Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Walking on the wrong side of the tracks…

Most of you are probably familiar with the “Winter Walk-Off” challenge posed by Les at A Tidewater Gardener, the idea being that we get out and go for a walk, photographing things that catch our eye along the way. Since I frequently take my camera on walks around the neighborhood I was hesitant to subject you all to another outing. Then it hit me. I never walk east! Okay that’s not entirely accurate, I walk as far as the park but beyond that is a busy street with only one (inconvenient) intersection where you can safely cross. This is uncharted territory! Let's head east...

This house is very close to me, just up the street. I'm not sure exactly who she's hoping to keep out with the chicken wire. Perhaps squirrels?

This is part of the park I mentioned, or at least it's an empty field attached to the park. It belongs to Portland Public Schools and has been empty since they tore down a middle school almost 7 years ago. There is talk of turning it into an urban farm project. They just completed soil sampling and we'll see if the project goes forward.

This is the biggest plant in the whole field. I think it acts as a message board for the neighborhood canines.

Now we've crossed to the "other-side"...

Let me explain. When I say “the wrong side of the tracks” it’s because when I drive through parts of this area it seems a little on the sketchy side. I’d heard there were some nice homes over here but the first block or so looked like a car repairman’s dream. The camera stayed in my pocket. Slowly things started to change. On this side of the "tracks" the lots are bigger, and there are no sidewalks…it has an almost rural feel to it. Although this image looks windswept and coastal...

I was intent on getting a good photo of this beautiful eucalyptus when I noticed...

This!

Is it what I think it is? A schefflera of some sort, maybe? Maybe not?

I walked on...next this "wall" caught my eye. Look at all those patterns and textures!

Horizontal wood...

Triangles of split firewood...

And bricks and blocks...

Across the street was "the side yard"...I had no idea what this was about but a quick internet search told me "The Side Yard is a small scale urban farm...established in 2009...We provide local restaurants with creative organic produce" who knew?

A pair of Christmas tree candidates (why do I have Christmas trees on the brain?)

Pretty pink snow under the camellia...

Comparing the different stages of euphorbia blooms around town is interesting this time of year.

I saw a lot of this pink ribes (?) on my walk.

Would you believe solar panels sell in cloudy Oregon? I'm seeing a surprising number lately.

In front of the solar paneled houses was a bio-swale (very popular in Portland).

This is turning out to be quite the eco-conscious group of houses! I do LOVE this style of permeable paving and wish we could afford to have this instead of our cracked ugly driveway (which we would of course tear out and giveaway free on Craigslist to someone wanting urbanite).

I think an artist lives here.

Whoa! Now for something totally different. This house is in-between the two matchy solar panel houses shown above. As I stood there staring in awe I realized this was vaguely familiar. Oh yes! It's the SIPs House (click on the link and you can see pictures of inside the house too). Love the design, but it's too bad about the tarp on the roof. That's not a good sign. At least it kind of blends and isn't screaming blue.

Love the covered area to hang out during our rainstorms.

They've got a cool driveway too.

The house just down the street had some cool plants.

I really liked this one. It's form is euphorbia-ish but I don't think that's what it is. Anybody know? It is familiar in a "love the foliage hate the flowers sort of way"...maybe I've seen it before?

Close-up...

Closer-upper

And another one on the edge of another bioswale. This one has crazy curvy seed pods and babies at it's knees.

Kinda gives me the hebie-jeebies but also pretty...

They're doing the Dusty Miller thing!

Euphorbia lathyris, reminding me I need to plant my seeds!

Another windswept manzanita.

And more solar panels! Nice tawny grass garden too...

Wow, that's quite a green house!

I first noticed the cement accessories under the tree.

But then spotted this...

And this!

And a piggy too!

Turns out the "other side" of the tracks is a pretty cool place to explore, I think I'll do it again sometime! We're getting close to home now, having worked up the nerve to sprint across traffic and end up safely back on my side of "the tracks." Just a few more pictures, after all I had to share this twisty poncirus...

And who doesn't love an in bloom edgeworthia?

I do enjoy a good crocus show (especially when it's in someone else's garden).

That's a happy hellebore!

A yard like this belongs to a certain generation don't you think? Impeccably groomed, but boring.

It's the same type who have this in their driveway (yes I know...not all people of that generation have boring yards...)

And that's it! We're back in the park, near where we started this journey. Thank you for tagging along, and thank you Les for the inspiration to finally explore an area I've avoided for almost 8 years. My bad.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

38 comments:

  1. *&@**! Those are great. The garden ornaments house - those are really unique, kind of twisted! But what grabs me among all your great finds, is how things abandoned there like that former school site, end up getting filled up with moss...here it's Yucca elata or some desert grass clump!

    (maybe I should try this walk-off thing again, but since my neighbors' landscapes and most of Abq are lame, perhaps a walk onto the open space?)

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    1. Right after I read this comment I went out to open the garage door and looking at the thick lush moss growing along the bottom of the door I thought of you. It's a mossy wonderland here in the winter that's for sure!

      (yes do another, you know I can't get enough of the desert!)

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  2. Is the euphorbia-esque one an erysimum/wallflower?

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    1. Thanks Hans but I think Lisa (below) called it...Mattholia fruticulosa!

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  3. I think it's destined to be a hot area. Big lots, opportunity for gardens, almost rural feeling near the center of Stumptown.

    Good one.

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    1. You are not the only person I've heard say that, I hope so I really do!

