo)

A soft and misty space between rain storms.

Allan’s photo

To our left, R. loderi ‘Venus’ carried its fragrant flowers almost out of reach this year. Underneath is the white R. ‘Olympic Lady’.

looking up into R. loderi ‘Venus’

R. loderi ‘Venus’

new foliage on an old pieris

golden Taxus (prostrate yew) embracing several plants, including R. ‘Ken Janeck’

Allan’s photo

We are looking at an Osmanthus burkwoodii that is just recovering from the winter and early spring winds…

Garden bed to the north of the driveway:

Corokia virgata ‘Sunsplash’, center

textures

Allan’s photo

shapes, including Pittosporum kohuhu (nicknamed golf ball pittosporum).  Note the twirly conifer to the lower left.  My notes just helpfully say “little twirly yellow guy.’

Steve IDs for me as Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Lutea’
(Nana Lutea Dwarf Hinoki Cypress)

Allan’s photo

Walking into the upper north gardens…

two toned pink R. ‘Perry Wiseman’ and, in the background, the white R. ‘Pohjola’s Daughter’

a wealth of pink tones on R. ‘Perry Wiseman’

Allan’s photo

a variegated wiegela, I think (Allan’s photo)

an impeccably perfect hosta

the brightness of new growth

Allan’s photo 😉

new growth on R. ‘Winsome’, a word that we agreed has fallen out of use.

This area around a tree had been the dreaded salal just two days ago, and now look:

sword ferns

Walking down toward the irrigation pond….

Tall R. ‘Beauty of Littleworth’ blooming above a pair of new rhodos

close up of the young pair, R ‘Scarlet Wonder’, in the above photo, one blooming and one not.

twins with different personalities

R. ‘Butterfly’

Allan’s photo

looking back at the de-salaled tree

R. ‘Milky Way’ with flowers like powder puffs

R. ‘Milky Way’ (Allan’s photo)

R. sinofalconeri (species) with fuzzy new leaves

R. stenopetalum

Thujopsus dolobrata

Allan’s photo

Looking south across the driveway, you can see the same full grown thujopsis that the driveway was made to curve around.

more bright new calyxes

R. ‘Susan’

R. ‘Susan’

Crossing over to the south side of the driveway…

cinnamon fern

Allan’s photo

more fuzzy new growth on R. leucaspis (species)

Steve’s favourite, ‘Starbright Champagne’

Rhododendon ‘Starbright Champagne’ blooming a couple of years ago

Looking west, I gasped when I saw (below) a vasty new area that Steve and John had grubbed out of rough undergrowth:

I know this will soon be a display of wonderful new plants.

Below is a new area created last year:

looking east

The paths are delightfully soft and springy underfoot.

impeccably pruned sword ferns by the stream ditch that bordered the estate; you can see on the other side what they look like uncared for (just brown and tatty).

new area made last year

a handsome Disporum ‘Night Heron’

strongly textured R. erosum

Allan’s photo.  The background of native meianthemum is not a favourite and will be controlled as time permits!

Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’ showing off

Allan’s photo

Athyrium ‘Goliath’, Japanese painted fern

a soft and kind Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’, no prickles!

more of the new area

Kalmia latifolia ‘Sarah’ (Allan’s photo)

perfectly trimmed deer ferns (Allan’s photo)

bluish new foliage on R. lepidostylum

R. ‘Little Carmen’

stunning new silver foliage. (The fuzz on the top of leaves is called tomentosum.) Steve says: R. sinofalconeri (like the other, smaller Vietnamese form we identified before, but this one goes 10-30′!))

(If you think I can read my notes on all these names, think again.  At least a third of these rhododendron identifications involved emails to Steve. Every time I visit this garden, I plan to spend the next winter making a proper database for my garden…and don’t.)

