Room with a View

By Gardennia nutti
I recently read an article which brought up a valid point: very often we (gardeners) design our landscapes for outside viewing when in fact most of our viewing pleasure occurs inside through a window pane. Even hard-core plant nerds aren’t outside every day, and designing a garden which doesn’t take into account an inside vantage point is missed opportunity.

Reading the article made me understand a recent decision I’d made. You see, about two years ago I purchased an amazing pot for my yard and proceeded to place it in the best vantage point for my neighbors. They were thrilled of course! “Wow – what a beautiful pot – I enjoy looking at it while I sit in my living room.” As luck would have it I was forced to move my lovely pot this summer in preparation for some foundation work. I moved it to a location that by accident was perfectly viewable from my living room, and after months of enjoying the new view, decided it would stay put. About a month ago one of my neighbors asked “where is that lovely pot? I miss seeing it.” My response: “It’s still here, just moved a bit so I could see it. How about joining me for a glass of wine in the living room? At the very least you’ll enjoy the view.”

Young Gardeners Abound....

By Gardennia nutti
The other night I was at a pub with some plant nerd friends showing off a cool new catalogue filled with “exotic” veggies I wanted to grow. After setting down our pints of Twisted Thistle, our young waitress pointed to a picture of the Walking Stick Kale (Brassica oleracea var. longata) we’d just been discussing and said: “I planted that last year, great tasting and beautiful in my yard. Enjoy your beer.” We were dumb struck. How can a table full of plant nerds get trumped by a college student? After my ego rebounded I felt great joy knowing a young gardener was connecting to the land with fun, edible plants. The edible trend, it seems, is doing more than providing fresh veggies and fruit; it’s shaping a new generation of gardeners.

At the end of the evening our young gardener gave me a tip: “go home and check out the Fennel & Fern blog, it’s my favorite”. Her tip ended up being a true gift, it’s one of the most beautiful and fun sites I’ve seen in a while. It has given me new insights into gardening, and relief to know that a passion for plants continues.

Why Can I Eat Rhubarb Stems But Not The Leaves?

By Gardennia nutti
Last weekend while finishing up a dinner party with some lovely strawberry-rhubarb pie, a friend asked, “Why can I eat rhubarb stems but not the leaves?” Well...I was stumped…but the question made me curious enough to drive me to the PC after the party broke up (with another slice of pie in hand, of course). It turns out that rhubarb leaves and stems both contain oxalic acid. The leaves have a higher concentration of the acid than the stems. Apparently, we have several metal ions in our body that perform important functions. Oxalic acid combines with these metals and removes them from our systems. Most notable of these vital metals is calcium. (Calcium is an alkaline earth metal – yet another learning from my friend’s question.)

Investigating this question led to other random information about oxalic acid and rhubarb I thought you’d enjoy:
- Turns out that rhubarb is a mild laxative (our body’s way of clearing out this toxin before too much can be absorbed).
- Many plants contain oxalic acid such as spinach, black pepper, tomatoes, cabbage, and chocolate.
- Oxalic acid is used by plants to keep insects from eating the fruit until it’s ready to drop. (So, not only are vine ripened tomatoes better tasting, the fruit is much less likely to still contain oxalic acid).
- Calcium oxalate (oxalic acid + calcium) turns into crystals. If these crystals grow large, they can block the tubules in the kidneys (calcium oxalate is found in kidney stones).
- If you drink a glass of milk while eating rhubarb (or spinach) you get a “gritty feel” in your mouth. That “grit” is the calcium oxalate that has formed.

Want to know about oxalic acid? Check out this Web site:
everyday-chemistry.suite101.com/article.cfm/rhubarb_and_other_poisons.

Miniature Plants Used in Train Garden Offer Inspiration for Gardeners with Small Spaces

Almost two years in the making, The Oregon Garden’s new Train Garden officially opened on October 27, 2009. Dwarf conifers and other mini plants adorn the rugged route that the miniature “G” scale Southern Pacific diesel-style engine takes through The Oregon Garden.

“We wanted to add a more active element to the Children’s Garden that would put our miniature plants in context for the kids,” said Jeff Pera, assistant horticulture manager for The Oregon Garden. “We also see the miniature plants as inspiration for people who are planting in small spaces, such as patios or balconies.”

The train, which may be seen in operation daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., consists of a diesel-style engine, two boxcars, two flat cars and a caboose. It is about one-twentieth the size of an actual early 1970s Southern Pacific train that did run through Oregon’s Silverton region at one time.

Plants used in the train garden:

• Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nanus’— Dwarf mondo grass is a miniature grass that resembles popularly used ornamental grasses. It grows in a small clump and stays about three to four inches tall.
  
  
• Ulmus parvifolia ‘Hokkaido’— This dwarf Chinese elm gives the impression of a full-sized elm tree. It is deciduous and only grows two the three feet tall.
  
