BLOOMTOWN

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. 

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. 

Weather this time last year? Snow, believe it or not.

This photo was taken March 9, 2009. Almost impossible to imagine that at this time last year we were having a snow flurry. Recent forecasts have hinted at the possibility of this happening again. Gauging by weather at this moment, I remain dubious.

Narcissus 'Minnow'

Season to season there can be quite a bit of variance in terms of when plants bloom. Since I take a lot of photos, I was able to look through some past years and find this example which confirmed my suspicions that some plants are indeed blooming later this year.

Narcissus 'Minnow' on March 16, 2005; in its full glory.

The same bulb this year. Photo taken today March 10, 2009; buds are barely beginning to show. There's no way it'll make it to the stage of the upper photo in the next six days.

White Christmas in Portland, Oregon

Happy holidays to you & yours!

The snow just keeps coming down here in Portland. This photo taken just moments ago ...

More Snow Photos Bloomtown Dec 2008

They're reporting this is most snow we've seen in Portland in December since 1968. Yup, seems 'bout right.

 

Needless to say, we're not really using the front door right now. There's easily over a foot at the front door.

Spots of color, like this snow-covered ornament, really stand out.

 

The lovely bark on my crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia x 'Zuni' on the right in this picture) really stands out in the snow.

 

Don't see this everyday; a cross country skier cruising along NE 47th.

 

It's really piling up in the back garden. Cozy though. Sit for a spell?

Prominent in the photo to the  left is a yew (Taxus x 'Sentinalis) that is normally very strongly upright that was splaying under the weight of this snow. I went out this morning and shook the snow off this and some of my other evergreens this morning (well, as best as I could at least).  If we get ice after this snow I worry that it will break under the strain.

The kitchen garden is to the right.

Winter Weather Photo Update

Here's a few shots taken in the garden today. Still very cold here; 22.5 degrees as of this posting. The garden under this blanket of snow is lovely, but next up ... freezing rain is likely. Yuk.

The front garden. Our entry walk is under there somewhere.

Also in the front garden.

Callicarpa b. 'Profusion'

The front sidewalk.

Determining the effect of this cold snap on garden will take time

I have a tendency to experiment quite a bit in my garden, pushing the boundaries of hardiness and/or growing a plant just so I can get a better sense of how it will behave in my garden. Because I often push the hardiness boundary, I often make some special efforts in terms of protecting some of my favorites. 

I garden a lot in containers so that allows me to move those plants to cover relatively easily. For instance earlier this week I took quite a few plants to my greenhouse at the nursery. Even though it is unheated, I hope that it will offer some protection and limit the foliar damage that some of my evergreen plants would sustain if left to their own defenses outside. I’ve got a small utility room (no garage) attached to my studio and I’ve got that jammed full of plants as well. As I was prepping for the cold, I kept finding plants that I thought would benefit from some extra protection and at the last minute I even stuffed plants into the back of my pickup truck under the canopy. Yet in spite of these efforts, I will likely suffer some losses this year.

For instance, one plant that I’m particularly curious (OK, I guess I mean anxious) about at this moment is my Euphorbia stygiana. This striking evergreen euphorbia has lent an exotic, almost tropical flair to my garden for about 3 years. In this short time it has grown to mammoth proportions; an anchor in my garden and easily one of my most asked about plants.  It‘s way too large and awkward to cover with a frost cloth or sheet. To be honest, this fall I even had my eye on it as a candidate for some pretty major pruning this spring because it was getting a bit big for the space. I hope I’ll still have reason to do that this spring. Or perhaps Mother Nature will have done my pruning for me. I can imagine it being killed to the ground or at least taking a fair amount of damage, but I'm betting it would come back from the root. Only one thing for sure … it’ll take some time before the fate of my Euphorbia stygiana is clear. As Kym Pokorny advised earlier today …we’ll need to be patient for now.

More on Portland Weather ...

In addition to my previous post, the Oregonian’s Kym Pokorny has written a helpful post on preparing your garden for this cold snap as well. She makes an excellent point; focus on your favorites and do what you can, but keep it manageable. I’d add, be strategic in choosing what to defend … expensive and/or difficult to replace?  Protect that first.

And remember some of the plants that I mentioned in my previous post (phormium, in particular) will likely come through the cold snap just fine; they’ll just suffer less cosmetic damage if they’re given a little extra protection.

Good luck. Oh, and if it happens to snow in addition to all this coldness, don't forget to enjoy it!