R. quinquefolium

R. quinquefolium , one of those you would not even guess was a rhodie!

Allan’s photo

looking back as we walk toward the house

a brief detour to look across the pond

drizzle begins (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

R. ‘Carmen’

R. ‘Medusa’

R. ‘Kodiak’

detail, R. ‘Kodiak’

Allan’s photo

mossy backdrop for R. ‘PJM Compacta’

looking back

Rain started as we approached the house…

However, despite rain, I had to see the ladies in waiting.

R. ‘Tall Timber’

Due to rain and over-excitement I only got a fuzzy photo of this amazing R. benhallii that looks like an enkianthus.

Steve told me that Professor Ben Hall at the University of Washington has finally had this rhododendron named after him.  You can read more about his research here.

a covetable euonymous

weird and wonderful R. spinuliferum

By now, the rain was quite serious.

from inside the house

the dell of evergreen huckleberries

from the north window: the succulent pump roof landscape had frozen out over the winter.

Steve showed us some photos of how the pump roof had looked in close up late last summer:

like a miniature forest, we all agreed

It was time to warm up with tea and a treat.

John’s coconut banana bread (Allan’s photo)

A torrential and noisy sheet of rain fell. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

As we finished our cake, tea, and plant talk, a beautiful light fell over the bay.

Allan’s photo

From the front door (telephoto), Steve pointed out the glow of the red maple in the far distance.

On the way down the drive, departing, we took a few more photos of the early evening light.

A silver shower of rain suddenly fell off this tree.

Allan’s photo 😉

north of upper driveway

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

a row of redtwig dogwood along the lower driveway (Allan’s photo)

by the entrance drive (Allan’s photo)

the entrance driveway (Allan’s photo)

Steve’s photo

 

Allan cropped his photo because of raindrops on the lens.  I got the full view of the driveway, above, from Steve. I asked for the names, and here they are: “From the east, R. ‘Red gold’ — then two numbered (unnamed) crosses by Jim Elliott (from Knappa).  Next, four of R. ‘Gala’ — then two (low) R. ‘Naselle” — then R. ‘Lem’s cameo’  — then three R. ‘Nadine’ with  R. ‘Golden gala’ (not in bloom this year) on the very west end [closest to the highway].”

This rhododendron-lined driveway is shared with the home next door, which has just  been listed for sale.  It was once Clarke Nursery.  We all want to see gardeners buy it, and you’d have the best neighbors in Steve and John.  Here is the listing.  Here is the garden on the Rhododendron Tour.  And here it is on the July garden tour.  Just imagine yourself driving past that line of peachy rhododendrons to your own piece of bayside paradise.

We were glad to have found a time between storms to visit.  The next day began with a pea sized heavy hail storm that I imagine might have damaged some of the blossoms at the Bayside Garden, and rain and wind continued during the whole of Friday.

Skooter enjoyed reading this blog post along with Allan.

 

 

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1 January: a New Year’s “do” at the Bayside Garden

Sunday, 1 January 2017

Steve and John threw a big “do” in the afternoon at their home  by the bay, in the setting of one of my favourite peninsula gardens.

Because many folks were expected, we parked below and strolled up through the garden.

conifers by the irrigation pond

Some ice remained on the irrigation pond.

south side of the driveway

one of the former salal beds (so impressively cleared out last year!)

approaching the house

near the front door

coral bark maple

Steve later told me he had picked up every fallen leaf the day before, and then a wind blew and down came more.  I said the golden leaves, from a tall cotoneaster, were like gold leaf on a fancy dessert.

coral bark maple (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

the pump house roof garden (which has been covered at night because of frost)

Inside the house:

looking out the front window at the coral bark maple

just some of the delicious food items

My favourite: a caviar and shrimp topped creation that was like the fanciest ever deviled egg.

an exquisite mango dipping sauce; I tried not to be greedy.

Allan’s photo

I should have known all of these people.  Because of face blindness, I was fairly well flummoxed except for a few.

dessert with a view (looking east)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo; John in the checked shirt

the view north to the pump house and kitchen/dahlia garden

a tablescape

After noshing a bit, I happened to look out the front window again and saw the arrival of Dave and Melissa, walking up the drive with Nanci of Nanci and Jimella’s Café.

