Leo Chance, Renegade Gardener

I'm really excited to check out the new book Cacti & Succulents For Cold Climates by Leo Chance, published by Timber Press. After falling under the spell of a cacti garden in San Diego in 1976 (happens to the best of us, happened to me here) Leo returned home to his Zone 5 garden in the Colorado Rockies and spent the next 30 years learning how to replicate the look in a wildly different climate.

His book has chapters on cold-hardi cacti varieties, how to site and water them in a cold (and/or wet) climate, and how to propagate them from seeds and cuttings (great!). I have a dry bed under my neighbor's eave that I hope to turn into a cacti garden over the next few years. Fellow Portlander Danger Garden has really given me the bug. Oh, and I've just clicked over to her blog and see that she wrote a wonderful review of Leo's new book just yesterday. Now I want to get my hands on a copy even more!

Photo from Leo Chance via Timber Press

You can find a fun interview with Leo Chance of the Timber Press blog here.

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Jardin d'enfants

These charming images were pinned by Eunice Do of What's Your Tale, Nightingale today and I couldn't resist sharing them. From an issue of Vogue Enfants from last Fall, they originally appeared on the blog A Lovely Being. Thanks for sharing these Fallon--they made my day. If I ever have kids, I'm totally going to make them wear straw hats and clogs and get to work!

Images via Vogue Enfants, a special publication of French Vogue, September 2011

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Outdoor Kitchen from Studiomama

Images courtesy of Studiomama

I harbor a lot of unrealized outdoor cooking fantasies (thanks Jamie Oliver) so when I saw this outdoor kitchen from Studiomama featured on Blogmilk today, naturally it fanned the flames of my desire. How fun would it be to pick some chard out of the garden, give it a quick wash in the tub (the used water being recycled into the watering can) and then saute it up on the burner with some shallots, garlic, and olive oil with some freshly picked tomatoes to go on top? Wouldn't I feel like a kitchen garden rock star?

And you know what's really cool? You can download the plans to build this beauty from the Studiomama website. For free!! I downloaded them and had a look and though my woodworking skills are limited to a picture frame I made in 5th grade and a couple frustrating Ikea projects, I am so smitten with this outdoor kitchen that I am thinking of giving it a go.

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An Urban Feed Store

The fabulous wall of seeds at Naomi's

The other day I was visiting a friend and she started telling me about this nursery that had recently moved into her neighborhood. She got more and more excited as she described it to me and next thing I know, we're in her car on our way to Naomi's Organic Farm Supply. It really IS about the cutest garden store I've ever seen, and Portland has its fair share of great ones. 

Naomi and friends

This place has personality and is totally approachable (look at their fun, homemade signage and displays!) but it's also well stocked for the more seasoned gardener who needs very specific soil amendments, hard-to-find seeds, chickens and animal feed, and books. 

They carry the wonderful Oregon-based Adaptive Seeds line from which I selected a packet of the mysterious Buddha's Hand Cosmos. Isn't she stunning?!

Buddha's Hand Cosmos from Adaptive Seeds

They also sell plants, a wonderful selection of edibles and otherwise. I will definitely be doing a lot of shopping here. 

Late Spring plants as featured on the blog

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Houseplant Envy

I'm so inspired by the home of photographer Simon Howell and jeweler Jessica Barensfeld featured on Freunde von Freunden. Look at their houseplants--they're everywhere! Mounted on the wall, hanging from ledges, on desks, on chairs, on the floor. Some people just have a way with houseplants and it's something I always struggle with. I really need to wise up to the idea of indoor gardening.

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Bloom Day 2012

Quite a few of my favorite garden blogs were posting these "bloom day" posts today. This is new to me, and not related to James Joyce's Bloomsday (which is June 16th) as I had assumed at first. It's still loads of fun though. It's an online event that's hosted by May Dreams Gardens where bloggers all over the world are invited to post photos of what's blooming in their gardens. Here are mine, from a person who thought they didn't have many flowers in their garden.

 My new purple lupine that I bought at the Hardy Plant Society sale this Spring. 

 Ginormous girly poppy in front of Artemisia Valerie Finnis.

 First year flower bud on my astilboides. Loving this plant!

 Hens and chicks. This has got to be the chick, right? So cute!

 Cerinthe, you just keep giving. 

 It seems a little early for my hardy gardenias to start blooming, but I'm not complaining.

 I spent the first 5 years cursing this creeping campanula and am now singing its praises. Not many things can look this good in dry shade. NOT for the low maintenance garden though--she requires several haircuts a year.

 My Black Lace black elderberry is so dreamy. Such a sophisticated AND romantic plant. 

 Himalayan honeysuckle. This plant is way underutilized in my opinion and I've recently learned that the dark red berries are edible and taste like chocolate. 

 Snaps in the veggie patch. I'm trying to grow more flowers in my veg garden this year to help ward off pests. 

Bi-color columbine. I won't hold it against her that she's common--no denying that beauty.

