The Pond…yes, we finally have a pond.

Off to Hughes Water Gardens! But we couldn’t get right to business and buy plants for our pond, nope. We have to tour the place first and see all that is new! Like this herd of elephants. And their pond…naturally they have a pond.

Someday my Rodgersia tabularis leaves will be this big, right? (hand for scale)...

The Tropical Water Lilies were starting to bloom. I love these, but at $47.99 a little to expensive for our pond. Besides our pond is in too much shade for them to be happy.

This Papyrus long ago escaped the confines of its pot.

These must be required tools of the trade.

Whenever I see a colorful display like this I want to buy them all!

Their version of a shade pavilion…

So after touring we finally got down to the business of shopping for our pond plants…I really wanted Moisac plant and remembered (from previous visits) it being a floater. Well I guess it’s not, it's potted and it was fairly expensive and wouldn’t have a chance of overwintering. So I passed.

The Chocolate water fringe has leaves that are reminiscent of Lily pads, and it’s hardy! Sold.

Of course we would need some Papyrus.

And Water lettuce!
But it will have to wait to go outside until things are a little warmer.

Aztec Arrowhead is nice. Interesting shaped leaves and cute simple flowers.When it came time to choose our floater plants I had a hard time deciding between the Fairy Moss

And the Duckweed. But once we discovered that the Duckweed should live through the winter that’s what we went with.

Ready to go home and “plant”…

And I love it!

Hopefully the Water lettuce will be able to go out soon.

And I can’t wait for things to grow and cover a little more of the surface. I really don’t like seeing the cement blocks and the plastic pots.

The best thing about the Water hyacinth…...is their fabulous black feathery roots!

Our pond is missing one thing, the fish. We are waiting for the weather to stabilize before we introduce the little guys.

Oh and one other plant made it home with us…remember the orange blooming Euphorbia I’d been pining for? Only to discover what a spreader it can be and then passed it up? Well I’ve got one now.

It’s in a pot, for its own good.

Peninsula Park Rose Garden

I am no fan of roses, they’ve never appealed to me. I don’t particularly care for the flower, a dozen roses is a gift my husband would never dream of giving me. But the plant itself is even worse. They are just so unattractive, something that is better hidden. Like the framework behind a beautiful stage production.

Rose ambivalence aside, Peninsula Park in NE Portland has always held a special place in my heart. Maybe because it was close to our first (rented) home in Portland or because it’s where we first saw a Chug (Chihuahua + Pug) and fell in love with the crazy odd dog mix that we would go on to adopt. Or (knowing me) it’s more likely because this rose garden is not THE Portland Rose Garden, it’s kind of a forgotten gem, or the ugly step sister, and I love the sunken garden aspect of the park.Rather than try to explain the history behind the park I thought I would just leave it to the experts from the City of Portland Parks and Recreation Website:...“Peninsula Park is a good example of a formally designed neighborhood park, typical of the early 1900s. It includes the city's first public rose garden and first community center, a historically designated bandstand, and Portland's second oldest playground."

"The park was purchased by the city in 1909 for the sum of $60,000 with funds raised in a 1908 bond measure. Originally owned by local businesswoman Liverpool Liz, it had been the site for a roadhouse and racetrack for quarter-mile horse racing."

"The rose garden, designed by Emanuel L. Mische, is one of Portland's most beautiful formal rose gardens, with 8,900 plantings on a two-acre site. Visitors are greeted by magnificent plantings of 65 rose varieties which border the steps leading to the sunken rose garden, the only one in Oregon. The rose garden was the showplace of its time, with 300,000 visitors in the first year alone. The official Portland rose, named Mme. Caroline Testout, was cultivated in the garden. Once planted by the thousands along the streets of Portland, this rose earned Portland the name 'City of Roses.' In 1913, floral enthusiasts selected Peninsula Park as the location for an annual rose show. In 1917, Washington Park on Portland’s west side was selected as the site of the International Rose Test Garden and most of the rose show activities were moved there." "The octagonal bandstand overlooking the rose garden was constructed in 1913. It was used for World War I patriotic demonstrations and is now the site for many summer weddings and concerts. This wonderful gazebo-like structure is a National Heritage historical structure and was designated a Portland Historic Landmark in 1973. It is the last of its kind in Portland.”

...and speaking of roses…the annual Portland Rose Festival is now entering its last week of events, culminating on Saturday with the Grand Floral Parade and the finale of the dragon boat races on Sunday.

