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A Philly Garden Fling threefer
Regular readers are going to be spending time in Pennsylvania over the next few weeks. I've decided since the Philly Fling took place over a year ago, I really need to concentrate on powering through...
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Owl Creek Farm in West Chester, Pennsylvania
Today we visit Steve and Ann Hutton’s Owl Creek Farm (another Philly Fling garden), on a very wet Saturday in September, 2023. The bus dropped us off at the end of a long driveway and we walked up to...
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My second visit to Scott's Seattle garden
Today's post is my final garden visit from a trip up to the Seattle/Bellevue area in mid-September, subject: my friend Scott's garden. I first visited this garden back in 2021 (here), and while there...
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Scott's Seattle garden, the sunny side
Okay, we're back in Scott's Seattle garden and we've wandered out into the sun (Wednesday's post was all about the shady bits)...The sunny areas are (as you might expect) on the south-side of Scott's...
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An afternoon at Cistus, talking about the Portland Botanical Gardens
I spent the afternoon of October 6th out on Sauvie Island at Cistus Nursery and Rancho Cistus (home of Sean Hogan and Preston Pew) touring, visiting with other plant people, and hearing the latest on...
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A tale of two plant swaps (it’s not about what I brought home)
It's been a while since my photos have loaded backwards, but here we are. This isn't really how I'd hoped to share these gardens but I'm not going delete and repost 37 photos, so we'll start at the...
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Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden (a Philly Fling visit)
Saturday—a soaker of a day during the Philly Fling—ended with our banquet dinner at Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden.Stoneleigh, once a family home and garden, transitioned from private to public ownership...
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The Great Migration, a time to appreciate the details
The Great Migration is underway, tender plants moving from outside to inside. Looking at my work deadlines, and the forecast, I decided I needed to take advantage of any sunny dry afternoon and attack...
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The Gardens at Mill Fleurs
This was the last garden I visited during the Philly Garden Fling in 2023, but I wanted to save Paxon Hill Farm for my last post (on Friday) so today we're visiting The Gardens at Mill Fleurs. The...
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Paxson Hill Farm, my last Philly Fling post
Paxson Hill Farm, my last post on the Philadelphia-area Garden Fling that happened back in September of 2023. Ya, it's been over a year and I'm finally wrapping up my coverage. This was the second to...
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A neighborhood walkabout on a sunny afternoon
Last Friday afternoon there was a gorgeous sunny blue sky overhead, and I was looking for an excuse to spend an hour outside before I started on dinner. It was too windy to clean up fallen leaves in...
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Dorothy's garden, a one-of-a-kind treasure trove
The last week in September I made the roughly 1 hour and 45 minute drive to Svensen, Oregon, just east of Astoria. I was off to see a garden that I'd learned of thanks to Skyler of Tangly Cottage...
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Visiting Tangly Cottage, finally!
After visiting Dorothy's garden and enjoying a leisurely lunch, I drove across the Columbia River via the remarkable 4-mile long Astoria–Megler Bridge, and on to Ilwaco, WA. I spent the night there and...
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Changing seasons, changing focal points
Today's blog post is made up of photos taken around the garden as the light changes, tender plants move to protected spots, and other plants move in to take their place. In other words, changing focal...
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Pause
I write and schedule my blog posts in advance, it takes the pressure off. Sometimes I'm a day or two ahead, other times a week or more. As I type now it's Tuesday morning, November 5th—Election Day...
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BC, briefly
This feels odd, like it's too soon, I'm still in mourning. However, I am going to continue to write about plants, gardens, and gardeners. I will—as a coping and endurance strategy—continue to celebrate...
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Lan Su, a beautiful distraction when I needed it most
I wish it weren't the case, but my mood is heavily influenced by the weather. A grey cloudy day has me feeling down and lethargic. When the sun shines and the sky is blue, I am upbeat and full of...
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First stop, Claude's garden
As I wrote last Friday, I recently made a quick trip up to Vancouver, BC. I was there for the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group Fall Study Day, but thanks to Dana Cromie I was also treated to several garden...
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A tale of two mangaves...
In late 2023 I was given a few mangave pups by a visiting friend, who had separated them from his plants. They overwintered in the basement and I planted them out in spring of 2024. Can you see the two...
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The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (a 2023 visit)
Here's another of those garden visits that got a little lost in time. The day was November 17th, of 2023. Yes, last year. After visiting Lotusland I set out for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. The...
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Back to California, briefly
Monday's post—a California garden visit from 2023—was spurred by the fact we were headed back to the Los Angeles area, and I needed to finish writing about last year's fun, before sharing what I got up...
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Dan's garden (and greenhouses), my second BC stop
Today we go back up to Vancouver, BC, and my quick visit earlier in the month. After we finished up at Claude's garden, he took us over to visit Dan's place. Pulling up out front I wasn't sure what to...
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Dana's cramscaped urban Vancouver garden (the third BC stop, if you're counting)
Dana Cromie—co-chair of the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group—is the reason I was in Vancouver earlier this month, he asked me to speak at their Study Day event. While up in Vancouver I was thrilled to get...
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The fourth (and final) Vancouver garden stop, at Gary's
On the way to the airport Dana managed to squeeze in one more garden visit while I was up in Vancouver, at the home of Gary Lewis. Gary owns Phoenix Perennials—which we also visited, that will be...
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There was a Vancouver nursery visit too; behind the scenes at Phoenix Perennials
In 2023—when I was in Vancouver, BC, for Study Weekend—I stopped in Phoenix Perennials, to see what they had on offer, and left with several things on my wish list (that visit is here). My second visit...
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