 Well, hello there. Aren't we orange? Seeds from the neighbor around the corner. It's so fun getting free plants and seeds from friends. I forgot I planted these and was eagerly awaiting Flemish poppy blooms all Spring, so it took me a while to adjust once THIS opened. But they sure are cheery AND they are the same color as my house.

 David Austin's Windermere Rose makes me swoon. If only it would last more than 30 minutes as a cut flower. Still, quite photogenic don't you think?

 Iceberg roses dancing with tiny feverfew flowers

 Pat Austin you flirt, showing up all the other roses as usual. 

 Too hot to handle? A new salvia. Not sure I can get down with this much pink. Might have to be relocated to a neighbor's yard. 

Giant white foxglove.

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Belle of Woking

Late last Summer something very exciting happened here. My Belle of Woking Clematis bloomed! After three years! Just when I was about to dig her up. And she was worth the wait, even though there was only one measly flower. I knew her reputation for being difficult when I first took up with her but I'd also heard tales of her immense beauty. Plus, my old Dad grew up in an orphanage in Woking (an interesting story if you're curious) so I really wanted to grow it for him so I could make lots of jokes about how his girl sure was looking fine today, etc.

Then in early Spring I noticed my plant was really taking off and lots and lots of BIG blossoms were forming. Until...

BAM! I thought the flower from last Fall was pretty but this one was incredible! So blousy and romantic and white as the driven snow. Incidentally, I have read that the blossoms are blue or lilac but as you can see mine are decidedly white with cream/yellow stamens. I'm in love.

Some info and tips on growing this variety:

1. It blooms on old growth but a light pruning after Spring's flowers are spent (mine is still blooming on June 14th here in Portland) may encourage the second bloom in late Summer/early Fall.

2. Mine is growing in a large terracotta pot on the north side of a lattice fence. This situation keeps the roots cool. I gave the plant a good topping of compost in early Spring and plan to do that again in late Summer. Some of the blossoms are on the north side of the fence which gets no direct sun and some are on the south side which gets a lot of sun. My conclusion? This plant can grow happily in at least part shade.

3. I would say the blooming time is 6 weeks in the Spring. Amazing, right? I expect the blooms in late Summer to come in late August or early September and that the flowers to be less blousy like last year.

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Forget-Me-Nots

Photo of Tasha Tudor, Richard Brown

I adore this photo of Tasha Tudor walking barefoot through her forget-me-nots and daffodils. I have never grown forget-me-nots before because the blue doesn't really jive with my spring colors but I've decided to plant some pink ones this year. They are just so sweet planted in drifts and do such a good job of hiding spent bulb blossoms.

Forget-Me-Not Victoria Pink Seeds, $1.89

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Leaf Identification With Christoph Niemann

I can't stop giggling over these images from Christoph Niemann's book Abstract City that I read about on the wonderful blog Black Walnut Dispatch. You know how if you look really closely you can see things like fanny packs and George Costanza's head in cloud formations? This is kinda like that but with leaves...

Photos via The New York Times

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How To Make A Tabletop Herb Garden

Today I'm going to show you how to make an herb garden in a container. These mini herb gardens are so handy to keep on your door step or outdoor table, if you're lucky enough to have a place to eat outside when it's warm. They also make great gifts--this one was actually for my Mom for Mother's Day.  I love the idea of giving these as an unexpected hostess gift.

The total cost of this project was: $12

Materials needed:

• Basket, planting pot, or other container
• Soil
• Moisture crystals (optional)
• An assortment of herbs
• Landscape fabric or water-permeable shopping bag

You will need an assortment of herbs. I am using flat leaf parsley, tarragon, variegated thyme, and purple sage. These herbs are intensely flavored so you often need just a pinch which makes them well-suited to a small herb garden. If you use a ton of basil or mint, you will likely want to have those potted separately.

For my container I'm using this pretty little basket from the Dollar Tree. It's a good tabletop size but you can easily make your garden larger and and choose a wooden wine crate, ceramic pot, or larger basket for planting. 

 If you're using a basket you will want to line it with landscape fabric so the soil doesn't wash out OR you can cut up a water-permeable shopping tote and use that as a liner like I've done here.

 

It's a good idea to choose a potting soil with coco fiber which helps with water-retention.

You can also add a small amount of water crystals to the soil (I like Quench which is made of food-safe cornstarch) which swell with water and release it back into the soil slowly over time allowing you to skip waterings.

Once you've prepared your soil and filled your container half way up, you can put your plants into position before topping off with a final layer of soil.

And voila! Give it a good drink and you're done. These herbs like sun, so make sure it gets a bright spot for its home. It would be fun to add some cute little plant tags too, especially if you're giving it away as a gift.

You can see I have my mint planted in the pot behind--it has a tendency to be invasive so I don't plant it in the ground and it's nice to have a good-sized pot always at the ready for Thai salads, mojitos, and iced tea.

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I've created a Snapguide for this project which you can find here. If you've enjoyed this post you might also like the guide on making a tiny garden. You can find the Snapguide for that project here.

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