Summer Updates

It's finally hot enough to be inside. There is a point of retreat where I give in and move inside, catching up on chores. It has to be pretty toasty for that to happen, and so far this summer it's been a rare occurrence. Thus, blog posts, paperwork and yes, even housework suffer at the hands of my outside obsession. Blame the mild weather! Besides spending every minute possible outside gardening, I've also been putting hours in on the mural that is so much more of a time evaporator than I remember. Enough! Today I'm making dinner, writing blog posts and even tackling a little housework. A rare summertime event, being indoors. Does the weather dictate the rhythm of what gets done for you, too?

 After taking a bunch of photos yesterday I thought about the summary of what I had observed. Mostly, as I move about the garden I notice subtle changes. Now (mostly) mature at over 10 years old, the garden feels settled; however, I'm trying very hard to keep a fresh outlook and not overlook neglected areas or to not let eyesores become invisible. The subtle changes are primarily a plant dying here or there or particular plants overgrowing others. I must make decisions about whether or not to let that happen or to prune or, even in extreme situations, remove a plant.

Most of the garden is fine but it changes, of course. Plants have a lifespan and some are looking fantastic while others not so much any more. It is what it is - a living, breathing thing and I am now its custodian and no longer its creator. It's a different mindset that came about unexpectedly.

The edge of the meadow garden looking east. Somewhere out there on the horizon is Mt. Hood. 

It's difficult to remember what some areas once looked like or what plants I have lost. Trying to embrace what is, I appreciate a tough plant that looks great.

Case in point, this seedling Hylotelephium with a companion Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Cream' behind it. Both are tough as nails and look great even with reflected heat of the metal siding of our home.

Itea ilicifolia, holly leaved sweetspire, is a dramatic evergreen shrub. It's finally mature enough to have a "wow" factor with its dangling racemes of flowers. Good for part sun to part shade. It took a while to get there but it's now several feet tall and wide.

The area directly outside of our front door is in full sun (most of the day) with a variety of plant material. Lots of hot pinks and oranges in one area that morphs into purples as you move towards the right. Behind the chairs is a sea of Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific' mixed with Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger'. That area has had many smaller treasures over the years but I learned that the grass and juniper want to be there and are happy, so I let them go where they will and let go of the idea of lots of little plants in this particular spot.

Just downstream from the juniper is a stand of Agave parryi ssp. neomexicana with another seedling Hylotelephium. This agave has been especially robust for me.

I have a small cutting garden outside of the greenhouse filled with dahlias grown from seed. It makes me very happy and I rarely actually cut them. I get bouquet anxiety.

On the south side of our garden are three super tough shrubs that I never, and I mean never, water. Left to right Leptospermum grandiflorum, Ceanothus cunetatus 'Adair Village' and Grevillea 'Neil Bell'.

Here are the same three taken in early 2021. All are fantastic evergreen shrubs for sun, all have low water requirements, too. They just kept creeping along getting a little larger every year until now they are a nice screen at the southern edge of our garden.

A quintessentially summer perennial, Verbena bonariensis seeds itself where it will. Love it or hate it, the bees gravitate towards it. While I do remove lots of seedlings, when I do leave a few I'm always glad I did.

My other agave love, Oscar (A. parry var. truncata).

Penstemons are among one of my favorite genera. This is (arguably) P. 'Firebird' and is HUGE. A tiny 4" pot purchased years ago has turned into a sub-shrub that really hasn't ever gone completely dormant. I say arguably because I have true 'Firebird' in other areas and its stems are darker as are its flowers.

Super happy I purchased this Astelia 'Red Devil', it's been thriving in this container by my front door and really adds a nice texture among sedums and small trees.

Forget all the fancy schmancy echinaceas on the market (expensive annuals?), give me E. purpurea and E. purpurea 'White Swan' any day. Clean, robust and pretty. Swallowtail butterflies love these, by the way.

Eryngium giganteum is beginning to bloom and the pollinator party is in full swing.

A gravel path that leads from the driveway into the gravel and labyrinth gardens.

