Monday, October 8, 2012

When’s the deadline?


If you've been reading my blog much you've no doubt gathered that the weather here in Portland, Oregon, has been nothing short of glorious for 3+ months (my definition of glorious, not everyone’s).

In previous years the “end of patio season” deadline has been defined by the coinciding of our fall vacation and the return of the rains. And in fact most of my tender succulents and dry-loving plants were already tucked away in the basement by this time last year.

This year is different. We've already enjoyed our travels and the sun just keeps on shining! However a few forecasters are predicting rain for as soon as the end of this week, I’m left wondering when exactly the deadline is. Many of my fellow zone-pushers have already begun the great migration indoors and undercover, I know I need to get going...

So before it's all torn apart, I thought I'd take a few pictures of how the garden looks in early October…

So much growth has occurred here since these were planted last spring. All the Agaves and the purple Dyckia will be staying put for the winter.

This variegated Agave attenuata will definitely be pulled before the temps dip into the mid 30's. We'll see how I'm feeling about the Euprhobia 'Sticks on Fire' then, right now I'm thinking I may let them pass on. It's a sickly little thing.

Nasty winds over the last few days have taken a toll around the garden, this Eucomis couldn't withstand the force and nearly got punctured on some wicked Agave spikes.

Here's the surviving branch of my Echium x wildprettii 'Rocket' after the other one bloomed. Will it live through the winter to bloom in 2013? Only time will tell...

From newly planted to overgrown in just four and a half months!

Ditto. Can you make out the sort of tangley growth in the lower middle, it weaves around, over and under it's neighbors? That's my Banksia marginata, it's grown a lot, I just wish it were a little "sturdier"...

Thousands of potential babies atop the leaves of this Kalanchoe. I'll take cuttings to overwinter inside.

Inside with these Graptoveria too...

This corner of the garden is showing the signs of not enough water. With so many dry-loving plants I sometimes forget about the ones that get thirsty.

Guess what? The trellis has been purchased, Hydrangea is coming out. Now it's just a matter of when.

This Acacia pravissima was planted in the summer of 2011, just a small 4" plant I thought it might die over the winter. Instead it's now taller than the house. Only marginally hardy here (it will live for a few years but inevitably there will be "that" winter) I wonder how long it will last?

Let's take a peek at the front garden too shall we?

Does everyone else see a big empty space here too? (to the left of the Yucca rostrata) I finally dig out the Verbascum olympicum...luckily I've got several plants ready to go into that spot. I just have to decide which one!

One of the huge and amazingly spiky Opuntia pads sent to me by the Desert Dweller last spring. The other one has produced a couple of new pads but this one remained solo. I love those big white spikes!

Another "empty" spot where a 3-armed Verbascum olympicum came out. Unfortunately  it grew, and took over, and the Ceanothus 'Joyce Coulter’ suffered a little deformation in the mean time (you can see two bare branches in the middle of the photo, with big massive green growth at the end). Dorky, I think it's coming out.

But that's a job for another day, right now I need to start cleaning up and hauling containers. I wonder if I should just make the Chiropractor appointment now?

37 comments:

  1. sooo beautiful!!! I love your garden *sigh*. Here's something contraversial, I don't think patio season is ending for a while yet. They are singing the doomsday gloom up here for this weekend coming but I'm still holding on for summer! For me, nothing has come inside. The only considerations I have made are for buying beautiful pots for me succulent cuttings. I still have not picked one out yet. Keep the dream alive!

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    1. Controversial, not at all! I'm totally with you. Just cause I'm getting stared doesn't mean I'm packing it all in. Some of those bigger containers are as light as they are ever gonna be (rain = heavy) so I figure it's in my back's best interest to not wait until after it starts. Plus I've got a few that don't drain very well...so those will come in. But I am certain there is plenty more patio time ahead! The dream is alive...