Not that I’ve ever actually taken part in any of the festival events, except gawking at the fleet when they arrive. For some reason I absolutely love the sight of these big ships parked along our waterfront. It puts everything into perspective. The ships arrived last week, but I didn’t get any pictures. These show the fleet that visited Portland last year (although the skies look suspiciously like this year) and were borrowed from a fellow Portlander named Jeffrey, I stole them from his blog. I hope you don’t mind Jeffrey.

I wonder…are there cities that have Agave festivals? Or Aloe parades? Maybe the annual Cactus Days?

One sunny day is better than no sunny day, right?

While an entire sunny weekend would not be too much to ask for, at least we sun deprived Portlanders got a glorious Saturday. Sunny skies and 72 degrees. Yes, that’s how bad it is, we were all gushing over 72 degrees! That’s a temperature to be proud of in March, not June. As the mailman said: “all of NE Portland is outside today!” So true.I decided it was time to plant the tomatoes. The peas had been taking their own sweet time but enough already. If that’s as plump as these pods are going to get well then so be it. Time to harvest.

Yikes. We’ve got a few peas to eat.

And that’s just ½ of the crop. The other tank is still going. At least that variety seems to be getting better with the more time spent on the vine.

I cut the plants a bit above ground level and worked the plants and roots into the soil along with some fresh compost. All the better to feed the tomato plants. I also added a bit of lime to the planting hole.

I was really surprised at how dry the soil was. We’ve gotten over 6.5 inches of rain in the last 4 weeks and this soil was not soggy. A testament to how much warmer the soil in a stock tank can be vs. the ground. Perfect for tomatoes!

So about the tomatoes…I planted Sungold a few weeks back in the middle of the ginger mint. It’s doing well. Even has some blooms! This will be the first time I’ve planted this variety but I’ve enjoyed handfuls from a former coworker so this one comes highly recommended.

The newly planted: Amana Orange (I’m a sucker for color), Early Girl (it’s a family tradition) and Golden Jubilee (usually I plant yellow pear but the Sungold are small and one only needs a few small tomatoes, thus a full size yellow).

The Amana Orange was planted in a peat pot (eco-friendly), you aren’t supposed to tear away the peat and with all these roots growing through the pot I believe it!

Even though it’s June I still put the wall-o-water’s up around the newly planted tomatoes. The forecast for the week ahead isn’t exactly warm, so these will act as mini greenhouses.

What else I’ve got growing right now…since I love basil I always end up planting it way to early. Our local grocery/everything store had nice plants on sale for $4.99 a few weeks back. I bought one and have harvested an amazing amount already. The plant is struggling on, although like me it would be happier if things dried and warmed up. When that finally happens I'll be planting Basil seeds too!

The next crop of peas is getting started.

And the carrots are finally sprouting. Only took them 3+ weeks.

Northstar pepper, a few leaves rotted in the wet cold temps, but I think its starting to come around, there are small peppers starting to form.

Last but not least a couple of Cilantro plants are looking good and producing lots of their tasty leaves.

Besides tending to the veggies I also took care of another garden chore. The mulch spreading. This is not a task I look forward to, but once under way I don’t mind it. And everything looks so clean and tidy when I’m done. The colors pop and I love knowing I’m giving nutrients to the soil and holding in the moisture, for the dry months that surely (? Hopefully?) are ahead.

I think my plantings are reaching somewhat of a critical mass. It used to take me up to 11 bags of compost to complete this chore, this time…only 3! Wow.

One of the things I enjoy about this task is that I really get to look at everything up close and personal. I’m very excited about these Callistemon buds!

I also discovered that the Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Lily) is getting ready to bloom. That’s the bud leaning of to the left. I’ve read that these are not reliable annual bloomers yet this one just keeps on producing every year!

Kniphofia blooms

‘Once you move an Acanthus you will always be moving the acanthus’ or so they say. And yes, I moved an Acanthus. So I’ve been expecting this. But what I wasn’t expecting was just a 1” bit of old root would start to sprout, and without even a single root visible! I found this little guy while spreading compost…and was delighted to pluck it out of the ground.

The bed where the Acanthus was.

The color of the small Dykia hybrid (Burgandy Ice) that I purchased at the YG&P Show back in February just keeps getting better and better.

The best part of the day? After a relaxing shower coming back out to the patio with a glass of wine and soaking up the days accomplishments! Wonderful.