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Magnolia laevifolia and Asarum maximum 'Ling Ling'—two favorites right now...
If I were going to resurrect my "favorite plant in the garden this week" posts (and I'm not) I'd have a hard time choosing between Magnolia laevifolia and Asarum maximum 'Ling Ling'. The magnolia seems...
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A neighborhood walk yields an update
The sky threatened but I grabbed a jacket and headed out the door anyway, too long setting at my desk hitting computer keys...I started walking without a destination in mind and ended up here, a garden...
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Flowers of the Cities, at the NWFG Festival
Fleurs de Villes made its debut at the 2020 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival (held last week/weekend) and there's no doubt people loved it. This lady (outfit by Apotheca Design) was holding court...
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City Living, at the 2020 NWFG Festival
Long time readers may remember that I have a special love for the small, "City Living" gardens at the NWFG Festival. They tend to feature containers, and more plants (less hardscape) than the big...
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Wednesday Vignette, faith
Faith. I have faith that you can see beyond these horrid iPhone photos (why didn't I pull the camera out of my handbag!?) and appreciate what a glorious dark shrub this is...I believe it's Pittosporum...
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A few of my favorite things from the big display gardens at the 2020 NWFG...
I'd gotten spoiled. For the last 7 or 8 years (can that be right?) the organizers of the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival kicked off Thursday morning of the show bright and early with a...
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NWFG 2020: things to buy and what I bought
What's a garden show without things for sale, right? I conclude my coverage of the 2020 NWFG Festival with a look at some of the show vendors and what I brought home...First up is the work of Erin...
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McMenamins Kennedy School on a July morning
One of the chapters in my upcoming book Fearless Gardening: Be Bold, Break the Rules, and Grow What You Love profiles a number of gardens, and gardeners, that illustrate the concepts I write about. One...
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Plagianthus regius, at Kennedy School
The size of that trunk, and the fact there are plants around the base that have obviously been there for awhile, tells me this tree was not recently planted. Yet I have no memory of seeing it before...
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Wednesday Vignette, hellstrip dino drama
In a NE Portland hellstrip near me a group of five dinosaurs are circling a depleting water supply. Who will get the last drink, will the others attack?These two have called dibs on their pond. Don't...
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The Deemer Garden, from the 2019 Garden Bloggers Fling
Back to June in Colorado and the 2019 Garden Blogger's Fling, today we visit the Deemer Garden. Also known as the garden with wine, tasty snacks, and kind hosts who let us use their bathroom. Hey,...
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Jean Morgan's garden, from the 2019 GB Fling
The lady in the blue shirt and jeans is Jean Morgan and this is her garden. Jean's garden may win the prize for the smallest garden the Fling has ever visited, Jean herself may win the prize for most...
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Bloomday Marches on...
With all the horrible news in the world and the need to spend as much time as possible at home I was reveling in the state of my garden. This was the winter that wasn't. No snow, no ice storms, not...
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Agaves, they're not just for the desert anymore...
Earlier in the month this Portland agave lover had a very good three days. First Andrew and I went for a Sunday walk, approaching this house I saw it, unfortunately you can't, the telephone pole blocks...
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Wednesday Vignette, revisiting
My trips to Seattle for the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival usually involve an afternoon spent out exploring an area nursery or garden. Back in 2017, while at Swansons Nursery, I discovered a...
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Back to Lotusland; entrance, jungle garden, cycads and lotus pond
Yes, I am still working through my Lotusland posts from last April's visit—we're coming up on a year! I need to wrap things up, and who knew how much I need to be reminded of this adventure now? I hope...
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The Blue Garden at Lotusland, and exploring around the house
I've jumped around so much during the months and months it's taken me to share photos from my last visit to Lotusland, I thought maybe another glimpse of the map was in order. Yesterday we left off at...
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A walk in the park...
Back on March 8th Andrew and I visited Dabney State Park, just east of Portland. He was trying his luck with some low tech fishing (using the basic idea of Tenkara) in the Sandy river and I went...
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What have you planted that future owners of your garden will curse you for?
While working on yesterday's post "a walk in the park," Evan Bean (The Practical Plant Geek) and I got to musing on vinca and bamboo and other plants that are overly aggressive in the average garden....
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Wednesday Vignette; natural green roofs
Andrew and I were out again scouting for fishing locations (for him, I was just along for the walk) when we came upon this deserted property. I saw the car first...But then I saw the structure (was it...
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