An unassuming sub-shrub, Cotoneaster horizontalis 'Variegata' is a pretty low grower. It tolerates a variety of conditions and has the added bonus of great autumn coloration with pinks and reds. Viburnum foetidum var. quadrangularis in the background. I appreciate how plants such as these have woven together on their own, creating a push/pull dynamic that keeps it interesting.

Caryopteris 'Dark Knight', a deciduous shrub, is also a favorite of pollinators. It is generally late to leaf out in spring, it also regularly gives me lots of seedlings in the gravel.

The edge of the meadow garden from across the grass. I love how flowing and carefree it all is.

Teucrium chamaedrys in the foreground, the large shrub in the background is Salix elaeagnos subsp. angustifolia. The salix is at the very center of the dry garden affectionately known as the labyrinth garden (for its former manifestation). As I've mentioned before, this particular salix does tolerate long periods without summer water, surprisingly.

A slightly pulled back view of the same area with Hebe (Vernonica) 'Sutherlandii' mounds on the left and the trunk of a rather large Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) trunk in the center. The Doug firs have been prolific creators of male pinecones this year, I find myself regularly cleaning them out of the gravel and leaf blowing them into the beds to decompose.

Salvia 'Celestial Blue', a wonderful large native California salvia cross that has survived these past three years for me, though I understand it's got a bit of a hardiness issue for those of us in northern gardens. Still, it's incredibly fragrant (think pot) and so floriferous so it's worth hanging on to. if possible. Annie's Annuals featured it on a recent email, understandably so.

Digitalis ferruginea, a plant that regularly reseeds itself all over the gravel and meadow garden which I welcome.

Cosmos 'Apricotta' is such an appealing color. A pretty annual I grew from seed to fill in an area where a hebe had to be cut back very drastically.

Eryngium agavifolium had been a bit buried under plants for several years, this spring when I uncovered it and cleaned up the area surrounding it I was hopeful it would recover and as you can see it has done so.

Once more in the dry labyrinth garden with Santolina 'Lemon Queen' in the foreground bottom right, Ozothamnus 'Sussex Silver' on the extreme right and that same salix in the center.

Helenium 'Mardi Gras' is a fine perennial, though it does like more water than what I can give it in summer. It will wilt in a heartbeat after the first toasty warm dry day, but if I can keep it hydrated it looks swell.

FM's decorative metal olive boxes fit the scene. I think we'll have a lot of olives this year, by the way. Anyone else?

The veggie garden is doing well after a bumpy start. Corn (Oaxacan green) is sizing up nicely. It will eventually be dried and ground into corn meal for baking cornbread and other treats this winter. Pumpkins and delicata squash are taking over as they do.

One of a few grape vines, this adorning the entrance to the veggie garden coming from the labyrinth.

I think I'm growing calendula instead of veggies! I pull out thousands, yes seriously thousands of calendula seedlings every year. Not that I mind (that much). They all started from one packet each of Calendula 'Strawberry Blonde' and one C. 'Radio', now I have every shade of orange to pink and yellow.

Closing out this post with a photo of FM and his hens. He tends to take them outside of their chicken garden a couple of times a day so they can snack on grass and clover in the orchard (both favorites). After taking a seat for a bit of a break, the hens mistook his action as treat distribution. They all came running at full speed towards him (very endearing) and then realized he only had a smoothie drink. A smoothie is not mealworms, ladies. So sorry.

The party starting to disband after the rejection of the smoothie. They went back to their orchard grass after this disappointing development. Oy, chickens. We love them.

This is my life lately, tending all of this and still recovering from last year's heartbreak and garden neglect. I'm really appreciating being out there as much as possible right now and am taking it day by day. Plus, I'm planning for the opportunity of a lifetime that has taken a lot of energy and time but will be well worth it. I'm going to be a guest gardener at Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, UK, for three weeks in September then a week of exploring the area and London at the end of my trip. Needless to say there are a lot of moving parts for this adventure and I feel terrible for leaving FM in the heart of harvest season, but he's been nothing but supportive. I got lucky with FM, I truly did. If any of you want to keep him company or help make sauerkraut come September, let me know. I know he could use the company and also a pizza or two while living the bachelor life.

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.