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Rare Plant Research, COVID-19 edition
Sitting down to write this post I had a flashback to a previous visit to Rare Plant Research, on Rapture Day, back in 2011. Remember that? The world was going to end and the chosen were going to be...
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New Plants!
Last Saturday was epic as far as new plants go. Yes, my standards have dropped considerably during the pandemic, but still, it was a good day. The fact I didn't take a "haul" photo speaks to just how...
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West Hollywood Century Cactus, 1932
Here's another of the vintage black and white photos Andrew has gifted me over the years, this one of a blooming "century cactus"...I thought with all the local Portland excitement over Monte, the...
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Move over Monte, there's another agave in town...
Last week, when I wrote about visiting Monte, someone commented anonymously saying: "The massive agave near NE Alameda has put up a spike, no bloom yet..." I thought maybe they were referring to the...
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Wednesday Vignettes; what's wrong with people?
With that title you may be expecting photos of people crowding together in public places, eschewing social distancing protocol. No, actually these photos were taken last July and are discouraging the...
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Visiting McMenamins Anderson School (Part One)
This was my second visit to McMenamins Anderson School up in Bothell, Washington. The first was in November of 2017 and featured an unexpected (and unwelcome) snow storm. This visit took place in July...
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Visiting McMenamins Anderson School (Part Two)
Yesterday I started a tour of McMenamins Anderson School up in Bothell, WA, but I got all caught up in the—completely amazing—desert garden and didn't venture any further. Today we'll see the rest of...
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The Earth in Her Hands; 75 Extraordinary Woman Working in the World of Plants...
It's a sad thing that it's taken me so long to write about the outstanding book, The Earth in Her Hands, written by my friend Jennifer Jewell.Back on January 26th—which honestly feels like another...
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Tragedy on Ainsworth...
That was the title of an email I received from a friend over the weekend, "Tragedy on Ainsworth." Of course with the state of the world right now I had no idea exactly what he was referring to, it...
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Wednesday Vignette; wooden ranunculus
Andrew came back from a recent walk and handed me these wooden ranunculus blooms.Well, that's what they look like, right? He warned me they were on the verge of falling apart, another he picked up...
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A place for Holboellia coriacea 'Cathedral Gem' to climb
If I told you this is a photo of our backyard would you believe it? It was taken sometime in September of 2005, right after our neighbor to the backside cut down a huge amount of laurel and built a...
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Road trip to 3-Creeks Natural Area
Okay, it's probably a stretch to call a 13 mile drive a road trip, but with our current "stay at home" situation it certainly felt like an adventure.The reason for the outing was so Andrew could do a...
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Jungle cactus in my garden; Clifford as seasonal host
You guys, I've got it bad. This time of year is the magic-zone where my heart and brain forget all about winter. I've had time to play in the garden, plenty of sunny warm days behind me and months of...
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Growing Weed in the Garden (yes, that weed)
I finally read Growing Weed in the Garden after listening to Jennifer Jewell interview Johanna Silver on her podcast Cultivating Place. It was a wonderful interview!I happened to have Johanna's book on...
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Wednesday Vignette, well that's unexpected
Out on another potential fishing encounter (for Andrew, nature walk for me) we were strolling along a trail though Mary S. Young Park—a 133-acre urban state park—when we came upon a most unexpected...
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Fern Table refresh
It's been over three years since I built my fern table, and while some things were thriving, others were not. I kinda felt like it was time for a refresh. This first photo (below) was taken on April...
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Camouflage
When I purchased this Haworthia tessellata it was already sending up a flower spike...Since planting it—in one of my elevated dish planters—the spike has grown longer and the tiny white flowers have...
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June's Bloomday...
Here we are, the 15th of June, the fourth Garden Bloggers Bloomday I've been living this shut in lifestyle, the same for you? I don't know about you but I'm really missing time with my family and...
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Passiflora mystery
Heading in from the patio one afternoon something odd caught my eye...This. It's to the right of the agave (photo above) and just over the strappy agapanthus foliage. Can you make out what it is? A...
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Wednesday Vignette, porthole view
Last week I was working behind the pair of scrap metal pieces I use as a trellis, pulling a few weeds. As I stood back up I realized there was an interesting view of the garden through the holes cut in...
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