While We Were Away, the Garden Exploded

 All is happening so quickly. Keeping up is a challenge this time of the year, plus we took a wee vacation that kept us away for a couple of weeks. Now, back at it, though admittedly still suffering from jetlag and my first ever covid spell, the garden is where I want to be. April is officially over and May will inevitably mean exponential growth as day length increases. So taking in every detail is sublime. It's just about my favorite time in the garden as it's all so fresh and floriferous and not too dry. For now I'm catching up on seeing what's happening in the garden and also chores, such as planting up the veggie garden for the season, weeding and planting. It's all compressed into a short period and I am pooped. But very happy to be here.

Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn', now freed of the confines of a rather unruly Stipa gigantea, is looking pretty darned fine. Many plants in here now also have more sun and will fare much better in the long run. The bare soil on the left was recently planted with a few Diplacus 'Jeff's Tangerine', a penstemon and a few Monardella 'Russian River' to add smaller sub shrubs that are also colorful.

A look along the retaining wall where fresh foliage of Clematis recta 'Purpurea' stands out this time of the year. Stachys 'Helen von Stein' just next to the clematis completely outgrew its winter funk by the time we got back. It's kind of an eye sore during winter but we put up with it.

Late afternoon light with a sea of grasses and a spilling of Limnanthes douglasii on the gravel path.

I love how it did this all on its own. This sweet native wildflower is a good one for small pollinators.

Muhlenbergia rigens in the foreground had last year's flower spikes cut off recently to make room for new growth. Last year these grasses that are usually semi-evergreen died completely to the ground. We are grateful this past winter was mild and so they don't have to completely regrow from the roots.

Standing against the house facing pretty much due east, my blue garden shed can easily be seen before the Miscanthus sinensis 'Cabaret' in the foreground grow so large they obscure the view. Also another view of the Limanthes douglasii.

The "grass" looks okay now but in a couple of months it will likely go dormant. I removed a bit more grass earlier this spring as the bed on the left is expanded little by little.

Austroblechnum penna-marina, alpine water fern, and its lovely new fronds. I'll have some of this for sale at our plant sale on Saturday (details at the end).

Saxifraga primuloides and Ophiopogon 'Nigrescens' along the shady part of the berm garden. I appreciate this combination because both are evergreen and easy, both tolerate some sun and a lot of shade and they play well together.

Looking south past several hebes towards three golden glowing Cupressus macrocarpa. I love that I planted everything in this image, save for the large background trees on our neighbor's property.

A small before and after - this is the "meadow" area last month:

Here is the same area this week. All kinds of asters, alliums, Knautia macedonica, grasses, Camassia quamash, Sidalcea campestris and more tucked in there are growing quickly.

While this area does not change much from season to season, there is still fresh foliage on many plants including creeping thyme, Persicaria affinis and more.

Looking east towards the orchard and veggie garden. The dots are Teucrium chamaedrys which have grown significantly. I extended their garden bed this spring by a few feet and continue to mulch with wood chips to keep weeds down.

Erysimum linifolium ‘Variegatum’, newly planted last year in the labyrinth garden, is really quite stunning. 

Looking north towards the shade garden, some flowering trees stand out this time of the year.

New bronzed foliage of Viburnum foetidum var. quadrangularis. This evergreen beauty is one of the many treasures acquired while working for Joy Creek Nursery.

Fothergilla 'Mt. Airy' looking fresh. For a lot of the growing season its foliage is a bit rough looking, perhaps not wanting to be quite so dry all summer as we are on the summer dry west coast. But autumn always makes up for it with brilliant stained glass colors, so it stays.

Close to the house, Acanthus spinosus at the base of Arctostaphylos 'Saint Helena' with Tulipa batalinii 'Bright Gem'.

Sedum - possibly S. laxum, I've lost track. I collected bunches of Oregon native sedums while working for Joy Creek Nursery and at one point they were mixed up. In any case, it's gorgeous.

Unfurling leaves of Acer griseum, paperbark maple.

A few shrubs at the top of the driveway. Ceanothus cuneatus 'Blue Sierra' just finishing up its bloom, then Arctostaphylos 'Harmony' and to the left Arctostaphylos 'Pacific Mist'. Next to it is Zauschneria californica (Epilobium canum).

A few apple trees in full bloom. I love how the orchard is shaping up, creating a real sense of place and meaning. We just opened the last jar of applesauce we made from our harvest, oh man is it good stuff. It's so rewarding to grow a little of our own food. It's kind of a revolutionary act, really.

Ranunculus gramineus, a buttercup relative from southern Europe and N. Africa is a really attractive alpine plant tolerating a lot of sun and dry soil. It does go semi-dormant towards the end of summer.

A favorite small deciduous shrub, Deutzia crenata var. nakaiana 'Nikko' is another Joy Creek Nursery treasure. The several that I have are still small for a deutzia and their sweet white flowers are a joy every spring.

A FEW NATIVES

Cornus sericea 'Hedgerows Gold', a variegated form of our native red twig dogwood, brightens up the western woodland. It also has the benefit of vibrant leaf color in autumn.

Lupinus albifrons is, I believe, going to take over this corner of the garden. I planted three small seedlings given to me from a friend, all took and all are getting quite large. How gorgeous, though - that foliage combined with a rich purple flower color. These do well in dry, poor soil and have the added benefit of fixing nitrogen in the soil.

Ceanothus cuneatus 'Adair Village' as seen from the back side. It's a large one, covered in bees this time of the year.

Lonicera involucrata, twinberry, is a huge deciduous shrub in my garden. They all are, I have several. They are well-visited by bumble bees and smaller pollinators, you can hear the buzz when you walk nearby.

Tellima grandiflora, fringecups, in the western woodland. There is a rather large colony of these here as well as many other plants scattered throughout the property. I let them stay where they land.

SMALL PROJECTS

Ever inspired by visiting other gardens and watching gardening programs on tv, we got the idea that we needed a couple of areas edged. While I would LOOOVE to edge all my paths with something substantial, it would be cost prohibitive as I probably have a half mile's worth to tackle. But some of the more critical and visible areas are do-able, so FM made the journey to Newberg Steel to bring home some steel edging. This edging is 8" high, a good height to hold back that uphill gravel, and is not yet installed. It's just placed there until FM installs it later this week.

Here is some 4" edging towards the southern end of the labyrinth garden.

Here it is holding in the newest part of the labyrinth extension (well, it will be once installed).

Ooooh, it's going to look so nice! I'm thrilled. I've wanted to "clean up" some critical areas with exactly this.

OK, here's Oscar and friends -

And here's what Oscar and friends will look like with a little edging in their lives. It makes such a difference. Maybe I'll save my pennies to buy a little bit at a time and eventually tackle the whole garden. A woman can dream.

Also dear garden friends, it's that time of the year when the spring plant sale is on! There will be bunches of us selling all kinds of unusual and fabulous plants, pottery, garden art and more. This is what I've been propagating to bring, 17 flats total of some treasures. Sweet Pea the guard turkey is taking very good care of my babies, keeping naughty hens from destroying the crop.

If you're in the area, come on out to the Dirty Diggers of Lovewood Neighborhood plant sale, it's at 334 N. Baldwin, Portland. We'll be there from 11 - 3, rain or shine. Even if you can't buy plants, come hang out with us and share garden stories. We'd love to see you.

OK, April - you've been mild and lovely even though we were gone for half of you. Hello, May - I hope you are kind to us as well. We have an open garden in early June for the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Look us up! Now that I'm on the mend and back at multiple garden chores playing catch up, I think we'll be ready for visitors.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you! Happy gardening, hope to see some of you Saturday!