Hardy Plant Society Oregon HPSO

Geranium palmatum and Another Open Garden

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Pelargonium ‘Antares’, a rather showy and compact plant.

I’ve been trying to keep up around here.

The back garden as she is tonight.

It’s difficult to keep up with tasks in the garden at home while working so much. Owning what feels like thousands upon thousands of plants I just can’t keep up. I sometimes feel like an ill-fated character in a Charles Dickens novel. What’s the moral of this tale? Why am I doing this? I dunno. By the time I get to this point I’ve fallen into hysterical laughter.

I know I have a lot of friends who love to live this crazy life.

Maybe you’re one of us too?

The potting bench on the south side of the house.

What wrong did I do to deserve all of these weeds? Why are we swimming through spring to summer? Why? Why? Why?

The north garden entrance. I prefer for folks to enter this way but most want to go through my pretty wooden gate.

At least I’m getting to some pruning. And I am removing and cutting back hard. Limbs from trees and shrubs are being cut. Gardening is maintenance but with an eye toward careful artful pruning. But you must be patient for things to grow. So many great plants take much patience.

We won’t talk about the front garden. This is like slamming my head into a wall. It needs to get back within my control lol.

But weeding… Oh I curse the heavens!!! I shake my small swollen arthritic and lightly clenched fists at you!!!

Some parts of the garden are much better though, and as things grow, I’m really happy.

The south garden as seen through a dirty window upstairs.

Part of that happiness comes from having made decisions. So much stress comes from worry. Life is short. Make a decision and make it happen. If it’s the wrong choice, choose again.

Geranium palmatum at Secret Garden Growers.

A happy plant this year is one that I wasn’t sure about how to plant. I had a few and the pretty one below is the one that made its mark on me. I can’t get enough of it. It’s taken some time to get to this size. Geranium palmatum is only hardy down to zone 8 so not all of you can grow it. This took a few years to look this stunning. (You can’t bring this one in easily to protect it.)

Geranium palmatum in my garden. It’s HUGE!

It’s a glorious bloomer. I will collect as many of its seeds as I can to sell in my new shop, but I am sure that I’ll be weeding a few of these along with the weeds.

It doesn’t give me a rash though like a few of the weeds.

Oh the weeds!!!

Geranium palmatum and friends in the south garden.

This Saturday I will open the garden again to Hardy Plant Society members, but I do so in the hopes that they can meet a horticulturist in her garden. My plant garden lab is lush and full this year.

I look forward to greeting guests again, and here’s to late summer! I’ll be open again soon and hope that things will be just right…

April 2018, a Month of Action!

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IMG_1815Highlights from last April include the publication of this piece I wrote for the HPSO (Hardy Plant Society of Oregon) Bulletin.

There was also a much needed trip to the coast. I was able to walk in the ocean a bit, and later I ate some fresh oysters. I also got to see the alder tree at Dad’s house that had fallen into the river during the winter.

A few plants were purchased. At the annual Portland Orchid Society sale I found an Anthurium scherzerianum ‘Rothchildianum’. At another local plant sale I discovered Iris ‘Kinky Boots’. At my Gesneriad Society group I was able to get some seeds. At Hortlandia I volunteered at one of the HPSO booths and I bought the new edition of the PNW butterfly book by Robert Micheal Pyle.

Back at Cistus Nursery there was much going on. Year round there are plants blooming but in April things really begin to take off. We still had Aristolochia californica going and the Trillium kurbayashii were showing their beauty in the garden border. The Gasteria glomerata you see blooming was likely the one at Sean’s old house but these bloom off an on at work in the greenhouses. They’re one of my favorites. Preparations were made for seed germination. I continue to learn as the months tick by. There is still so much to learn and there are so many seeds out there to germinate. I propagated some Bergenia ciliata, and sniffed the most gentle of Mahonia. I potted up a Claytonia parviflora ssp. (I think) and that Ceanothus arboreus ‘Powder Blue’! Wow! Wow! Wowzers!

The garden at home suffered a bit due to my busy schedule. The Eccrecarpus bloomed all winter. The Darlingtonia californica found a perfect home. The front area of the house was still a mess. (Much as it is now. I just cannot tame that area.) Geranium phaeum ‘Sambor’ continued to impress. The Dodecatheon I’ve had for years continued to bulk up and the community garden plot definitely needed some love after months of neglect.

Lastly, there were the cats. Oliver really started to enjoy his spot on the back roof overlooking the living willow area, and Felix finally got to get out on his leash a bit. For the first time he visited the nursery while a group of us were on a plant-shopping field trip BEFORE Hortlandia. Yeah, I know, I’m bad! I don’t think I bought anything that day—or did I? A shout out to meeting an online friend too for the first time. Jason Chen is a designer and wonderful person who lives down in SoCal. I had no idea I’d be seeing him in Portland for Hortlandia and imagine my surprise when Felix jumped into his lap and fell asleep.

Last April was a really fun month.