Oceanside Garden

Gardener’s Log September 2022

With the end of September, autumn is upon us. The evenings have more of a nip to them. My first signal is the blooming of the cyclamen and happened about 10 days ago.

Garden Progress

At this time of year, attention is focused on preparing for winter rather than new construction. That means not a lot of progress to report this month. Lots of propagation been going on – especially for plants that are a little tender. This ensures that in the event of another hard freeze like we had in February, not all will be lost again.

A significant improvement has been added to the website. There is now an overall garden plan, that is clickable. It may not be the prettiest drawing, but it does allow you to see each of the areas of the garden. There is a brief description of some and more in-depth description and progress report on others. Each of those pages has a list of the plants currently in that area.

Work has started on clearing the dense growth of Holodiscus in that area that will become Nature Island. While it is a native, the Holodiscus completely dominates that area. While it blooms in summer with puffs of white, it is fleeting, quickly goes brown and the seeds everywhere. Birds do like to eat the seeds, so not all of it will be removed. In addition, this plant readily regrows from the base.

The main trees that will take their place are Vine Maples. These are not only native but a variety with different leaf colors have been chosen. Being deciduous, it will allow for more underplanting than would have been possible with the Holodiscus (almost nothing survived under that – not even Salal!)

A lot more to go yet, but it has certainly changed the character of the area as it was an impenetrable visual barrier before.

Visits

Had a wonderful visit to Dancing Oaks nursery in Monmouth. You can read all about it here and we did come home with quite a few plants. In addition to everything that was on my list, two plants that were grown from seed that Fred, one of the owners, collected and imported from Tasmania. These will both become large trees, which we don’t really have room for, so I hope they do well in pots. They were Leptospermum glaucescens, the blue-green tea tree, and Notelaea ligustrina, the silkwood.

HPSO Plant Sale

The next day, we had fun at the Salem Hardy Plant Societies fall plant sale located at Sebright Gardens. We picked up a whole bunch of interesting plants, including a number of natives that are destined to go into Nature Island.

We got there at the crack of opening time. I did a very quick first walk around all of the exhibitors. I know that there will be some plants that disappear immediately and that was certainly the case with Carex pyllocephala ‘Sparkler’. After acquiring one of only three available, the number of people who came up and asked what is that, and where did you get it? It is easy to understand why – it certainly does grab your attention.

Carex pyllocephala 'Sparkler' — Carex pyllocephala ‘Sparkler’

Another plant we did manage to get was one we first saw at San Francisco Golden Gate Park. It was Alstromeria psittacine ‘Vareigata’. We had been captivated by the flowers on this when we saw it – quite unlike most Alstromeria. When we got home and I started to investigate, it can get to be a pest because it spreads by rhizomes and event he smallest piece can resprout. Then I spotted this variegated form of it. I hope that this will weaken it a bit such that it doesn’t become so problematic – plus the variegated leaves are very attractive. I will keep it in a pot for a while to see how it does.

Alstromeria psittacina 'Variegata' — Alstromeria psittacina ‘Variegata’

We did not have time after the plant show to tour Sebright Garden. This is certainly on the list for the next time we are in the area.

Leach Botanical Garden

Later in the month we visited Leach Botanical Garden along Johnson Creek in Portland. The Leaches were plant explorers and part of the garden contains some of their discoveries. Originally called Sleepy Hollow, it has been over 20 years since I was last here. It has undergone a number of changes. Back then, the gardens were being preserved by volunteers until the city took interest in it and started to invest in it.

It now has a much larger parking area, display garden and amazing elevated woodland walk which were not present in previous visits. Many of the paths have been significantly upgraded. Unfortunately, although the bridge to the South Bank got washed away in some winter floods and has yet to be rebuilt.

In my mind, it is not a true botanical garden because it is poorly labeled, and is more just a collection of plants.

What’s in Bloom

The big excitement for this month has to be the blooming for Protea venusta. While it is not perhaps the most remarkable of all the Proteas, it is the first one that I grew from seed, imported from South Africa. It took just over 3 years to get to this stage and I am very happy.