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  4. The euphorbia-ish plant is one you have seen before - in front of the train station in the S. Hogan planting, remember? It's reltated to Stock and called Mattholia fruticulosa (from Xera). I bought one last year on an impulse and it looks silly in my garden because it has only one stalk (maybe because I moved it 4 times already). I'm looking forward to it spreading, so I will leave it be this year.

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    1. YES! Thank you Lisa...see at least I remembered that I didn't like the flowers...

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  5. Does anybody else think that solar panels would be so much nicer framed in wood or some other decorative trim? Ugly!

    Some nice stuff on this walk for sure. Maybe I'll even brave some traffic and try a different neighborhood this spring.

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    1. Exposed wood on a roof in Portland probably wouldn't do so well I'm thinking...

      Yes please do brave the traffic, take the camera and BE CAREFUL!

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  6. Look at all the cool stuff you found on just one walk! The solar panels are a surprise as is the house without a roof in rainy Oregon. From great textures to slightly creepy lawn ornaments, it was fun to follow along.




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  7. Love all those fun things at the green house and all the cool plants you found. Imagine, a schefflera growing on the other side of the tracks! I agree with Lisa on the plant ID.

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    1. So you agree it's a schefflera? Which one? It's big!!!

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  8. What an interesting walk in an unexplored part of your neighbourhood. It turned out to be a largely cool looking place. Not sure what plant/euphorbia that is, looks like an herbaceous type but perhaps because of the relatively mild winter there it didn't die back?

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    1. There may have been a few less than photographic parts too...

      I think Lisa (above) called it on the plant I liked...Mattholia fruticulosa!

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  9. Wow, that was a fantastic, artistic walk. Wonderful foliage, flowers, trees and shrubs and artwork galore. Great gardens full of personality.

    FlowerLady

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    1. Personality indeed! I'm so glad I don't live in a homogeneous suburban development!

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  10. A very nice walk. Thank you for taking us along. Little Lila carefully studying various items are my favorite photos.

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    1. She's quite the adventurer, up for new sights and smells anytime!

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  11. I love this post because it's about discovering the unexpected and finding beauty in unlikely places. Precisely the things I love.

    That Christmas tree, is that a monkey puzzle tree? Looks like it to me!

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    1. Yep, a monkey puzzle indeed. Might be a bit painful to decorate as a Christmas tree but it sure would be cool!

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  12. I have started to walk more for my health and have found there is a whole huge world I have been missing. A lot of spring is already here and much of it has gone unnoticed. I loved sharing your walk.

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    1. Thanks for coming along Charlie. I feel fortunate (most of the time) to have a dog that requires walking. It's good for me and I get to slow down and notice a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise.

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  13. WOW loads of cool pictures! I love the round mossy thing put a fairy house or flower there like the pothole gardener.Ma I covet that brick!! the camellia is a real beauty! the tree that is peeling is a melaluca or Punk tree.when we were kids we would pick off the seeds and throw them...the peopel that made the concrete faces must be and artist you must meet!what ia a poncirus?whats the common name for the beautiful edgeworthia?? Im sure it doesnt grow in zone 9......lovely pictures

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    1. The common name for edgeworthia is paperbush, and it grows in up to zone 10 climates so I think you've got a chance!

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  14. I am so glad you crossed the tracks for my Walk-Off, and looking at what you saw, maybe you are glad too. With the solar panels, permeable driveways and creative organic produce (whatever that means), I like that you found a pocket of green-minded citizens. Now I am off to google why I do not see any Ribes planted here.

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    1. I am glad! And that's odd about the ribes...

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  15. cully is one of my favorite hoods in portland. N of killingsworth is where the architects build their dream homes (dreaming of a flat roof for some reason). many of those lots are 300 feet deep, and the houses are cheap if one ever comes up. S of killingsworth has some fun gardens as well-- a little more scrappy but closer to karaoke at the spare room.

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    1. Portland as a whole is such a crazy mix. In the other cities I've lived in you have your "good neighborhoods" and your "bad neighborhoods" here you have both in the same block! I've done a bit of exploring south of Killingsworth and east of here, maybe I need to do even more.

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  16. What a fun project! Time to head east more often. Do you ever find people who are not pleased about someone pointing a camera at their house? I've photographed walks before and plan to participate in the Winter Walk-Off but have never taken photos of private residences (even though I'd like to do so).

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    1. I've never had anyone get upset about my camera pointing ways. Although I do try and be fairly discreet about it and if they are paying attention they also can see I'm mainly focusing on the plants. Of course I think having a dog with me helps too. I'm not just some crazy person walking with a camera but rather a bored dog walker. I hope you will get out there and take some pictures of your neighbors!

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  17. Aren't you glad you got in touch with your inner explorer? I am. One of my favorite games (which I haven't played for entirely too long) is to park the car at any random spot and walk around the neighborhood. It's rare to hit upon one that fails to offer up something of interest.

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  18. Thanks for taking me along! Maybe I'll do the same...once snow vanishes. Heading east would be fun.

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  19. Pretty cool stuff on that side of the tracks. I'm intrigued by all the solar panels too. They are popular here of course, but wow, maybe more so in cloudy Oregon.

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  20. I live in Cully, my scrappy, beloved 'hood--and I love it! Thanks again for the photos of charming yards around town. So inspirational to me--even the modest ones.

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  21. So much art you found - what a fun walk that must have been :)

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  22. Love how most of the folk in Portland do NOT have those boring lawns. Can't wait for that movement to take off here in Halifax.

    Plus you guys get to have backyard chickens and we don't.

    Wonderful post. Got here via Les's Tidewater post.

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