Falling in Love Again

I recently visited Oregon Small Trees, the destination of the June Random Acts of Gardening nursery tour (you have until June 15 to register for the tour). Not surprisingly—because it happens every time I visit—I fell in love with several of his dwarf and compact conifers. Impulsively I made a purchase, and practiced restraint by only bringing two home.

This was the first time I'd seen Larix kaempferi 'Wolterdingen,' a dwarf, fluffy form of Larch. Mine was "born" in 2008 and is about 12 inches tall. Iseli Nursery's Web site describes it this way:

A compact, spreading Japanese Larch, this attractive plant provides exceptional seasonal interest for tight landscapes and rock gardens. In early spring, soft, new, blue-green needles emerge and continue to decorate the delicate mound through the growing season. In fall, needles change to rich yellow before they fall to show off ornamental, reddish brown branches with scales reminiscent of an armadillo's armor. Discovered in a park in Wolterdingen, Germany in 1970, by G. Horstmann.

I loved the way the branches seem to spiral around the trunk. Now I just need to find the perfect spot for it.

The second conifer that now needs a home in my garden is Abies lasiocarpa arizonica 'Glauca Compacta,' a mouthful for a beautiful blue, soft-needled fir (common name: Dwarf Blue Alpine Fir). I've admired this conifer for more than a year and purchased two as gifts for other people. I thought it was time for my garden to be adorned with its blueness. This fir was first "stuck" in a pot at Oregon Small Trees in 2003 and is under three feet tall and about 18 inches wide. It's very huggable if you enjoy close interactions with plants, which of course, I do. It should top out around eight feet, but will take awhile to get to that size.

Once in the ground, I'll have to figure out what companion plants will complement these new additions to my garden. To help with that, I plan to attend a Joy Creek Nursery workshop with Don Howse, a conifer expert and owner of Porterhowse Farms and Arboretum . (You absolutely should visit the Arboretum…and take a picnic. It's a beautiful spot.) The June 13 class is titled "Dwarf Conifers and Their Companions" and should be very helpful. To learn more about Joy Creek's extensive seminar offerings, visit their Web site.

What plants have you fallen in love with this year?

Anticipation!

I planted several Clematis around the base of an old and very tall mock orange (Philadelphus). The shrub looks a little forlorn until it leafs out fully and blooms, which, serendipitously, happens during summer solstice. Until then, it's just a woody, awkward shrub that is front and center in my back garden. Hoping to spice it up a bit and give it some interest before and after it blooms, I planted three different varieties of Clematis around its base.

This year, the jewel in my garden is Clematis 'Josephine.' Having planted it about three years ago, it is now weaving its way through the mock orange to about 8-10 feet tall, right at eye level as I descend the stairs to my garden below. In past years, I don't remember its blooms, but that all changed this year. POW! One day I was heading down the stairs and saw lots of 1-1/2 inch tightly balled buds. Each day, I kept watch as the buds opened because I couldn't remember what the full flower was going to look like. Honestly, I can't remember another flower I've waited to open with such anticipation. And I'm not being disappointed. Tight full buds to day-by-day, slowly unfurling frilly flowers. The descriptions of Josephine on the Web remind me that the petals fall away to leave fluffy centers. I can't believe my good fortune...and I'm so glad I gave into the impulse to purchase this variety (I think I bought it at Cornell Farms. I took this photo the morning of May 24.

According to Heronswood's Web site, Josephine is an introduction of Raymond J. Evison, renowned breeder of clematis. I love its description of her: "Sporting an elaborate form and unusual coloring, each bloom begins as a compressed ball of thin petals before bursting and fluffing into a gigantic pom-pom in swirling tones of pink, green and ivory. Given more sun, the color tends to wander towards lilac pink. A rare, lovely and surprising specimen, like something out of a Victorian fairy tale." How can you beat that!

Share with us the plants you await with great anticipation. Photos can be emailed to info@oan.org and we'll include them in a future Random Acts of Gardening posting. Please include the name of the plant and if you know where you bought it, share that with us, too.

Goings On

Garden centers, nurseries and garden tours are gearing up for peak season with lots of educational opportunities and garden tours in the coming months. We mentioned a few garden tours in our last newsletter but we have a few more items of interest to share with our fellow gardeners:

Wednesday, June 23, 4-6pm — An Afternoon with Adrian Bloom at Al's Garden Center. Al's Sherwood location is hosting longtime nurseryman, author, and president of Blooms of Bressingham Nursery in Norfolk, England. [Blooms of Bressingham introduced Geranium 'Rozanne', named 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year.] Adrian will talk about his "less can often be more" philosophy of planting and will focus on a short (12) list of ornamental grasses and perennials that can create year-round drama in the garden. The event is FREE, however, registration is required. Register online at www.als-gardencenter.com or call Al's in Sherwood at 503-726-1162.