  
• Calluna vulgaris ‘White Crown’ and C. v. ‘Dark Beauty’— These heathers look like landscape shrubs in comparison to the other plants. They also bloom and add nice color.

Other plants used include dwarf and miniature conifers such as Picea glauca ‘Haal’; Abies balsamea ‘Nana’; Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Plumosa Compressa'; and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Treasure Island’. These conifers were chosen because they are slow growers, they don’t grow taller than four feet, and they are evergreen, which achieves the desired “forest” look.

Right Tree, Right Place – Natives Versus Non-Natives

I spent the earlier part of this week at a national urban forestry conference in Portland trying to understand the issues the nation’s urban foresters face in expanding, preserving and maintaining our urban tree canopy. Individually and as a group, they are passionate about trees and the benefits trees offer our communities. Their work is challenging in the best circumstances; in our current economic environment, they rely heavily on non-profit organizations and their volunteers to help with tree plantings. In the Portland area, Friends of Trees is an essential partner in the expansion of our urban forest.

The appropriate use of natives versus non-native trees came up in several of the breakout sessions. I happen to land on the side of combining natives and “introduced” cultivars. The fact is, natives prefer certain habitats and our urban environments aren’t always conducive to their health and survival. What’s your view on this issue?

A new resource is available to help us understand what factors our urban foresters consider to find the right tree for the right place. I thought it might be of interest to you. On the Oregon Department of Forestry Web site, look under publications for “Tree Choices: Native, Non-Native, Invasive: the terms can be relative,” or click on www.oregon.gov/ODF/URBAN_FORESTS/docs/
Natives_vs_Nonnatives.pdf.

Plant Envy: Cotinus ‘Grace’

By Gardennia nutti

I’m sure you’ve all experienced plant envy. It’s when you see a plant in several different locations over the course of many seasons and every fiber in your body says “I NEED that plant, I WANT that plant, just think how wonderful that would be in my yard!” Well…one of the plants I’ve drooled over for years is Cotinus ‘Grace’. Early spring leaves emerge deep red then mature into an iridescent reddish-blue-green. Summer brings pink florets up to fourteen inches high and twelve inches wide, thus earning it the ‘smoke tree’ common name. Fall brings glowing orange-red fall color (see photo for this color explosion).

Cotinus ‘Grace’ is hardy (USDA zones 5 to 9), loves the sun, is drought tolerant, and if you have the space will grow out gracefully without pruning (it can reach up to fifteen feet high and wide). The specimens I admire most are those allowed to spread their branches and grow naturally.

2009 was the year for me to realize my dream. I finally gathered the courage and strength to take out a dull, out-of-place, grossly overgrown rhododendron. In its place is Cotinus ‘Grace’.

For more information about this plant, visit one of my favorite websites - Great Plant Picks: http://www.greatplantpicks.org/

Mixing it Up—Natives, Nativars and Exotics

Barney, my adorable golden retriever, and I squeezed in a few walks in Forest Park between rain showers last week. Looking at the native plants that thrive along the hiking trails, I was once again inspired to add some natives to join my “exotic” ornamentals, this time in a newly planted shady area of the garden. I transplanted some Oxalis (Wood Sorrel) and added a chartreuse-leaved current (Ribes aureum, perhaps) and several variegated fringe cups (Tellima grandiflora ‘Forest Frost’). I also bought a bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) for the first time. The leaves and bright red berries on these plants smell like wintergreen (!), one of my favorite scents. I’m not certain my garden soil is rich or moist enough for it, but we’ll see what happens. I still want to add sword fern, Vancouveria, Maidenhair fern and wild ginger.

My tendency is to plant one or three of a variety because I’m a sucker for a wide variety of plants, but I think I should pause and heed Mother Nature’s planting plan by planting natives in larger swaths. I find the forest environment to be soothing so translating that to my garden makes sense, right?

Most garden centers carry native species. A few specialize in natives, including the following:

Willamette Gardens
3290 SW Willamette, Corvallis
541.754.0893
www.willamettegardens.com

Echo Valley Natives
18883 S Ferguson Rd., Oregon City
503.631.2451
www.echovalleynatives.com

Bosky Dell Natives Inc.
23311 SW Bosky Dell Ln., West Linn
503.638.5945
www.boskydellnatives.com

Looking at the list of native plant lists on the Web sites of these nurseries makes me realize that I have a fair number of natives and “nativars”* incorporated through my yard. Some I added specifically because they were natives, vine maple and milkweed, for example. Others were added because I thought they were great looking plants and they just happened to be natives (Scarlet Pearl snowberry comes to mind). What natives or “nativars” are in your garden?

* Lisa Albert introduced me to the term “nativar,” which is a cultivar of a native species. Lisa is a freelance garden writer and is knowledgeable about native plants. She authored the “Gardening with Native Plants” flashcards sold through The Berry Botanic Garden (www.berrybot.org/pubs/flashcard.html). Hopefully, “nativars” provide the same benefits to our native wildlife as the species, just with a few extra bells and whistles.