A glimpse of my garden, at the beginning of December

I’m not a good record keeper. I wish I could list all the dates that the killing frost first hit my garden, but I can’t. I can say my memory thinks rarely before Thanksgiving, but often right about that time. Last year we got an unwelcome hit, not having any frost at all and then the week before Thanksgiving BOOM! It hit 31, then 24, then 18, so much for giving the plants an opportunity to go dormant. This year we’ve flirted with a freeze, getting a light frost, then a few a bit heavier. Some of the Calla leaves are a little toasted, while others power on. This is bittersweet. Of course part of me enjoys the extended fall, hoping maybe winter will forget about us this year. On the other hand I want the plants to get the hint and shut down…so when the really cold weather shows up they will be ready…unless…maybe it never does show up!? (dream on right? after all it’s another La Nina winter…).

The banana (Musa Basjoo) still looks great; in fact the happy greens along with the butterscotch Hakonechloa against the brown house are making me very happy. It’s a much richer color palette than when our house was white. This is our most colorful Tetrapanax… The leaves of the others in more protected spots are slowly turning a sickly yellow, letting me know they’re feeling the cooler temps, but none have this great purple tinge like the ones in the front garden. This one stalk of the Wingthorn Rose retains its color and green leaves… While the others look like this… I think this Echium and its twin in the front garden are still small enough I can protect them this winter, at least I'll try. Shortly after taking this picture I cut back the Melianthus and covered it with a thick blanket of Magnolia leaves and a piece of burlap secured with a couple of rocks. I’ve already caught the neighbor’s cat napping on the pile, which would be fine if it showed up with the temperatures dip and then left without using the rest of the garden as its toilet.

The Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern) has colored up wonderfully. I may need to add a couple more of these to the garden next year. As the weather continues to be relatively mild I keep looking at other plants, ones I’d decided to just let be and deciding to lift them and protect them. For example I just potted this Knife-leaf Acacia and put it in the greenhouse. When I planted it I knew chances were slim it would make it through the winter (the Knife-leaf Acacia (Acacia cultriformis) is less hardy than the Ovens Wattle (Acacia pravissima) which itself is only borderline) and at the time thought “que sera sera”…but I’ve grown to love it and can’t bear to just let it die.

I am leaving this little Phormium in the ground though…I love its bright leaves and hope it makes it but just don’t want to make room to over-winter it. I glance at my “perfect” (no winter freeze blemishes) agaves and wonder what they’ll look like in May. This one caught has the eye of a passer-by last week and we had a conversation about over-wintering agaves in Portland. Evidently he’d been wondering what I planned to do with this one over the winter, because he has a similar one at home in a container, unwilling to let it die in the ground. I explained that as long as the plant was cold hardy the real issue was good drainage. Mine will be his “litmus test,” I hope it doesn’t disappoint. Our extended forecast calls for lots of dry weather (unusual for this time of the year, and I’ll take it!) with possible sunny afternoons once the fog burns off. The nights continue to be chilly, with plenty of 29’s and a possible 25F low later in the week…that should finally send things to sleep for the season.

It’s time for the grass to shine…

Lately I find myself crossing the street whenever I can to touch the grasses and their feathery blooms. It’s that time of the year when they become magical and steal the show.Take these gorgeous Pampas Grass feathers for example. Even though I’ve resigned myself to not having them in my garden evidently there is still a part of me that loves them.

Especially when they look so good!

Look at these fabulous specimens at Joy Creek Nursery.

This one is growing in a neighbor’s garden. If you look close you can see two other tall grasses in the distance.

In my garden I’m currently in love with the Zebra Grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus'). This is the only Miscanthus in the garden since I dug up and gave away the huge flopping clumps that used to anchor a corner of the front garden.

From the kitchen window I can watch the burgundy tinted blooms sway in the breeze while I am doing the dishes.

The Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass) is blooming too, although it is a little less showy.

If you’ve ever wondered which one would win in a fight between Blood Grass (Imperata) and Hakonechloa I can attest to the Hakonechloa being more of a thug. The Blood Grass is loosing the fight for space.

The Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is another fall favorite of mine. All summer is has a bamboo quality and then in the fall these lovely blooms take over.

Unfortunately I lost the name of this grass. (late breaking update! Turns out this probably isn't a grass after all but a sedge... some species of carex according to Joseph of Greensparrow Gardens...I never have been able to keep them straight!)

But it’s pine-cone-like blooms are charming, and as you can see in the last two images from yesterdays post, very successful propagators!

It’s the garden smorgasbord time of the year

It seems every time I go outside, or take Lila for a walk, there is something new to admire in my garden or a neighbors. Just soaking it all in feels a little like garden gluttony! (not that I’m complaining) First the neighborhood, this Magnolia below is magical. Most have a smattering of blooms but this one…completely and totally covered. I can’t imagine what cleaning up after the blooms fall must be like. Although I doubt you can see it very well in the picture, the fence under the magnolia is an old faded wooden one that has taken on a pinkish glow to complement the blooms perfectly.

Back in my garden I am so happy that all of my Dasylirions made it through another winter. Who knew these plants were so tough?

This is the first of my Eucomis to peak out of the ground, and it’s multiplied! There are 2 tiny little ones in front of the larger one.

I’m still praying for the Eucomis Oakhurst, not a sign of life yet. However my 4 year old Gunnera is still alive! I had just about given up on it but there are a couple small leaves coming out of the side.

Still no green at the top though, and this is where the really big leaves come from!

The Sambucus nigra is waking up…

As is the mystery fern behind a few of my new plant purchases this spring already in the ground and growing.

Proof that my garden got a jolt from the warm sunny weather in March (so far April has been rather cool and rainy) all of the Hostas are up and starting to leaf out. First I was captivated by the purple…

But as the green leaves start to push out it’s almost too much!

This was the first Soloman’s Seal to come out of the ground. After two weeks when there were none following it I started worry. Thankfully there are now upwards of a dozen peaking out.

The Lilly of the Valley is naturalizing nicely, is naturalizing just a polite form of spreading?

The Sweet Woodruff which I said wasn’t spreading (back when I posted about ground covers) definitely is. I love it and will enjoy this development; I just hope some future gardener here doesn’t hate it like I hate the Bishops Weed that I inherited.

One of my favorite spring combinations is the bright flowers on Euphorbia polychroma combined with Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens (Black Mondo Grass) and Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass)

Spring almost makes winter worth enduring. Almost.

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' or Japanese Forest Grass

Earlier in the week I made it home before dark on a dry-ish afternoon (a rare occurrence these days) I took advantage and had a look around the garden. I was surprised at the bright golden color the Hakonechloa had taken on. I don’t remember this grass ever adding to the fall garden, seems it has always just looked dead, this year it has these colorful tones.
I love the shaggy look of this grass, this is one of those plants I can’t help but run my fingers through when I see it in the nursery.

Since I started gardening in Portland I think this is the first year I haven’t bought another plant. It was a bit of an addiction…which I think I’ve managed to get in check.