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  2. Your garden looks fantastic Loree, a nice recap of a post too before you start you autumn tidy up. I know the feeling, it seems a shame to break up the display of plants for th season but it has to be done anyway, a gradual process is better than a last minute dash when the cold weather has definitely arrived.

    If the weather still seems fine though perhaps let most of the plants linger where they are? It seems lots of things to do indeed at this time of the year but once all plants are in their winter homes the gardener can relax again...till spring that is!

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    1. Thanks you guys. You know you're responsible for my latest project possibility. I'll post about it sometime but I'm looking at loosing some of the lawn. After spending time in gardens like yours and Sean Hogan's I'm thinking about getting rid of some of the "open-ness."

      And I will definitely leave a lot of the plants in place for now, especially the ones that don't mind the rain...as it still isn't that cool. I just don't want all the Agaves to get drenched before their winters nap.

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    2. Pleased to hear that :) but your lawn is nice too, sets off your planting beds very well. Looking forward to seeing what you decide upon!

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  3. I brought Trevesia palmata 'Micholitzii' inside last night thinking that it might be less of a shock to bring it in while it's still warm outside. Although I'm procrastinating on everything else, I keep thinking that it would be more pleasant to spend a nice warm day enjoying hauling everything inside instead of rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off on some dark, cold, wet November night after I hear shocking news from the weather forecaster. Maybe this year...

    Just thinking about this is a good reason to visit the Chiropractor!

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    1. That's exactly what I'm thinking. Working in the sunshine beats the rain any day. Maybe I should just have a running once a week appointment until the end of November!

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    2. Or maybe we should each find some strong high school or college student willing to work for ten bucks an hour and hire him/her for six hours to help get the bulk of it done.

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    3. In all seriousness Andrew has suggested this, I kinda worry about him dropping something going down the stairs and not only killing my plant but then suing us! I really can take worrying to a whole new level.

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  4. I can see why you'd want to hold on to that look, for as long as possible.

    We have a few things that have to be hauled inside here, too. Even this far south, tropicals just won't take our cold.

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    1. You guys are still aways off from having to think about cold though aren't you?

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  5. The pots are relatively easy to deal with, but how many in-ground things do you dig up for overwintering? We go through so much for summertime "jungles", don't we?

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    1. Hahaha you're funny. Easy as in not mentally challenging yes, but certainly not physically. It's a bit of a trick getting the heavy ones up and down our stairs. Not something I look forward to.

      There aren't many things in the ground that I have to dig, and what there is will wait until the last possible moment. I planted out a few Agaves (6) that aren't hardy, I'll left those. Then I'll take cuttings of the succulents (I think the Blue Senecio has tripled in size this summer).

      I think the most puzzling thing for me are the pond plants. I can't decide what to do about those.

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  6. The best thing about this time of year is the utterly beautiful light in your first few photos. It's unique to autumn, and it makes the phenomenal growth on your plants look even better.

    And please be careful with the moving chores. We need you in full danger garden operation mode almost more in winter than in summer!

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    1. The light has been pretty glorious hasn't it? The trees that have turned golden are just glowing!

      Thanks Jane, I will be careful.

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  7. I can't believe how lush everything still looks in your garden. I want you and Pam to track your water bill during the summer and compare it to someone with a traditional American landscape. Everything looks wonderful.

    How long did it take your manzanita in the front to get to that size? I'm contemplating removal of the boxwood in my backyard, to be replaced with a manzanita.

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    1. That's a fun idea! Unfortunately my love of long showers might trip our water consumption too the extreme.

      YES! Remove that Boxwood and plant a Manzanita! That's ‘Austin Griffiths' and this is just it's second summer in the ground, a small plant when planted. It's a fast grower!

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    2. I second the idea of a manzanita and 'Austin Griffiths' in particular. Only thing is he's not particularly thick, so won't provide privacy like a boxwood. But he's a handsome dude!

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  8. Lucky you that you can enjoy your garden as is for a bit longer.

