Storm in the Garden

12 06 2011

A storm swept through the garden last Sunday, shredding young leaves and flower buds without mercy. No wind, fortunately, but the pea-sized hail bombarded the garden for at least 20 minutes, leaving the lawn a flooded mess and many of the garden stalwarts in a shocked, tattered state.

The  Pacific Waterleaf, native to the PNW, took the brunt of the storm and much of it was reduced to a lacy pattern.


The Hydrangeas, already weeks behind last year’s flowering schedule were battered, the leaves torn in half or severely pockmarked.

Even the tough corrugated-leafed Big Daddy Hostas were ripped and masticated by the hail.

Amazingly some plants made it through with little damage. My new favorite young rhododendron continues to put on a good show, the blooms quite resilient to the storm, the leaves not so much.

A young Geum coccineum “Borisii” also escaped the worst and is now adding some fiery orange cheer in the sunniest part of the garden.

And a glossy leafed, first-time bloomer, is providing some interest beside Tlaloc, “God of the front garden”. Wish I knew what this plant is, the tag is long gone :-(

Yes, I’m fortunate. The damage could have been much worse.





Fresh and Springlike

2 04 2011

The garden is awakening at great speed. Almost every day now, something “new” re-emerges or leafs out, adding fresh greens and pinks to a soggy gray landscape.

Today, I spent some time raking stray pine needles, pulling the odd weed, and collecting twigs and branches that dropped from the tree canopy over the Winter. It was wonderful to be outside and not get rained on, even if the temperature was shy of fifty.

Here’s what I saw:

Narcissus

Camellia japonica — wish I knew which variety

Another unknown variety of Camellia

Acer palmatum “Orido Nishiki”

Acer palmatum “Oregon Sunset”

By next weekend, the white Bleeding Heart I planted last year will probably be blooming. Looking forward to that!

 





A Winter Blast

24 02 2011

This morning, Mother Nature surprised us here in the Portland area. At 200 feet above sea level, we had this:

A light dusting of snow by any standard; a “treat” for us in the temperate NW. No real snow to shovel, and the kids got a “snow day”.

More snow and freezing temperatures are expected in the next few days.

Call me a wimp, or whatever; I’m heading back into hibernation :-(





Emerging from Hibernation

8 02 2011

It’s official!

I’ve emerged from hibernation and am back in the garden, energized for another long gardening season here in the Pacific Northwest.

Truth be told, I’ve been out and about in the garden most of the Winter, in my new plaid “wellies”, chucking a frisbee for Lexi, our rescue corgi. She’s such a happy puppy when somebody plays frisbee with her. It’s hard not to respond when she drops a frisbee or ball by your feet.

Lexi, Frisbee Dog with soil encrusted nose…

Last Saturday, with the frisbee flying over the leaf strewn pathways, the assertive fragrance of sweet boxwood reminded me that Spring is just around the corner. Over behind one of the wrought iron garden benches, the Diane Witch Hazel was in full orange-y bloom; it’s fragrance overpowered by the boxwood. Out by the front door the Hellebores were putting on a little show cheering up a patch of rain-trodden soil. Blooms are fewer than last year, despite a liberal application of steer manure in the Fall. (Shhhsh, don’t tell the dogs about the manure. They would surely investigate when next out the front.)  The flower stalks also seem more prone to breakage, a problem I don’t recall last year.

Sweet Boxwood

Diane Witch Hazel

Hellebore, variety unknown

To keep the Hellebores company, I took a trip to a favorite garden center to pick up some primroses. Those perfect little flowers never fail to lift my spirits and make me all a-tizzy for Spring blooms of any kind. The yellow primroses transport me back to my childhood in Ireland when we used to make necklaces from the wild variety on the long way home from school, through the fields. An old abandoned limestone quarry was the absolute best place to find bunches of flowers nestled into the crevices, in the company of wild Creeping Phlox, and something we called “Pincushion Plant”.  Just magic!

Anyway, the primroses are in the ground and the Spring flowering bulbs inches above the soil. It’s only a matter of days before the first crocus blooms! Yipee!

The flip side is there’s so much to do and little time to waste.  The first major task of my gardening year is to remove the heavy blanket of pine needles and leaves which threaten to smother the smaller plants and trees in the garden. I’ve cleared two small beds as a warm-up. The rest of the garden awaits.

What’s your first task of the gardening season?








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