Dave and Mel and Nanci

view to the southeast: the clipped huckleberry glade

a show of clouds to the east. The table centerpiece is called Reflections, by local artist Jim Unwin.

Jim Unwin himself admires another artist’s creation.

Seaside gardener Pam, her spouse Dave, and Sean and Jim arrived.  I gazed at this seasonal tableau while seated and chatting with Pam.  Outside, hummingbirds hovered around a blooming camellia.

Dave and Melissa and I took an afternoon walk through the garden.

The most sensitive rhododendrons are saying Brrrr. And it is supposed to get colder.

Some rhodos are just fine with the cold.

glowing dogwood twigs

I hope my Pittosporum ‘Tasman Ruffles’ eventually gets this tall.

The baby specimen rhododendrons are toddler sized now.

moss and berries

Pretty sure this is my favourite, whose leaves will be silver in springtime.

The irrigation pond mirrored the garden.

back up the driveway

Sean and Allan

“Take a better picture!” said Sean, but I was too far away.

Back inside:

clouds over the Willapa Hills

Allan’s photo

We departed as the clouds began turning pink.  Thank you, Steve and John!  We overheard many words of praise about the “do”.

twilight coral bark maple

On the way home, we made a detour over to Klipsan Beach Cottages to deliver Denny’s belated birthday present.

at Klipsan Beach Cottages

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

by the office door

A bit of a social whirl will continue as we have a political meeting and a special birthday tomorrow, followed by a not so exciting dentist appointment on Tuesday and then…back to reading.

One of these days I WILL get back out into my own garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hardy Plant Weekend: evening at Dancing Oaks

Saturday, 25 June 2016

Hardy Plant Study Weekend in Salem, Oregon

evening soirée at Dancing Oaks Nursery

Prepare for a looooong blog post.  I have not been to this nursery since I visited it with Sheila before the Eugene Hardy Plant weekend of eight years ago.  It is glorious and we are going to look at almost every bit of it.

I was overwhelmed by plant shopping excitement and I forgot the part about the Beardless Irises garden book.

The gravel road to Dancing Oaks is long and mysterious. It goes up and over a steep hill.

Eventually, one comes to the pillars marking the outskirts of Dancing Oaks.

so excited

We parked with many other vehicles in a big grassy field and I made a beeline for the plant sales, which were already in full swing with booths from Far Reaches Farm and Dan Hinkley’s Windcliff.  I seem to have missed one plant I was urgently questing for: Dierama ‘Merlin’, the new, extra dark “angel’s fishing rod”.  I saw someone carrying away what might have been the last one. Nevertheless, I did acquire a goodly assortment of cool new acquisitions.

Allan’s photo

plant sales!

cool plants

amusing Dan Hinkley tag.

Dan Hinkley and the hardy planters (Allan’s photo)

After Allan helped me schlep two boxes of plants up to our van (in hot sunshine, but the plants would be okay for a couple of hours), I headed over to the Dancing Oaks greenhouses for more plant shopping.  (I’ll be itemizing all my new plants later when I plant them at home.)

This building is central to the garden.

On the way….I am not officially garden touring yet, though.

inside one of the greenhouses

For some reason I resisted this one, and now I am so sorry.

Allan’s photo: He saw our friend Ann giving this plant a lot of attention. Not sure why that did not inspire him to immediately buy one!

I had my head down in the eryngiums reading tags when Garden Tour Nancy, who was also at the weekend tried to have a conversation.  We had been passing in our vehicles like ships in the night because we were touring at a different pace. I said (hot, tired, and hungry for dinner but unable to stop till I secured my plants!) that this was not a good time for me to talk.  She said later, when we did chat, that it was the same way that she shops at a book sale, very focused on getting the books she wants before someone else does.

I acquired another two boxes of plants, including….at last…Eryngium ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’, which I have wanted for years.

