This weekend is the YGP show at the Oregon Convention Center! I would post more pictures of how amazing the gardens look as they come together, but I have been in hyper focused garden and planter building mode all this week and keep forgetting to take photos. I will surely catch up over the next […]

who ever she may be”.. is what I have named one of the planters at the entrance to the woodland garden, which could really apply to the whole garden. This little dwarf iris has an otherworldly grey/blue sheen which changes with the light and is set off dramatically by the aqua and turquoise tones in […]

Beach strawberry
Fragaria chiloensis
ROSACEAE, The Rose family
A little field trip: Kira and I visited the gorgeous green wall in the courtyard at the Hotel Modera today. It’s north-facing, filled with Northwest natives and hardy plants, including evergreen, trailing wild strawberries. They soften the grid of plant textures, rusted steel plates and concrete that make up the […]

Spring is beginning. This week I saw the first snowdrop open, stopped me in my tracks. If anyone ever wonders why I’m running late..
They were growing above a little stone wall in a garden I like on 9th. I’ve been checking my favorite neighborhood gardens to see how things survived the unusually cold and icy […]

Vitis sp.
VITACEAE, The Grape family
This is the time of year to plant bare root vines and fruit trees. One advantage is that they are cheaper than a potted plant. Plus when they are dormant they aren’t as stressed by being transplanted.
These are the grape varieties that arrived at the garden center. I’d like […]

About 22 plants are vying for plant of the day today. I’m working on the display garden for the 2009 Yard, Garden and Patio show and have been all over collecting sweet little plants out of grower’s greenhouses. I believe I heard my dear colleague exclaim ‘Now that’s a cutie-patootie!’ over a dozen times today. […]