Saturday, June 26 — BBQ Class at the Oregon Olive Mill (Red Ridge Farms). Caprial and John Pence of Caprial and John's Kitchen (and former hosts of a nationally syndicated public broadcasting cooking show) will demonstrate BBQ techniques, pairing the nursery's own olive oil and Durant Vineyard wines with the food. Limited seating. Fee. Call and reserve your space today at 503-864-2200. Includes a 10% discount on all products on day of class.

Saturday, June 26, 9am-5pm — Oregon Coast Gardening and Landscaping Expo. A benefit for Samaritan House Family Shelter, you'll find plants, seminars, garden art and more. Newport Middle School, 825 N.E. 7th Street, Newport, Ore. Visit www.oregoncoastgardeningexpo.com/index.html for more information. Admission $5.

Sunday, June 27, noon-6pm — 2010 Central Coast Secret Garden Tour & Garden Party. A self-guided tour of private gardens in Gleneden Beach and Salishan Spit. Food, wine, live music and art auction. Tickets are $20 and available at the Oregon Coast Gardening and Landscaping Expo information booth (see calendar entry above) or by calling 541-574-8898.

Saturday, July 10, 10am-4pm — Orenco Station Tour of Secret Gardens, a fundraiser for The Oregon Food Bank and Loaves and Fishes. Twelve gardens within walking distance of each other, and an easy stroll from Orenco Station Max station. Lots of free parking. Other exhibits include local artists, Metro, Garden Clubs, Master Gardeners and lemonade stands. Tickets ($10) are available on the day of the tour at N.E. Cornell and Orenco Station Parkway in Hillsboro.

Saturday, July 10 and Sunday, July 11 — Oregon Lavender Festival. If you’ve never visited a fresh lavender field or sampled treats made with lavender you are in for a treat; dozens of different lavender destinations open their doors so that visitors can experience lavender firsthand. Many destinations have live music, classes and even massages - this is a great way to relax and have fun! www.oregonlavenderfestival.com/festival.htm

To share other garden-related events with our readers, email us at info@oan.org.

Knee Jerk Reactions

By Gardennia nutii
I had an experience last week which is applicable to many avenues in life. When telling a friend about my new puppy arrival she stated obstinately that she "didn't like" that breed and ended the discussion before I could tell her all the cute things about him. I'm a dog lover by nature, and while I haven't owned even a fraction of the dog breeds, I know that there are good and bad "apples" in every batch and dogs of all breeds are awesome if they are provided the correct environment. Some may be better suited to their owners depending on size and other characteristics, but in general, dogs are great.

This experience got me thinking about plants (as most things do). There are several plants to which I've had negative knee jerk reactions, but once my mind opened up, I have come to appreciate them in my yard.

First example: rhododendrons. At my old house, I had some very overgrown, poorly shaped and misplaced rhododendrons. Every year, I lost the battle to improve them and my taste for the plant soured. When I moved to my current home, my first reaction to several rhododendrons was "rip them out!" Well...I didn’t get around to ripping them out, and for this I'm glad because after seeing them in context for a few years, I decided that only two were in opposition of the overall setting I was trying to create. The rest, given some care, are now playing a vital role in my yard.

The second example: juniper. There was one house on the street where I grew up that had a basketball hoop, All the kids would gather there at least once a week to play ball. Invariably, the basketball would end up in the huge patch of junipers and we all suffered scratches and bruises as the result of fetching the ball from that patch. So when I inherited two huge junipers at my current house, my initial reaction was "rip them out!" But as you have guessed by now, I didn't get around to it and have come to love the juniper variety in my yard. I haven't yet identified the exact cultivar, but these small trees are graceful, airy, and add a beautiful year round backdrop for my other plants.

Let this be a lesson to all of us: open our minds and reap the rewards. Whether it is plants, pets, or politicians, we’d be best served to keep an even head and understand fully what opportunities are in front of us.

Do you have a "knee jerk reaction" plant you've come to love? Let us know!

Woefully Lacking Butterflies

I want more butterflies in my garden so I’m embarking on the Butterfly Bed & Breakfast Challenge! I’d love it if you’d join me.

Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Log House Plants, a wholesale grower of very cool plants located in Cottage Grove, is introducing a Butterfly Bed & Breakfast program because they want to see more butterflies in our gardens and fields. I couldn’t agree more, but it turns out, I don’t offer many “hotel” options for these “flying flowers,” as Alice Doyle, co-owner of the nursery, calls them. I also need to determine how many nectar plants I’m offering. Thus the challenge to you—should you choose to accept—and me to plant more butterfly host and nectar plants so we can become popular destinations for these beautiful insects.

