April 13, 2018

Wooden Shoe Festival

A Taste of Holland

 
Last Monday, I ventured into Woodburn, which was predicted to be a rare sunny day in the Pacific Northwest for the month of April.
 
 


 
Their something here for everyone.  Jewelry, a hayride pulled by a tractor, and games for children of all ages.  This was my time to experience the Tulip festival, but I imagine it will be an annual outing.
 
Happy Puttering,
 
Garden Fingers
 



March 5, 2018

Mother Nature's Indomitable Spirit.


There are times that Mother Nature imprints her quality on my spirit. As all good mothers do.
A flamingo juxtaposed against Mother Nature's apocalypse winter 2018.

I am a constant student at the feet of Mother Nature.  Fooled by the previous sunny and warm weather, I prematurely went ahead and cut the roses back.  I'm always learning that Mother Nature is always in charge.

A couple of our magnificent neighbors hamming for an apple. 


I am taking a page out of Mother's Nature handbook by keeping hope alive.  Recipe for sunshine in a glass:  Daffodil budded up and placed in a favorite glass.  Marinate for a few days and boom, you've captured some serious rays.  Floating hellebores.  The incomparable queen of winter.  She has no competition as far as I'm concerned.
 
We've made it through another winter, and that's reason to cheer.
So fellow putterers, dust your knees off and get ready to get into the game once again.
 
Happy gardening,
 
Garden Fingers



February 24, 2016

Elk Rock; Sojourn into Spring

 Greetings, fellow gardeners.  This week I made an annual trip to 'Elk Rock'.  Below is a favorite view of mine: the active riverbed.


One of the wonderful features of this botanical garden treasure are the name tags.  Besides the names of the plants, they reference their family from which they originate from.


This beauty, Sycopisis sinensis (Chinese Fighazel) belongs to the formidable family of the Hamamelidaceae  family.     Its personality traits, includes evergreen and as with other of its siblings, it boasts lovely dainty flowers this time of year

Another family member is this newly planted, Distylium.  Also evergreen and a prostrate habit.  Lovely.

And one of my favorites family members of the Hamamelidaceae  family is  the Corylopsis pauciflora  in total flower now:
I have a theory:  What if the numerous plants in the Hamamelidaceae  family was originally chosen because deer and elk do not eat these so readily?  Just putting it out there.

Thank you for my illustrious Landscape Architect, Florist extraordinaire-compatriot, among other vocations for making this trip with me.


Cheers and Happy Planting,

Garden Fingers

February 10, 2016

The Queen Awakens

"Come apart from your busyness
to be renewed and refreshed
in the company of growing things.
It won't take long,
but it will feel like a day in the country."

-Emily Barnes-
Time Began in a Garden

Winter is finally taking its' last gasps as Spring finally starts to make her appearance.


Yes, fellow putterers, its time to start clean-up winters' shenanigans and clear the entrance of wondrous Spring.  

This is a patch of helleborus gone amuck two weeks ago.  Simply some pruning up of the weather-worn leaves, and two weeks of growth and BOOM, this is the reward:
A 'hellebore forest.'  This queen does not need a tiara, she delights all whom are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her.  Long live the queen!

Another stalwart maiden by the mailbox is this beauty, the Viburnum 'Pink Dawn'.  I adore her fierce ability to withstand the snow and cold as well as her beauty.

I invite all of you to wander out into the garden and as Emilie Barnes says, "Come apart from your busyness to be renewed and refreshed."

Cheers,

garden fingers

January 3, 2016

White-out

This morning, I awoke to a smattering of a dusting of snow.  Mother nature never ceases to amaze me.  With one subtle change in weather, she is somehow able to invite us to look at the world differently.




 As I was walking around my neighborhood, I saw a jogger running down the middle of  the street and two kids excited about making an igloo.


Perhaps the snow was due to this neighbors snowman flag and snowman wreath?  (A subtle 'snow-dance'?)

 Picasso got it right,  white on white does work really well!



The abundance of the red fruit juxtaposed with the colorado blue spruce-magical.
Have to admire a fern that looks good even in sub-freezing temperatures.  Alaskan fern is a keeper.

I leave you to frolic in the snow.

Cheers,

Garden Fingers




March 30, 2015

Lawn: The biggest 'thug'

How did the creation of a lawn come about?  What do I turn to for information, but 'Wikipedia'.

lawn is an area of land planted with grasses or (rarely) other durable plants, which are maintained at a short height and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. Common characteristics of a lawn are that it is composed only of grass species, it is subject to weed and pest control, it is subject to practices aimed at maintaining its green color, and it is regularly mowed to ensure an acceptable length,[1] although these characteristics are not binding as a definition.

