Spring is emerging from the sleepiness of winter and showing signs all over the homestead. What seeds are popping up in your garden? The snow peas above won the race on first to emerge. Our cherry tree is in full bloom and the squirrels are all licking their paws waiting for the fruit to set. The tree is in decline and barely scrapes through each
Rediscovering Spring
What is springtime through the senses of a newborn? Juniper is a tender two weeks old, so I’m guessing most of it is lost on her. She’s focused on discovering the taste of milk, the smell of momma, the feeling of daddy’s freshly shaven cheek. Nevertheless, spring is sprung and I have been introducing her to its wonders. One of my favorite early flowering ornamental
Dividing Bulbs
Flowering bulbs are my favorite way to add color to the garden. They take just a few minutes to plant, need very little maintenance and multiple every year making them a small investment in your garden’s future. After a couple years away from our homestead, the bulbs in our garden have gotten crowded! The best time to divide spring flowering bulbs is probably in the
Chartreuse and Purple Garden
Everyone has their favorite color combination and mine is blooming around town this spring: chartreuse and purple. For me, chartreuse is a beautiful hint of spring – something new, young and vibrant. Purples feel soothing to me, calming and tranquil. When it comes to my backyard haven, I would love to lounge around in a place that feels fresh and calm. It’s funny that I
Monticello
This has been the summer of visiting great American gardens! I enjoyed a long visit to George Washington’s homestead at Mount Vernon earlier this summer. On our recent drive West, we made a stop in Virginia to see Thomas Jefferson’s estate – beautiful Monticello. It is difficult to compare the two estates because they are so different. I think Mount Vernon was more interesting in
Spring Break
I had a wonderful week of rest from graduate school wherein I was a recluse and spent most days inside writing. The sunshine looked nice from the window. But here are a few highlights of how I am enjoying spring. The hardy kiwi at my house in Portland is leafing out. I spent a morning there recently doing light pruning around the garden and training
Early Flowering Plants: Part II
Last week I wrote the first part of this post on early flowering plants here in the Pacific Northwest. There were too many for one post though, so I had to break it up. There are some great ideas for trees, shrubs and ground covers that show early signs of spring life. Some are even evergreen! Listed in order of blooming, we begin with Fragrant
Early Flowering Plants: Part I
Another term of tromping around in the rain for my Plants class has passed, and sadly so. The Plants sequence in my landscape architecture program lasts three terms, which is a total of nine months, and it is really fantastic – my favorite class by far. Rain or shine, (mostly rain) we walk all around Eugene looking at different trees, shrubs and ground covers. We
Spring Awakenings
Last year, Portland had a late frost which impacted a lot of fruit crops. Everything seemed to be about 3-4 weeks late all season long as a result. I think earlier crops, like cherries, were more severely damaged. Without a late frost (knock on wood), things are exploding outside. This is one of our two cherry trees blooming in the backyard. I am hoping those