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New Panicum 'Cheyenne Sky' (red switch grass)Sometimes you come across a plant that seems to do everything. This grass qualifies (I haven't grown it yet, but am thinking I will). The description reads like a Harvard degree:
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In the Northwest, fall is the best time to plant.I once had a woman furiously argue with me that fall is not the time to plant here.
Her argument was that soil is so hard in fall that it's impossible to dig. I told her if that was the case, she needed to amend the soil with organic material immediately -- and do it at least once a year until the soil was crumbly, rich and fast-draining.
Dianthus 'Neon Star' does its job as a tight mound good for snugging up against a rock.Can you stand one more blog on drought-tolerant plants? I can't help it. I get so excited when a plant does its stuff so excellently without any work from me except relief (which is not really work, if you think about it).
Most of these aren't new to me, but they are new to my garden. I don't think I've written about any of them, so I hope they'll be new to you, too.
With bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), it was an heroic fight to the finish. Miraculously, I won.Blackberry. Scotch broom. Horsetail. English ivy. Monster weeds that drive us crazy, that thwart our every effort at eradication.
My nemesis was bindweed, more commonly known as morning glory. It isn't, however, the benign annual vine that often reappears from seed. No, no, no. This weed multiplies, spreads, takes over -- in every way works to aggressively reproduce -- and make us feel woefully inadequate.
Behind the prickly pear is an agastache (really three) I removed from the parking strip.All I've talked about lately is plants. Not a surprise really, since I've been totally obsessed with making changes in my garden. It's time. Plants were being quite mean to each other. So, in the spirit of a true dictator, I've been taking control and pulling plants out with abandon.
Even in my drought-tolerant parking strip, which is only a year and a half old, I've had to edit.
Why, you may ask.
A fascinating plant, Caesalpinia gilliesii (desert bird of paradise) not only has beauty going for it, but also a doctor's bag full of medicinal uses. As you walk west on Southwest Jefferson from Broadway there's a plant in a city flower bed in the Park Blocks that is so unusual as to be startling. Tall and airy, it's got foliage like a mimosa, but is much thinner and more vertical. Plus, it's obviously not a tree.
As if its form and foliage aren't enough, the flowers are the kind you look at (or at least I do) and wonder how something like it evolved that way and why.
Arugula grown in kiddie pools.Another query was about what I grow in a kiddie pool that I wrote about. It wasn't actually me who planted them. It is installed on the roof of the Rocket restaurant and is planted with arugula. I don't see why you couldn't have pretty much any green, as well as radishes, green onions, basil or any shallow-rooted veggie or annual herb.
Gaillardia 'Frenzy'The Gaillardia Commotion series is not really new. It was introduced last year by the wonderful wholesale nursery Skagit Gardens in Mount Vernon, Wash. But the first two cultivars 'Tizzy' and 'Frenzy' (I love the names and they're really quite descriptive) will be available at nurseries in bigger numbers this year.
I'll admit that I've never liked Gaillardia, or blanket flower. I don't quite know why; it's just one of those things. But from the first time I saw 'Tizzy' and 'Frenzy,' I was hot for them. In case you didn't get it, that was a pun: The colors are hot.
Colocasia 'Diamond Head,' a tropical-looking but hardy elephant ears, was introduced at the Farwest Show.On the whole, I find trade shows relentlessly boring, sort of like watching sand volleyball on the Olympics. The Farwest Show (sponsored by the Oregon Association of Nurseries for 36 years) is different.
Maybe because I have fond memories of Dad coming up from California to see the new stuff. Besides Thanksgiving, it was the one time of year I knew he and Mom would be up.
When I decided on today's blog subject, it was blazing hot. Now it's not. Nothing like stating the obvious, huh?
Back then, I was all set to tell you how my garden responded to our heat wave. It doesn't seem so relevant anymore. But I guess I'll proceed anyway. It's sure to get hot again.
A small pump in an old dragon pot is on a timer that turns it on at 8 a.m. and off at 8 p.m.
In addition to wildlife, water attracts me to the garden. So, to make myself and everyone else happy, I've put in numerous little bowls, basins and pots of water.
A pond and/or waterfall would never do in my garden. My space is way too limited, and even if it wasn't, I don't really want one. They just don't fit into my eclectic (some would say eccentric) style. I can also live without the hassle of maintenance and cost of installation.
Bringing water into the garden doesn't get any easier than a shallow centerpiece platter.I've interviewed scads of people who would be insulted at my personal dismissal of ponds. I know my friend Lisa, who posts comments here often, loves hers, which was designed and installed by another friend, Eamonn Hughes, owner of Hughes Water Gardens and water-feature-maker extraordinaire. But, this is just a personal preference. I'm not talkin' trash about other people's ponds.
Johnfoolery, I went by what I think is your garden yesterday. I think your entire garden could make a story once it matures a bit. Can you contact me, please? Either call at 503-221-8205 or email kyimpokorny@news.oregonain.com.
A parking strip planted with a mixture of trees, shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses.
Most of the time, parking strips are the last thing gardeners think about. There's so much to interfere with our good intentions: unattractive cars; utility poles; across-the-street neighbors; dogs who leave presents; people who toss trash, steal plants or just plain vandalize.
Then there's the need to provide access to the sidewalk for people getting out of cars. You don't want them fighting through a jungle of plants or stumbling over uneven paths. And, for me, the worst disadvantage of all is the hassle of watering. Unless you have some sort of an irrigation system, whether underground, drip or soaker hoses, it's inconvenient, to say the least.
The Association of Northwest Landscape Designers' tour was June 28, and I am just now posting some photos. But it's never too late to look at beautiful gardens, is it? The seven gardens were carefully chosen, each one a distinctly different style from the next. Talk about good ideas! I'm sure the owners won't care if I steal some.
I highly recommend going on the ANLD tour next year. Check the Web site periodically to see when they post some details. Also, you'll find it's a great source for finding designers.
