Adventures in Oregon Container Gardening

Spring Gardening at the New House, Part One I just planted...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:27:36 -0400

Spring Gardening at the New House, Part One

I just planted Hosta (“patriot” variety) and a row of marigolds (“bonanza flame”) in the front yard of our new house.

I’m learning which areas of the yard get a lot of shade (most of the garden), and which ones get sun. The marigolds got planted in the sunny areas; the hosta got planted in the shade.

Remember those primroses I planted before Christmas? These are...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:27:01 -0400

Remember those primroses I planted before Christmas? These are them now.

I planted dahlias today! It was my first planting at our new...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:59:27 -0400

I planted dahlias today!

It was my first planting at our new house, and I’m very proud.

I plan on digging up the yard in a few weeks to plant an entirely new garden, but there is still a danger of frost from April 15-May 1 in the Portland area, so there is a possibility the new plants would freeze.

These dahlias are a test run! I’m crossing my fingers.

Oh, I don’t think I mentioned: As of February 14 of this year, I am engaged. Our wedding will be this fall.

My rhododendron is blooming for the second time! YES!

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:06:18 -0400

My rhododendron is blooming for the second time! YES!

January in my Oregon Garden

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:26:00 -0500

Here’s a brief summary of how my plants are doing in January, 2013. Faithful readers of this...

Primroses I just tore out the lovely pink chrysanthemums...

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:53:07 -0500

Primroses

I just tore out the lovely pink chrysanthemums I’ve featured in a few previous posts and planted primroses in their place.

I should mention that the mums were long dead, and the stems had all turned brown.

So far, I’m not aware of many options for flower gardening during winter in Oregon, so when I saw these primroses on display in the outdoor nursery section, I couldn’t pass them up.

Impulse purchase, yes, but they’ll add great color to my front porch for a few weeks.

I am still gardening only in containers right now, as it has been too cold and rainy to even think about tearing out the existing plants in our front lawn and replacing them with all the plants I want. This is something that I am going to do some serious planning for until spring arrives.

Happy holidays and happy New Year.

New House, New Garden

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:08:17 -0500

I have moved to a brand new house(!) about a mile away from the apartment I started this blog...

Checking in on Stevie the Succulent The pretty purple sedum...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:37:09 -0400

Checking in on Stevie the Succulent

The pretty purple sedum succulent you see on the left was almost dead a few months ago.

I brought the plant, which I affectionately named “Stevie” after Stevie Nicks, from Santa Barbara when I moved to Portland in January. I left it outside thinking all succulents could withstand extreme temperatures (deserts get really cold, after all). To put it briefly, I underestimated how constant rainfall would effect this succulent, and “she” nearly died from drowning before I moved her inside permanently for the winter and the spring.

Stevie’s been sitting outside since the sun came out in July, though, and she is doing fantastic!

Weather reports say the autumn rain is supposed to start in Portland tomorrow…I’ll update this blog on my plans for this succulent shortly.

My Chrysanthemums Have Begun Their Second Bloom! All of my...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:11:34 -0400

My Chrysanthemums Have Begun Their Second Bloom!

All of my patience (and a rather thorough deadheading session) have paid off.

What a joy!

Or, in the words of Borat: “Great success!”

Chrysanthemum plant is almost completely pinched. The heat...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:46:54 -0400

Chrysanthemum plant is almost completely pinched.

The heat wilted my chrysanthemums in a somewhat natural, timely manner. As you can see, I have pinched the wilted flowers off of the plant.

As I mentioned in my last post, the plant tag says these will rebloom in the fall. I have no doubt they will, considering how healthy and lush the leaves and stems are.

Pinching My Mums A few weeks of aging and the summer heat have...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 12:50:05 -0400

Pinching My Mums

A few weeks of aging and the summer heat have started to wilt my beautiful pink chrysanthemums. So, I’ve started pinching the flowers that look brownish or flimsy.

Pinching is a gardening technique that basically entails plucking wilted buds from their stems, while leaving the stems intact. Not only does it improve the appearance of the plant, but it encourages new blooms.

The plant tag that came with these mums said that pinching the flowers will result in a second bloom in fall. We’ll see!

Goodbye Pericallis, Hello Mums! Yesterday, I noticed a bunch of...

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:40:00 -0400

Goodbye Pericallis, Hello Mums!

Yesterday, I noticed a bunch of pink Chrysanthemums at the store that I couldn’t stop staring at.

My Pericallis have been wonderful, but I bought them in April of this year — and as sad as I am to say it, they have wilted to the point they’ve become an eyesore on my balcony. (Yes, I am talking about the beautiful purple flowers that I reference in my last blog post.)

So, I bought the Chrysanthemums, and a feeling of excitement blanketed me as I left the store. “New flowers! OMFG!” I thought.

But when it came time to plant them, I had to face what I already knew was a fact: I only have one pot that will accommodate these annual flowers, and that’s the pot the Pericallis is in.