While a little early, the first of the plants for the Winter garden – Calluna vulgaris ‘Verenka’ – has come into bloom and hopefully will continue throughout the next few months.

The late season bulbs are also blooming including Colchicum and Cyclamen.

Weather Summary

Most of September has been very dry and the garden has become quite crispy. We only had 1.51″ of rain this month as compared to 5.13″ last year. Thankfully, in the last week we had a reasonable front come through that gave us about 1″ of rain. But now we are forecast to become warm and dry again. It does look like we will really get an Autumn this year – something we were cheated out of last year.

The maximum temperature this month was a high 94.6F – perhaps the hottest day of the year. This compares to 84.7F last year. Low temperatures were similar at 58F. The average this year was a couple of degrees warmer at 59.4F compared to 57.6F

General

Nurseries – Dancing Oaks

One of my favorite pastimes is visiting nurseries. I consider there to be two broad categories, and while I enjoy them both, it is for different reasons.

The first type I call garden centers. These are places that source the majority of their plants from the big growers. This is where you will find all of the new introductions, the new hybrids and cultivars – many of which are quite amazing.

The second type I call the boutique nurseries. These places grow almost all of their own plants, do their own propagation and in some cases do have some of their own introductions. While some of their plants may not be as big and bold as those offered in the garden centers, they are almost, by definition, plants that are well suited to the local climate and conditions. That is why they selected them. They are also the places where you can find plants that you may have no previous experience with, and that makes them a new challenge.

Dancing Oaks

One such nursery in our area (I use the term loosely, because it is about 100 miles away, but it is still one of the closest to us) is Dancing Oaks in Monmouth, Oregon. They are a retail and mail-order nursery tucked in the foothills of the Coast Range of the Willamette Valley in Northern Oregon. Everything they do is on site.

The mother plants form a display garden, so you can often see what plants will look like when they are mature. They propagate these plants in the same poly tunnels and greenhouses in which they have their items for sale – meaning you often get to see what is coming up for next season or next year. Their website is also good enough that you can do your homework before you arrive and, as I usually do, start with a shopping list of about 30 plants.

What also makes the nursery stand out is the staff. They really believe that their primary role is to help you. On this latest visit one guy, who had done a lot of research into Orchids, was telling us all about ones that would do well in our local conditions – not just for the plants that we were buying, but for those he suggested we look out for. Other staff members were searching around to help us locate some of the plants that we knew they had only 1 or 2 in stock.

But the co-owners, Leonard and even more so Fred, are the stars of the show. Fred is willing to spend hours with you to talk about plants that may do well for us, to make suggestions, to talk about plants.

Expeditions

Their love of plants means they are always looking for new plants that will grow well in our cool Mediterranean climate – a market which is highly under-served because it is different from most of the rest of the U.S. That makes Leonard and Fred go off on plant hunting expeditions around the World, to find new plants to bring home and trial. They have gone to India, Tasmania and most recently England. Plants and seeds return with them (well through the legal channels for import, which is quite a story itself) and then they grow them on and assess their suitability.

On this last trip, Fred decided that he wanted to show us some of the plants they had grown from seed that they collected in Tasmania. He was about to plant some of them out in their display gardens. He also felt that they would like to know how well they would do on the coast and so ushered us into one of the off-limit areas of the nursery to show what he had.

What we came home with

We selected two plants to trial in our garden. The first was Notelaea ligustrum. In Eastern Tasmania it is called the native Olive or Silkwood. It is a small tree that occurs in undisturbed forest. It will have greenish-yellow flowers that form racemes extending from the leaf axils. If pollinated, relatively large fruit form that are a shade of pink, varying from white to a dark purple. Though edible and often heavy yielding, the fruit have a large pip and a strong, bitter taste which gives them little food value. We will have to see if the local birds enjoy them.