I do believe this is Miss Wilmott’s Ghost, reseeded by a path near the greenhouses to poke folks in the ankle.

Miss Wilmott’s Ghost, named because she supposedly scattered the seeds of it in all her friends’ gardens.

At last, I sat for the delicious catered dinner, one of the best I have ever had at such an event.  My mind was on finding time to tour through the whole garden before the evening ended.

Allan’s photo of a half consumed dinner. The heat had sapped my skills at narrative flow.

After a scrumptious piece of strawberry cobbler for dessert, I leapt…well, creaked and hobbled up and began touring the gardens.  (This led to a couple more plant purchases.)

Folks still dining on the tasty food.

Allan’s photo

bamboo, pruned for light and space

I remember this garden idea inspired me greatly eight years ago.

a dripping water feature

dripping water

‘Twas hot and bright for my little pocketcam.

Acer palmatum ‘Fairy Hair’ aroused plant lust. I did not find it for sale, which does not mean it wasn’t available.

Allan’s photo

Lobelia tupa…never does this for me at the coast, must need more heat to get big.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Sit spots can be found tucked in throughout the garden.

I found a pond.

such a pleasant vista hidden away in a shady area

handsome horsetail

oooh….Arundo donax variegata…I used to have this.

I immediately returned to the greenhouses to successfully quest for one of these.

Allan’s photo

‘Mermaid’ rose…I do have this.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Eryngium variifolium (Allan’s photo)

asclepias…on my third visit to the shed containing the check-out cash register.

I wandered into the shrubs and trees for sale area and was gobsmacked by a cloud of white.

Acer campestre ‘Carnival’ (variegated hedge maple)

I had to have it, bought it, got help carrying it to a holding area where we could pick it up on the way out.  (The evening would have been easier if I had done that with all the plants I bought.)  I was fortunate to overhear that these do better in the sun than deep shade. (That may only be true here in the Pacific Northwest and in the UK, not in areas with brighter and hotter sunshine.) I would have planted it far into the shade because it looks so delicate.

outside the sales shed…the obligatory photo of the shop cat

By the sales shed…How many times, three? have I tried to grow Argyrocytisus battandieri (pineapple broom), and had it not bloom (my old garden), or just simply plotz (my new garden).

Dierama (not ‘Merlin’)

below the sales shed

an undiscovered sit spot

a sit spot guarded by stone cats

Steps made of cottage stone have become rusticated.

into the sun again: a prickly cloud of Eryngiums. (I bought several different kinds, including the exciting new ‘Neptune’s Gold’.

The vendors’ tables were still selling.

After seven PM, the shadows were getting softer.

kitty cat!

back to the dripping water

This looks like the tree that I bought; if it is, it gets bigger than the tag suggests (10′). Maybe that IS what 10 feet looks like.

into the lower shade garden again

giant bamboo

treasures!

A hardy planter ogling this sedum drew my attention to it.

I wanted it but was too shopped out to go looking for it.

looking again at the stacked garden idea

I took Allan to see the white tree….love the way it is like a cloud in the evening light.

heading back to the sales shed and holding area to pick up my own white tree.

Allan’s photo

Because we won’t be going to the Hardy Plant weekend next year (its year to be in Canada), I would like to return to Dancing Oaks and Sebright Nursery on an overnight springtime shopping tour of our own.

Next: one more day of garden touring before we return to everyday life and once a day posting.

 

 

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Hardy Plant weekend: Affirmation Garden

Friday, 24 June 2016

Hardy Plant Society Study Weekend: Salem, Oregon

We arrived at the first garden at 9:30. (Not being morning people, even that was a struggle.  It was about a half an hour from the Oregon Garden Resort.)  Because I was feeling worried about making it to all nine gardens, I did not browse the metal art even though I would have liked to.

When I have to rush through a garden, looking at the photos later is how I see more of the details.  I didn’t find the stack of garden maps till we were leaving.

As you can see, Rick Smith’s creations were enticing.