Want to know the real 'dirt'?  I believe that our male cave ancestors actually came up with this concept so that their cave female counterparts would not spend too many stones, or whatever was the currency back than on unusual and aesthetically pleasing plants.  Instead of spending time pulling thugs from the garden and puttering around the flower bed. Somehow our historic male ancestors convince the women-folk that it was 'beautiful' and 'necessary' to mow and keep the weeds out of what I consider the biggest 'thug' in the garden.

Personally, I would rather blow-torch the lawn, or replace it with paths and more flower beds.

Then again, perhaps, it has something in the X-chromosome.

Cheers,
Laura 


February 14, 2014

Looking for Spring, Head Northward, to the NWFGS!

Coming and going to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, I found myself walking in the middle of the street.  Entering Seattle, I was met by a parade of what I heard reported as a group of 750,000 Seahawk fans.  
The train was packed to the very last seat, mostly by Portland Seahawk fans wanting to be part of their team's celebratory parade.

While walking in downtown Seattle, I stumbled upon this park which also celebrated the Seattle Seahawks.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions why.
The trees are my somewhat stilted segue into why I trekked up to Seattle in early February.  For the first time, since attending the garden shows, I met up with the actual 'flower' on all the brochures.
In the midst of winter, or late winter, it is as if sweet sirens summoning for Spring to come.  How could I resist?

Walking to the transit center to view my first day of the show, this was my morning view.   Not too shabby, eh?
I thought I would begin a look at the garden displays with my favorite container garden ensemble.
If you have read any of my meanderings, you will know that I am a sucker for bold color displays.  This combination of orange and pink I found simply scrumptious.  
Simply loved this idea of bringing the garden into the house, and vise a versa.  It doesn't hurt that one of my favorite flowers were used, hellebores.  But, why not gardenias or camellias also.   Strikingly original.

The chosen hue for 2014, at least for the NWFGS, seems to be white.
Love the whimsy of these
 glass bobbles.


Delightful display and the creme' de la creme'
was the chandelier in the way back.






Now for those whom (including moi) delight in the motto "Go Big or Go Home", here are a couple of those themes.

Vertical garden on steroids

Love the mono-lithic appeal of this zen-inspired display
The mind boggles on what could possibly go in this mammoth vase.

The harsh reality that it wasn't actually Spring hit me like a ton of bricks.  This is what I met up with when arriving in Portland.  I needed a good dentist after all the plant candy I had visually eaten.


Not a bad way to spend a weekend.  My logical side of my brain says, it still is too early to plant, but I can still plan and putter around the garden, until it gets closer to 'actual spring'.

Keep on,

Laura























































December 11, 2013

'Tis the Season. . .

Oh the weather outside is frightful.  Looking outward, I see the usually stalwartly rhododendron, wilted and drooping.   Time to look inward, yon gardeners. 

Years ago, I was on a fervently focused mission.  I would take the roughly 20 + years of accumulated garden magazines, and organize into notebooks, so that I could actually use them as a resource at my finger tips.  I know, crazy, huh?

What did I discover?  Articles are often repeated year after year.  And, I do think twice before buying a new magazine.  Not that I don't occasionally succumb to the occasional magazine, but not as often as I used too.
Overall, it was empowering .   

I know there is nothing I can do about the weather, or do anything to mitigate the mighty rhododendron from looking so pathetic, but I can take control of the reins of my garden reading, and also perhaps, discover an article long ago buried, that seems fresh to me some 20 years later.

Realize that this weather will pass, and in the not so distant future, those crocuses, and hellebores will be making their much sought after return.


Happy Holidays, dear Gardeners,

Cheers,

Laura




November 3, 2013

Pre-Winter Wonders

In the past, I have often associated Fall as a precursor to a death of plants.  I know, a really 'Debbie Downer.'  However, lately, I have a different view of this season, perhaps inspired by this expanded autumn blissfulness. Yesterday, I planted up my Winter/Spring planter with bulbs included of course.
There are no violas and pansies in this container garden.  We share the land with three generations of deer, and for them, it would serve as a quick snack.  I feel head over plant-lust with this sultry dark Armeria.  And to boot, its' evergreen with pink flowers off and on during the summer.  As many of you know, one of the tricks of container gardens, is to plant a small version of a plant you will eventually relocate to your garden.  This is the case for this Azara microphylla.  Evergreen with vanilla scented flowers in the Spring and tolerates quite a bit of shade.  By Spring, this marvelous plant will probably twice its' size here, and able to hold its' own, with other plants. The reason I get the bulbs, is that they bloom into May, and by default, I don't need to replant the container garden until mid to late May.  This translates into more annual and perennial options.
Now is a great time to cut back the hydrangeas.  While I do this, I take the cream of the crop, strip off all the leaves and hang them upside down from the garage for a week.  Then, you can use them as a dried wreath arrangement, in a glass vase, or even to decorate your Christmas tree.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of spring-blooming camellias, but this winter-blooming camellia, Camellia sasanqua 'Appleblossom', is a welcome delight.  She emits a slight fragrance, and so is great for inside flower bouquets.


