BLOOMTOWN

Front Yard Veggies Article in Fine Gardening Magazine

I'm thrilled to announce that my latest article, Front Yard Veggies, is out in the current issue of Fine Gardening Magazine (May/June 2011).

In the article I talk about the design process involved in the making of this highly visible front yard vegetable garden in NE Portland, Oregon. This vegetable garden is fully integrated with the rest of the ornamental garden that runs along the front of my client's property. I thought it would be fun to show some additional photos of this garden to give a sense of how the vegetable garden relates to the whole.

First here's an overview shot taken in late July when the garden is at its peak. The vegetable garden is to the left of the driveway, behind a street-side ornamental garden bed. (Click on the image to enlarge).

The raised beds are created with steel flat bar. Steel is one of the few materials (that I know of) that allows for the inclusion of curves in a bed design such as this one. When using steel for edging beds over longer or straight runs, you can typically set the steel flat bar into the desired shape manually. But the interior arc on these beds was significant enough that we needed to send it out to a steel fabricator to "roll" the steel into the smooth interior curves you see here.

I'm particularly fond of gravel for the floor of the vegetable garden -- especially when paired with the steel. I like the clean and tidy look it contributes and it captures heat well.

Also in the front garden, just a few steps to the right from the perspective of the first photo, is a robust mixed border with rich, textural plantings flanking a walkway to this lovely front porch. 

The garden continues; book-ended on the far right by this venerable magnolia.

But wait there's more! A custom gate leads to a back yard garden that features plantings that are an intricate, yet surprisingly simple and soothing, arrangement of unique as well as common plants; creating a tapestry of color and bloom that unfolds and changes season after season.

Hope you enjoyed the tour! To read more about this garden and its construction, be sure to pick up the current issue of Fine Gardening Magazine. More photos of this garden and others can be found in my portfolio.

Credits and Thanks

Garden Design and Garden Coaching -- Darcy Daniels, Bloomtown Gardens, www.bloomtown.net ... that's me!

Garden construction, masonry and fabrication of the steel raised beds was done by Pete Wilson Stoneworks. 

The lovely art glass piece pictured on page 63, a central feature in the garden, was commissioned by my clients and was made by the very talented local artisans, Greg Gabel and Mia Meyers.

Trovo Design/Bob Thomas added the dragonfly and repainted the client's existing gate as part of this garden's renovation.

I'm especially thankful for my clients' willingness to allow me share their garden with you all -- thank you Kristan and Ben Sias!

Go By Train! ... to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show

"Go By Train" indeed! At the moment it seems a distant memory, with spring weather now well under way, but a couple of weeks ago, I was planning to drive to Seattle with my friend, Erin for our annual trek to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, but severe weather and snowstorms were forecasted that threatened to muck up travel up and down I-5. So at the last minute, we booked a couple of seats on Amtrak.

As it turned out, we saw very little snow from the cozy interior of the train, but it was nice to know that there was at least some snow here and there, in order to justify our trepidation for traveling by car.

I know, I know, a lot of people take the train to the show every year, so it's not a new idea, but it was a first for me, and I have to say that I'm a convert. Even though my friend is usually the driver, I found this to be such a comfortable and relaxing way to go. Very spacious. Free WiFi. Coffee, drinks and snacks. The only downside was that it forced us to be pretty careful about our purchases once we got to the show, because we had to figure out how to get everything home. In the big scheme of things, having some discipline imposed can be a good thing, at least for my pocketbook. I did still manage to shop -- bulbs, tubers and bare root plants pack quite nicely in a suitcase!

On the way up we took the Cascades route, opting to travel in the more spacious business class for a slight up-charge. On the return leg, we took the Coast Starlight to Portland. It's an especially pleasant ride in the observation car -- light, bright and airy. After a late lunch and a glass of wine in the dining car, voila! we're home.

All in all a great way to go  -- I'll definitely consider doing it again next year. 

Darcy Daniels of Bloomtown Gardens featured in Sunset March 2011

Darcy Daniels of Bloomtown Gardens has a client garden featured on page 46 of the current issue of Sunset Magazine (March 2011).  Follow the link to see additional photos of this garden or take a moment to review this portfolio of gardens Darcy has designed.