I know for many gardeners — not to mention my wonderful gardening mother, Maggie — pulling out a dead (or dead-ish) plant to replace it with a newer, more colorful, more alive species every season is no big deal. But for me, it was.

I say this especially as a balcony gardener who gardens only in containers. I have no great location where I can dispose of a plant — in fact, I don’t have any location at all! (And especially, no huge compost pile!)

But regardless, I threw out the Pericallis. I felt sad about it to a degree I cannot explain.

But then, I planted these pink Chrysanthemums.

And no words can express the joy they are bringing me.

I love my new flowers.

Gardening with Ed Hume: Northwest Gardening Made Easy I was at...

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:37:05 -0400

Gardening with Ed Hume: Northwest Gardening Made Easy

I was at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland the other day and I picked up this copy of Gardening with Ed Hume. When I got home and started reading, I discovered this book was signed by the author! Score!

I’d never heard of Ed Hume before I bought the book, but less than two days later, I’m already three quarters of the way through the roughly 400-page book, and I am a huge fan.

The book is packed with tips on Northwest-specific gardening, and there are tons of instructions on some of my favorite plants —namely, Rhododendron, Chrysanthemum, and a few plants I have yet to acquire (Japanese blood grass, blue fescue, etc.).

If you’re a Northwest Gardener, buy this book. I am very, very inspired by it.

I planted Thyme (Thymus vulgarus), left, and Rosemary...

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:15:47 -0400

I planted Thyme (Thymus vulgarus), left, and Rosemary (Rosemarinus officialnalis), this weekend!

I bought both herbs as starters from the Orenco Station Farmers’ Market in Hillsboro, Oregon.

I specifically chose this blue ceramic pot to plant them in because the color would wildly contrast with the green on the plants.

I’ve already used the herbs to cook pork chops, roast chicken, and more. It feels very good to be growing my own herbs —and not to mention, to have a continually growing source of fresh flavor at my own house. If all goes well, I’ll never be buying packaged rosemary or thyme again.

It’s finally starting to feel like summer in Portland — we...

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:12:44 -0400

It’s finally starting to feel like summer in Portland — we haven’t had a drop of rain in almost one week! The sun has been out, the weather has been warm, and my plants are finally getting some much-needed sunshine.

One of my plants that’s doing particularly well right now is a Pericallis (pictured). I bought the blooms in April, and they proceeded to blossom beautifully. About a month later, the petals wilted, so I deadheaded them (which means I clipped all the dead plant material off, leaving only the stems and the leaves).

Apparently, the combination of deadheading and a week of pure sunshine worked, because the flowers have just blossom again — making it the plant’s second bloom in less than three months.

I’d definitely recommend the Pericallis to any Pacific Northwest container gardener.

It’s the third day of summer in Oregon, and it’s...

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 11:00:27 -0400

It’s the third day of summer in Oregon, and it’s raining so much I fear my succulents are at risk for death by drowning.

The weather’s not as cold as it was in winter and spring, but still — it’s raining, and too much water is one of the leading causes of succulent death. I’m moving this plant to a dry area on my balcony and will monitor it closely. If it starts to show signs of yellowing or root rot, then I know it will be time to move it inside.

I really was not anticipating this kind of problem at this time of year.

My New Zealand Fire Grass on a rainy spring morning. I bought...

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:17:17 -0400

My New Zealand Fire Grass on a rainy spring morning.

I bought this plant in February at Loen Nursery in Sherwood, Oregon, and it has done nothing but thrive outdoors. I’ve left it outside during overnight frosts, during weeks and weeks of rain (and no sunshine!), and it just grows and grows.

It’s a very low-maintenance plant if you’re looking for something you can just leave outside during winter and spring in the Pacific Northwest. I’m sure that in the summer, I’ll have to water it every once in a while, but that’s no big deal.

This weekend, I’ll be planting some Rosemary and Thyme that I bought at a local farmers’ market. Stay tuned for photos…

The White Bird of Paradise Lives On — in Oregon!

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:27:00 -0400

As you may have read in this blog before, I brought my White Bird of Paradise plant (in a container)...

How To Plant a Succulent Garden at Home

Tue, 01 May 2012 10:32:00 -0400

While on a recent trip to my native Santa Barbara last week, my good friend Chelsea and I planted a...

A time sequence photo collage depicting the amazing growth of my...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:25:18 -0400

A time sequence photo collage depicting the amazing growth of my Hens and Chicks plant over the past few months

Counter-clockwise from top left:
(1) The plant after two weeks home from the nursery in March. It was spreading out horizontally at a nice rate in the new 6” terra cotta pot I replanted it in from the original 2”x2” square plastic container it was confined to when I bought it at the store.

(2) The plant begins to grow vertically (and starts to puzzle me!) in early April.

(3) The plant climbs to an astounding vertical height, measuring a full 12 inches from its base in the soil to the topmost bud on the morning of April 17.

I’ll continue to monitor its growth.