This small shrub-let, fothergilla 'Jane Platt', takes considerable shade, and stays very small.  In 25 years, it remains only 1 1/2 feet tall.  This is another one of those plants in the witchhazel family.  Which I have a great fondness towards.

Enjoy this season,

Cheers,

Laura


October 9, 2013

Demystifying the Causes of Brilliant Fall Colors


We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves. The changing fall foliage never fails to surprise and delight us. Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Why a maple leaf turns bright red? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.


The chemicals

Four main groups of biochemicals are responsible for the various yellows, oranges, reds and browns that we see in the fall - chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanins Each has its own color and chemistry. Varying amounts of these chemicals will give subtle variations in color from one leaf to the next or even from tree-to-tree.

Chlorophyll

The green color that we see on most plant leaves throughout the spring and summer is due to the pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is one of several pigments that gather energy from sunlight in the process of photosynthesis.  As daylengths shorten and temperatures get cooler, chlorophyll is broken down faster than it's produced. What essentially happens, is that there is a lack of chlorophyll, and so the other chemicals in the leaves become more prominent.


Carotenoids

Many of the yellows and oranges we see in nature are the result of the various carotenoid compounds. The best-known carotenoids are the ones that give carrots their orange color. Carotenoids play a minor role in photosynthesis so they're present throughout the growing season, but are only revealed when chlorophyll breaks down. Brilliant colors are more often seen when the fall weather has warm, sunny days with cool nights between 32° and 45 °F. Indeed, shade-grown leaves often are a duller color than leaves that are in the full sun, even on the same plant.

Anthocyanins

The reds and purples found during the fall are due to the anthocyanin compounds. These are produced when sugars combine with compounds called anthocyanidins. Bright, sunny fall days produce the best colors. Very little photosynthesis will occur on cloudy days while rain can actually leach out the anthocyanins and carotenoids from the leaves. Various combinations of anthocyanins and carotenoids can result in yellow, orange and red leaves all on the same tree. ...


As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter.

It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful fall foliage colors we enjoy each year. 


Go out there and breathe in the fall crisp air while basking in the spectacular Fall colors.

Cheers,

Laura

September 8, 2013

Beachward bound!


One of the enticing elements about going to the beach, is that you never know what type of weather you are in store for.  Maybe its' the gambler in me, but its' fun to let the dice roll and watch how they land.

In our case, we left Portland, yesterday, engulfed by clouds.  This is the what we found a couple of hours later:


I would say the dice were in our favor.  As the day stretched out, the entire sky was void of any clouds.  The kind of day, that Oregon beachcombers, live for.

Just outside of Illwaco, Washington, is a charming lady's home away from Paris.  All signs, affirm her deep love for this beautiful city.  Even down to the chickens, why even the chickens originate from France.


 This land is utilized to the utmost.  There are terraces of lavender, and even a tree house and well.
And one can not forget the lovely purple houses.  Charming.

Towards the end of our trip, we stopped at the Astoria Mari-time Museum.  We were fortunate to view a 'buoy tending' ship, named the 'Ironwood'.

I was curious about the name, and one young fella on the ship informed me that buoy-tending ships were named after trees and shrubs.  Other similar goal-oriented ships are named:  Balsam; Cactus; Cowslip; Woodbine; Gentian; Laurel; Clover; Sorrel;  CitrusConifer; Madrona; and Tupelo.
What a wonderful visit to the beach.  September is a wonderful time to visit the ocean, and inhale the ocean air and walk along the foam-lined edges.


Toodles,

Laura


June 23, 2013

Clouds part, and open gardens shine!

Maximizing the space was key to many of these gardens.  The Leon garden was no exception.  Opening the gate to this backyard retreat, one can see that the landscape designer, juxtaposed the patio a diagonal alignment to create the illusion of more space.  And very successfully at that.

The next garden, was by far my favorite.  Its' very name, piqued my curiosity:  "Plant Passion Garden".
The plant combinations were orchestrated with such finesse, but the hardscape and spatial arrangements, were superbly staged.  5 sublimely different hardscape, yet also tied together with an artist's eye. Lovely!
This water feature, was subtle, and like every other part of the garden well-balanced. Every nuance of this garden was equally important, and why it was so superbly designed.

Thank you, ANLD designers, for inspiring me with your works of art.

Cheers,

Laura