August 2014

Late summer in all it’s glory – really!

We’ve had some good summer rains this year, about every 2-3 weeks or so. Combined with the hotter weather, the plants are loving it! Most everything looks beautiful and lush like it normally would if it got enough rain throughout the summer, which “normally” it doesn’t! A few plants still getting a little scorched, fewer now that I’ve transplanted most of them out of the direct summer sun? So, so’ s not to forget, here’s my transplant list for this fall:

Two huckleberries from backyard meadow, to west entry area.
Two maidenhair ferns from front yard to anywhere better, speaking of over sunned!
Pull out remainder of ajuga around patio, replant with new seedlings of Paintbrush, Gaillardia and Globemallow.
Hooker’s Fairybells to less summer sun.

I sowed a bunch of Trillium Chloropetalum seeds that the one newer plant produced (two small but productive pods), into three spots in the lower back yard. Propagating these would be a coup, as they are fragrant and more delicate looking than the Westerns. It is in an area that the moles have thankfully abandoned, as they have several other hazard spots, and not in too much sun. It will eventually be a little grotto for some ferns, Boykinia, Leopard lily, Fawn lily, chocolate lillies, Shooting stars, Miterwarts, Trilliums (Chloropetalum),Penstemons, spotted Saxifrage, Camas, Bear Grass, Balsamroot and Pussytoes, to name a few. Well, it will be trilliums in about 7 years, anyway, that’s what it takes from seed! The Western Trillium seeds from the last few years germinated well – we have about five different patches of two-year seedlings planted out in the ground, and about five of the three-year plants which were planted into a small pot.

We’re in the paper!

Our garden was featured in the Seattle Times’ Sunday garden section, as a native garden. The pix were taken last year, in May, so things have filled out more since then, but the photos were good anyway…our garden can be very photogenic and not hard to find many good shots.

Next up, Sunset! We were photographed in May of THIS year, during and after the native plants society tour on the 17th. I have to say, those pix are likely to be much better – there are more and larger plants that are relatively new, more filled out, and a few plants bloomed for the first time, including the gorgeous White Camas and White Brodiaea ass well as Bear grass…these pix really don’t do them justice!.

Summer’s glory!

We have been blessed by the garden gods with an excellent summer again this year. Elements that make up this type of summer include long stretches of sunny days, maybe some fog in hype morning, and rain about every 3 weeks. The plants meanwhile love it, and they are thriving to show their appreciation.

We have a couple of new plants growing, including healthy looking foliage of Scarlet Gilia, and a few baby starts of Bog gentian that we need to put in the newest, third bog area (two others are in a raised planter structure and part of the pond). I also have healthy looking starts of orange flowered Globemallow, River Lupine, Monkshood and the taller, red flowered Common Paintbrush, but I won’t plant them out till fall so I don’t have to struggle to keep them watered and alive.

Lots of seeds collected, mostly ones I want to plant. I collected a bunch of native “sunshine mix” for Sarah, which is camasses, Iris tenax, Nodding onion, Sea thrift, red columbine and a few others. Selected ones include two pods of Trilliim Chloropetalum, Harsh Paintbrush, Ookow, White Brodiea, purple brodiaea, white Camas, White and pink Shooting star, triteliaea (purple), Wild Ginger, Bear Grass, hookers onion, small camas, chocolate lily, Fawn lily, tiger lily, leopard lily, pussytoes, Geum Aveum, Desert Parsley/Lomatium

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The squirrels and Jays have just about finished off the hazelnuts. Too bad it will be another ten years or so till the Garry Oak produces acorns, it’s supposed to take about twenty years.