I learned a lot about butterflies and their lifecycles while reading the information on the nursery’s Web site and talking to Alice:

• There are 160 butterflies native to Cascadia, the area west of the Cascades between Vancouver, BC, and San Francisco.

• There are only a few, sometimes only one, species of host plant that young caterpillars of each butterfly species can safely eat, and they often eat only one part of the plant. Host plants contain the precise chemical properties essential to make caterpillars a distasteful snack for their predators,

• The female butterfly searches for the host plant by testing them with specialized tasting hairs on her legs. [Editor’s note: gasp!]

• Caterpillars outgrow their skins, shedding them up to six times depending on the species. Each time they shed their skin, they change a little, becoming hairier, often changing color, and sometimes growing spines and horns, as they mature.

• Butterflies fly on sunny days with temperatures above 60° F. and are most active above 80° F. On overcast days and during the night, they often roost on tall weeds and in the tops of shrubs and small trees. When it rains, they may shelter under leaves and in clumps of plants.

• Group host plants rather than planting singularly. Planting three or five of each variety increases the chances that the female will find the plants.

• We should tidy our gardens selectively, even in winter, protecting places where butterflies, chrysalides, caterpillars, and eggs might be taking refuge.

• Butterflies need water and mineral salts, which why you’ll see them in muddy depressions.

Eliminating the use of herbicides and pesticides in our gardens is an important step to extending native butterfly habitat. Log House Plants recommends two books on butterflies, both written by Robert Michael Pyle: The National Audobon Society’s Field Guide to North American Butterflies and the Handbook for Butterfly Watchers.

Download Log House Plant’s beautiful color artwork of 29 butterflies and their caterpillars and the list of related host plants. Spread the word and share these tools with your kids, neighbors, family members and fellow gardeners.



» Butterfly Bed & Breakfast Varieties List
» Butterfly Hosting Plants
» Beautiful Color Artwork of 29 Butterflies and their Caterpillars

To find retailers that might carry Log House Plant’s Butterfly B&B plants, visit their Web site, but call ahead first to make sure they have them in stock. Alice told me Portland Nursery has the largest selection right now in the Portland area; Jerry’s Home Improvement Center in Eugene and Springfield are carrying the largest selection in Oregon at the moment. Shopping at nurseries that carry or specialize in native plants is also an option.

Will you join me in planting more butterfly host plants? I’ll let you know how my garden progresses on this challenge.

Aquatic Plants Of The Year

First we announced the 2011 Perennial of the Year to you (Amsonia hubrichtii). Then came the 2010 Hosta of the Year (‘First Frost’). Now it’s time to share with you the 2010 aquatic plant selections.

Each year, the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) asks aquatic plant experts from around the world to consult on water garden plants with desirable traits. Many factors are considered in this selection: tendency to bloom prolifically, reliability, beauty, consistency, broad appeal, availability, and vigor. Most years (no winners were announced in 2008 or 2009), a marginal plant, a hardy waterlily and a tropical waterlily are selected for special recognition. They recently announced three choices for Aquatic Plants of the Year for 2010: Zebra Rush (Scirpus zebrinus), Laydekari Fulgens waterlily and Jennifer Rebecca tropical waterlily.

The Nymphaea 'Laydekeri Fulgens' hybrid was a Marliac nursery introduction in 1893. The French Impressionist painter, Claude Monet bought the lilies that are now at his beautiful garden at Giverny from Marliac. Apparently, the vast majority of the hybrid hardy water lilies sold commercially today are of Marliac origin from the tiny French village of Lot-et-Garonne. ‘Laydekeri Fulgens’ is one of the most floriferous, long-blooming, hardy waterlilies in existence. Cherry red blossoms about 4 to 6 inches in diameter are enjoyed all summer long against dark green leaves. Six to eight hours of sun is recommended. It is hardy from Zone 4 to 9 [or Zones 3-11, depending on the source].

Zebra Rush is a hardy marginal with tall, narrow, cylindrical stems horizontally banded with white. Easily grown, it is hardy from Zone 4 to 9 and is famous for its showy foliage. [Editor’s note: several online references, including Proven Winners Web site, suggests hardiness is Zone 5-11.] It grows to about 4 feet. Plant in sun or partial shade. Zebra Rush also can be grown in well-watered containers as a striking upright accent.





Nymphaea ‘Jennifer Rebecca’ is considered to be one of the best night-blooming tropical waterlilies, staying open from early evening until mid-morning (or perhaps longer on an overcast day). Blooms of fuchsia-red are 6 to 8 inches across and rise well above the water. Its red-bronze leaves provide a striking accent and create visual appeal during daylight hours. Zone 8 or higher.

For more information and past aquatic plant of the year winners, visit the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society website www.iwgs.org.