    I ended up pulling in the plants I need to overwinter and moving other containers to the relative protection of the porch on Friday (Oct 5th), which is way early for my area (SW Virginia). Usually I can wait until closer to the end of Oct.

    But the acorns fell huge and heavy this year and the cold rains started yesterday, with temps in the high 40s and it doesn't look to be getting warmer for awhile, if at all.}:/ Looking like it's going to be a colder, wetter winter here this year, as compared to last year.

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    1. Wait your high temp was in the 40's? That's just awful! I'm sorry your winter has already started.

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    2. Sunday it was a high of 49}:( Yesterday it topped the upper 60s, theough they claimed it was supposed to be in the mid 70s. Today, it's sunny, windy and 64 degrees.


      Yes, autumn has definitely come to the Blue Ridge Mountains.}:)

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  9. Theres only so many words in the English dictionary that can be used to describe a garden of this caliber in comparison to nature as a whole. Its simply magnificent, I love your Shinto Shrine. LOVE IT!!!

    -Tony Salmeron

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    1. Nobody has ever called it a Shinto Shrine before, I love it!

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    2. Just a quick question about the arbor/Shinto shrine; did you build it yourself? It fits in so perfectly with the rest of patio area.

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    3. Yes we did build it ourselves, well...the husband did. I just assisted.

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  10. I don't think your garden has even looked more beautiful. It looks like it's been lifted straight out of the pages of Sunset Magazine. And it's a miniature botanic garden, too. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Keeping my fingers crossed you'll get to enjoy it for a few more weeks before you need to bring plants inside.

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    1. Ah shucks, thank you Gerhard! Just read an updated forecast this morning which is calling for more than just a little rain starting Friday. Yuck.

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  11. What a large and beautiful family you have to take care of! I know what you mean about bringing inside. I have just turned off my watering system to harden them off before winter. And must take them into the potting shed soon. It doesn't help that we are going away for 3 weeks at the end of October Dare I risk it? i must also pull the A. demettianas out of the ground. They would never survive.

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    1. I put one A. demettiana in the ground this year. It was looking poorly and it was either that or compost it. Now it's looking fabulous and yes, it too must be lifted. My advice (not that you need it), do everything you can before you leave. That way you won't worry and have any regrets.

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  12. Your garden is looking so good! It seems a shame to undo it all, but clearly worth it. Do you use the photos as a guide or rearrange in the spring?

    We have been surprisingly cold 48F last night, but it will warm up later this week.

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    1. Thank you Shirley, nope...every year is different. Things come out of shelter at different times too, depending on how our spring weather unfolds. The whole container composition is continually changing and not quite set until mid June. Even then I move things around throughout the summer.

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  13. We've been at 31 for two nights in a row. My garage was stuffed full. I can usually tell how the basil and tomatoes look if it was a strong freeze. It wasn't. Like you I'm wondering what I'm going to do with the pond plants I bought recently, Papyrus and such. I too hate to see the maturity of containers leave.

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    1. 31! Burrr. This is definitely one of the (many) times I dream about living in California.

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  14. Wow, your garden front and back is so beautiful! Everything looks so happy now. Do you actually dig some up and put in containers. Then put them in your basement? I hope you show how you overwinter.

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    1. Thank you Candice! I do dig up a few things that I planted but really just a half dozen or so. And since they are Agaves I don't worry about digging so much as just loosening and pulling. Bare-root style. I also don't worry about getting them planted right away since they are happy like that for awhile. The other things in the ground (succulents) I just take cuttings of and then eventually plant them.

      There will (no doubt) be a few pictures along the way...

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  15. Yep, this is the time for hauling containers... I'll have a very sore back for the next week or two. ~~~ Your collection is wonderful and siting and arrangements are a feast for the eyes. Love your gardens

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  16. Sticks on Fire really likes to be dry. They thrive in my garden. One of the few things that do well in pots here. So stick them in a pot, put it in the sun, and water once a month. Try that and see if they perk up.

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