Bright sun vs. intense shade made it hard for my little pocketcam to cope.

shaded side of potting shed

sunny side

greenhouse

Brilliant additions to A Frame, if you have a wide lot with room to add long one story wings.

I like a planted rock wall surrounding a patio.

Allan’s photo

Kathy said she climbs into this bed to weed among the roses.

I like art displayed on the wall of a house.

a tower of clematis with tiny bells

Allan’s photo

utterly enticing

through the arch

a joy to gaze upon

As I walked around the house…I heard the happy barking of some dogs.

perfect bed to the side of the house

a bubbler

The chickens were housed behind the garage. (Also saw two very cute large dogs, or maybe three, friendly and waggle tailed, in a pen. Too wiggly for pics.)

Allan got a photo!  The dogs were soon moved to somewhere quieter.  I would like to have petted them!  They usually have the run of the garden, on ordinary days.

Allan’s photo

coming around behind the house

back porch deck

well grown variegated sage

large gravel patio below

view from the deck

Allan’s photo

entrance to the Affirmation Trail

I love (and covet) the metal walls.

Allan’s photo

one corner of the back patio

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

looking back at the house

outdoor kitchen

brick patio with mosaic and bay windows and metal pieces with stars…lovely

Through the pointed metal arch was the affirmation trail.  I asked Allan to bring me some photos of it, as it was too steep for my hobbling.  Because his back was “out” as of that morning (and was hurting him all weekend), we were a pitiful pair.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

down the trail

We walked around the other side of the house….

metal screens

glass flowers

Allan’s photo

I do wish I’d gotten some of this fragrant white nicotiana. Next year!

returning to the front of the house

We walked through the front and side gardens again.

Allan’s photo

clematis seedheads (Allan’s photo)

not your ordinary clipped balls….

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this half-ball clipping idea before.

We went out that very path to the next garden which was just down the road. At the edge of the street, we found the  kitchen garden.

the kitchen garden

I felt particularly inspired by the planted stone wall around the patio, the metal walls in the back garden, and the use of low boxwood hedging to enclose exuberant semi-shade beds.  This was one of my favourite gardens of the three day tour.

Next:  two tiny gardens

 

 

 

 

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Oregon Garden, part two

Thursday, 23 June 2016

Oregon Garden, Silverton

Having toured the entire Oregon Garden by tram and then walked through the Amazing Water Garden, the Bosque, and the Conifer Garden (where I lost Allan), I continued on alone through the rest of the garden.  Allan took a different route, and for awhile he wondered where the Oregon Garden Resort was (where we were staying).  That’s how big the garden is.

annuals mixed with perennials as I continue my garden exploration

The Drought Tolerant Garden (on a sunny slope)

unclipped santolina; this is why I clip them hard in early spring.

the demonstration Fire Resistant House

fascinating stuff

rock instead of plants next to the house

Below the Fire Resistant House: The Pet Friendly Garden.

Pet Friendly Garden

Although I have a curmudgeonly aversion to statues of children, this one has a cool feature of water dripping out of the flat bowls.

watering and cooling off station

Both the Oregon Garden and the Oregon Garden Resort are dog friendly.

The Pet Friendly Garden

Good dog.

Love him!

The Pet Friendly Garden has a naturalistic stream.

It is a built water feature; you can see a glimpse of the underwear (liner). I like this very much and wish I had the energy and know-how to make a feature like this.

useful tips throughout the garden

 in the Pet Friendly Garden

I next came upon the rose garden.  Even when riding by earlier on the tram, I had seen that most of the roses were nibbled by deer, which led me to wonder how much other damage deer do in the 80 acre garden.

nibbled roses

not enough fence to keep the deer out

looking back toward the rose garden

Have fallen back in love with threadleaf coreopsis, hope I can find a start at a job (KBC) where the garden owner has gone off it and keeps pulling it out!

I found the Tropical House.

inside, warm

the Pavilion

a stunning metallic coloured hydrangea

across the road; We’d had a lot of rain.