Update on Hellebore Open Garden Day at Northwest Garden Nursery

I had a really great time on our excusion to Northwest Garden Nusery yesterday. It was my first time attending this annual hellebore love-fest hosted by Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne at Northwest Garden Nursery, which is located on the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon. My travel-mates, who were veterans of the event, made sure we were on the road plenty early from Portland in order to get there well ahead of the scheduled opening time. Even so, it would be an understatement to say that we weren't the first to arrive, not by a long shot. Shoulder to shoulder in a greenhouse packed with plants, a small crowd was already on site, milling around ogling the myriad of pretty hellebores and jockeying for positions next to their favorites so that when the official word came down that the sale was open, they could snap up their first picks. This crowd of hellebore enthusiasts was festive and good-natured, conducting itself in a very sportsmanlike fashion, in keeping with the spirit of the event.

Seemingly within minutes, the crowd's focus shifted from the frenzy of selecting plants to the forming an orderly queue for processing thier purchases.  

This lovely single is one of the many outstanding hydrids available.

One of the many hellebore hybrids growing in the gardens surrounding the nursery.

The nursery's Hellebore Open Garden Days continues through 5 pm today (Sun, Feb. 20th) and will be repeated next weekend, February 26 and 27th, 10 am - 5 pm. 

Chusquea gigantea

A recent post by Jim McCausland on the Sunset blog, Fresh Dirt, inspired me to dig up this photo of Chusquea gigantea. What I like about this clumping bamboo is that it has the most bamboo-like qualities of the clumpers. (Unlike the running bamboo species, clumpers grow more slowly and in an easily contained growth habit. You can learn more about the clumpers on the Bamboo Garden website.)

The culms have a certain architectural oomph which is often what draws people to bamboo in the first place. This effect can be enhanced by removing the lowest foliage and thinning the canes on an annual basis.

To me, some of the other clumping bamboos read as big arching grasses in the garden, which can be lovely, but if you're looking for a plant with all the goodness of bamboo without the containment hassles check out Chusquea gigantea.

Yard, Garden and Patio Show Coupon

The 2011 Yard, Garden and Patio show is taking place this upcoming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Convention Center in Portland, Oregon (February 18-20, 2011). Garden show season is about to go into full swing and in my mind this show is the kick-off event. 

Save $2 off admission when you print this coupon.

Hellebore Road Trip to Northwest Garden Nursery

It's been several years since I've made it down to Marietta and Ernie O'Bryne's Northwest Garden Nursery.  The photos below are from a trip to the garden in 2005. It will be fun to see the inevitable changes and developments.

Generally open only by appointment, the nursery also hosts annual Hellebore Open Days, the first of which is this Saturday the 19th. You can find all of their 2011 dates here.  I'm heading down this Saturday with friends to see if I can score a few choice additions for my gardens.  They're "it" in terms of hellebore breeding with the masterful hybridizing they've accomplished with this beautiful, garden-worthy perennial. I'm sure I won't have a problem finding a treasure or two to tote home.  

One of their lovely double flowering hybrids

But there's more to see in the garden than hellebores! The overall garden is gorgeous. And it's tops in terms of wonderful wintertime structure too -- as evidenced in this photo that was taken mid-February in 2005.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart'

 

In honor of Valentine's day I offer up this lovely combo of heart and stars -- a golden bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Goldheart')  with Omphalodes cappadocica 'Starry Eyes' at its feet.

Cherry Tree Silhouette on Misty Morning at Elk Rock Garden

And because it was hard to choose which image to post ... here's another. This cherry tree silhouette in the morning mist was taken on that same morning at the Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop's Close in Portland, Oregon. 

Misty Morning at Elk Rock Garden at Bishop's Close

This photo was taken several years ago on a misty morning, not unlike the morning we're having today, at the Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop's Close in Portland, Oregon.  If you live in, or are planning a visit to the Portland area this private garden is open to the public daily year-round and is a delight to visit any time of the year though I especially enjoy the garden in winter.