Each month of this year held something to brighten my gardening outlook. So on this last day of 2013, I'm taking a little trip through my photo files to revisit a few garden highlights of the year. Please join me to celebrate 2013!
In January, the golden-orange foliage of Libertia peregrinans 'Bronze Sword' warmed up the otherwise cool, green winter garden at Longview Ranch.
February brought the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle with its mix of display gardens that ranged from the inspiring to the absurd. I've attended every year since at least 2007.
This year I met fellow blogger Alison Conliffe of Bonney Lassie in person at the show! That's Alison on the right, my sister, Sally, in the middle, and me on the left.
In March at Fry Road Nursery, tables of fascinating patterned foliage made me wonder what I had discovered.
No, not some crazy species of Manfreda - these were tulip bulbs! With foliage like this, who cares what the flowers look like?
An April visit to Altadena included this upward view through beautiful Engelmann Oaks and citrus.
Due to their impending retirement and and move, it was also a farewell to this lovely and relaxing garden my brother- and sister-in-law made. I will miss the comfortable patio and the warm, pleasant evenings spent with them here.
In May, Longview Ranch really started to strut its stuff. Flowers and more flowers declare what I try to deny: In spite of my love for high summer, Longview Ranch is quite a spring garden, too.
June brought my first Garden Blogger's Fling. What an adventure! Having only posted once about the Fling, I have barely scratched the surface of the hundreds of pictures I took. I've been saving them for deep winter when I need to escape from the cold and wet. Here's a tiny taste of the warmth to come...
Our July 4th weekend was spent up on Mt. Hood in a Steiner cabin. A walk in the woods yielded sightings of some delicate wildflowers, including my first-ever Indian Pipes.
In August, we held our garden open for the Overlook Neighborhood Sustainable Garden Tour. A mission of Sustainable Overlook is to make our Portland neighborhood the first pesticide-free neighborhood in the nation. To judge from the comments we heard and the people who pledged, progress is being made!
September brought the blues of late summer to Longview Ranch. The deep coloring of Salvia 'Black and Blue' and a NOID Caryopteris are some of my favorites.
In October spiders returned to the garden, and with them a tinge of autumn coloring. Though mostly still green, it became clear that fall was on the way.
November color ran high as vines, shrubs and berries showed off their intense last days leading up to a winter nap.
December's cold, clear mornings made for some beautiful sunrises, while her surprise cold snap made me worry about all of my semi-tender plants.
Although Abutilons seem to have perished, they had a good three-year run.
Winter isn't over yet, but I think I've had good luck. Some
plants seem surprisingly untouched, including (fingers crossed) several Phormiums, including this P. tenax 'Rubrum'.
And just like that, we bid a fond farewell to 2013.
I'll look forward to seeing you on these pages, and at the Garden Blogger's Fling here in Portland in 2014. Happy New Year!
In January, the golden-orange foliage of Libertia peregrinans 'Bronze Sword' warmed up the otherwise cool, green winter garden at Longview Ranch.
February brought the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle with its mix of display gardens that ranged from the inspiring to the absurd. I've attended every year since at least 2007.
In March at Fry Road Nursery, tables of fascinating patterned foliage made me wonder what I had discovered.
Due to their impending retirement and and move, it was also a farewell to this lovely and relaxing garden my brother- and sister-in-law made. I will miss the comfortable patio and the warm, pleasant evenings spent with them here.
September brought the blues of late summer to Longview Ranch. The deep coloring of Salvia 'Black and Blue' and a NOID Caryopteris are some of my favorites.
In October spiders returned to the garden, and with them a tinge of autumn coloring. Though mostly still green, it became clear that fall was on the way.
December's cold, clear mornings made for some beautiful sunrises, while her surprise cold snap made me worry about all of my semi-tender plants.
Although Abutilons seem to have perished, they had a good three-year run.
And just like that, we bid a fond farewell to 2013.
I'll look forward to seeing you on these pages, and at the Garden Blogger's Fling here in Portland in 2014. Happy New Year!
