April

There should be fabulous pictures of spring flowers, bright leaves and a bit of magic. The truth is my camera lens, my favorite, had been in for repair for a couple of months and is still not quite right. My veggie starts are slow to grow and there is a sadness and lethargy that I cannot seem to shake; the gloomy weather doesn't help. Maybe the events of the last year are still enveloping me and I'm not through the loss of my mother as much as I thought. That's okay, I'd rather feel all the feelings than not. But our four cats and hens and friends and family are wonderful and they keep me going, thank goodness.

Still, yes - even still, there is inspiration out there. Maybe I managed to capture a few decent images. Even if it didn't, I'm sharing all the same because in the end, it all counts. Even without a formal theme or idea, it's the best I can do right now. Plus, there are a couple fabulous plant sales coming up, details at the end. Here we go!

Fothergilla 'Mount Airy', a small, deciduous shrub native to Southeast U.S. Its bottlebrush flowers are sweet, its autumn foliage color is outstanding. It is very slow to grow and that can be an asset in small gardens. They do well in full sun to part shade (part shade is where I have mine).

Primula 'Victorian Gold Lace Black' (or some version of those descriptive words, you see it described as many variations of that name) is unusual in its coloring. Primroses don't usually do well in my dry garden, however I have these in a very wet heavy clay area next to a retaining wall (which keeps the soil very wet) and they seem to be happy.

This is the time of the year that Tellima grandiflora, fringecups, begin to wake up and carpet areas of my shade garden. They are semi-evergreen with some leaves present all winter though not as pretty as this. I love that they are colonizing what was a blackberry-ridden region. 

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' had a very short dormant period this winter; she's going strong now, poised to take over the shade garden.

Polystichum polyblepharum fronds emerging like a sea creature in Oxalis Ocean. Anything that can rise above the Oxalis oregana has done fairly well. The little plants, not so much.

New fronds of Athyrium otophorum unfurling. The light color of new fronds really shines in the darker shade garden.

Lysimachia latifolia, western star flower, is a pretty native wildflower that I am thrilled to have in several places in the shade garden. Soon its star-shaped pale pinkish white flowers will float above the leaves. It's a small thing at only a couple of inches high and a delight to encounter on the mossy path.

Osmanthus delavayi is having the best bloom it has ever had. Fragrant too, however it's difficult to detect in cool, wet weather.

While not particularly interesting, I do enjoy seeing green of the "grass" (field grass, weeds, etc.) until it eventually goes dormant by about June or July.

Trillium kurabayashii in its third year in the garden. I'm happy to see the slugs didn't find it this year.

My favorite of the lungworts (what a name!), Pulmonaria 'Benediction' for its blue flowers that really are a deeper blue than the camera can detect. Slugs tend to leave them alone, likely due to the slightly hairy nature of the leaves.

A moody, dark sky view through our property out to the trees beyond.

Last summer I managed to prune the Bing cherry tree to a manageable size and this spring it's rewarding us with loads of flowers that hopefully will translate to a tree dripping with cherries. If we can get them before the birds do, that is.

Artichokes are generally happy in my garden, though they have come and gone over the years. This is a volunteer artichoke, totally in the way of the path, but how can I remove it? It stays.

Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffiths' growing nicely. This particular specimen is about three years old and is about 4' tall at this point. Others in the garden are much larger having been planted about seven years ago. People often ask about the growth rate of arctos. They start off slowly as most plants do, but by the third year they are really growing quickly, much more so than is assumed a broadleaf evergreen shrub/tree would. Don't let slow growth stop you from growing arctos, my West Coast friends. They are quite fast once they get going.

My friend Anna gave me Crambe maritima a few years ago and I think I finally found a spot where it isn't eaten by critters. I hope it gets to the point of blooming, it's a beautiful thing to see in flower.

Ranunculus gramineus, a plant at home in a rock garden or sunny location. This has been in my garden for many years and hasn't really increased in size. It's a joy to see this blooming every spring.

Ceanothus cuneatus 'Blue Sierra' had a very floriferous spring, it's just now wrapping up. Ceanothus cuneatus 'Adair Village' is also in full bloom with its white-ish blooms. These are two ceanothus that have done particularly well in my garden, as has C. 'Blue Jeans' and C. gloriosus. Others have fizzled out over time.

Alas, my poor Agave ovatifolia did not appreciate the rather wet winter. It was doing well and truth be told we had a non-winter as far as ice and snow and really low temperatures which totally illustrates my point I tell people all the time that it's the winter wet that kills them, not so much the cold. I guess I didn't give it as much good drainage as I needed to. Lesson learned. It was rotten to the core with that horrid odor that comes with rotting plants. It's gone.

Now for a few upcoming plant-y sales and a movie, too!

I want to mention this movie premiers in Portland today, Thursday April 16th at Cinema 21. It's a movie about the power of gardening (and all it does for humanity) and how it is increasingly reflected back us in so many ways culturally: books, movies, podcasts. This movie project came to my attention from my friend La Manda and it looks fabulous. Thought I'd share.

Two more upcoming plant sales:

Our favorite cat shelter House of Dreams in Portland is having a plant sale! I've donated many flats of plants to this, so have a lot of other folks and some really wonderful nurseries. Plus, baked goodies! If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and buy a plant or three. If you've plants to donate (or baked goods) get in touch. Saturday April 25th.

And our own Dirty Digger's Spring Plant Sale is coming up Saturday May 9th! Bunches of us will be selling plants and all things plant-y. Loree of Danger Garden, Anna of Optic Verve, Maurice Horn of Joy Creek Nursery, Jerry of Botanica Chaotica and many other wonderful friends will be selling. Come by and say howdy!

While this may not be the most inspired post I've ever done, it was done with heart and with hope that we are all able to get some green in our lives as the world grows increasingly chaotic. The green, the plants, the calm they bring and the people who love nature are incredibly important and relevant. Keep on gardening, folks, it will always be a balm for the soul.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always, thank you so much for reading and commenting, you help put the heart into gardening for me.