The second plant was Leptospermum glaucescum. We do have several Leptospermums growing in the garden, so we know that this one should do well. What sets it apart from the others is the bluish leaves. This again is a large shrub or small tree with flaky bark and will have white flowers, probably during summer.

Wrapping it up

We ended up acquiring 22 new plants for our collection ranging from trees, to perennials, the Orchids, to Ferns – Many of these were specifically selected for Nature Island, a plot of land in the middle of the garden that we are leaving to natives, and plants that are selected for the particular benefit to birds, bees, and all the critters in the area. This is part of our attempts to build a balanced ecosystem that does not use any chemicals.

If you find yourself in the area of Monmouth, pay Dancing Oaks a visit – just be prepared to wash your car afterwards, because it does require a two miles drive along a gravel road, but it is so worth it.

Plant

My First Protea – from seed to blossom

When I first started talking about growing Protea in Oregon, everyone told me it couldn’t be done. That was not enough to deter me. Many people grow Grevillea in Portland and even more can be grown on the Oregon Coast. There are botanical gardens growing other members of the Protea family in Seattle, and all of them seem to grow well in San Francisco – a climate not that different to here – just a few degrees cooler.

I got my first batch of seeds from Ole Lantana in Australia (no longer shipping seeds to the US). One in particular I had high hopes for – Protea venusta. Not only was it rare and endangered in the wild, but it is a high-altitude Protea, growing between 1700 and 2000 meters above sea level in South Africa.

Seeds Sown 2019

After giving the seeds a smoke treatment, they were sown in September of 2019. By May of 2020, I had a bunch of little seedlings in the greenhouse. In 2021 they were large enough to plant some of them out in the area of the garden I call Gondwana. This is reserved for plants, like those in the Protea family, that initially evolved when the land masses of the southern hemisphere were joined. Protea venusta is almost a ground cover. It is said to spread over time and can get to be about 2′ tall and 6′ or more feet wide. I planted 4 of them along the top of a retaining wall.

Blooms in 2022

Three of the plants have been doing well, while the fourth has struggled, although it is still trying. But today was a day to remember, when I got the first bloom – September 2022. That is pretty good going for seed to bloom in three years. I have to say the bloom is prettier than most pictures show. It is about 3″ across and has a range of delicate pinks to white. The little fuzzy hairs on the ends of the bracts also add charm.

In the wild, the plant is pollinated by birds, so there is a fair chance that it could get pollinated. It would be fun if I could complete the cycle.

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – August 2022

My apologies that I did not put out a Gardener’s Log for July. Summer was busy with work, plus a visit down to California that had me wandering around Golden Gate Park, including the Japanese garden, the arboretum and the conservatory of flowers, the UC Santa Cruz Botanical Garden, UC Davis, A brief stop at an arboretum in Redding, plant shopping in Half Moon Bay, and more. This month we also did a visit to the Wonder Garden in Manzanita to collect some cutting materials.

But perhaps the most amazing visit, was that someone came to visit me. The curator for UC Santa Cruz Arboretum came to see my garden. It was not an official visit, but she was interested in seeing what success I was having growing Protea in Oregon. As retirement loomed for her, her eventual location was to be influenced by where she could continue to grow her plant friends. She was very gracious, although I am sure she probably found a lot of things I was doing wrong. But that is part of the joy when you attempt to do something that so few have attempted before you – there are no books, no searching of the Internet, no authorities that have made their learnings available to a wide population. Perhaps some of it exists in Horticultural Journals, but they are not accessible to me.

Garden Progress

Not a lot of construction has happened through July and August, partly because of some health issues that are slowing me down, partly because there is more maintenance to do during summer, and partly because you have to spend some time enjoying what you have created. Some progress has happened in the Fairy garden, but still a lot more to do there. The water basin is now installed. Rather than using a lining for this, I sunk a 70 gallon storage box. It will then be covered with a wire mesh and small stones, such that raccoons and other critters cannot get into it. I am still not sure if I will try to grow any plants in there – time will tell. I did one rock run this month, but do not have enough to finish off the waterfalls. Hopefully I will get some more in the next couple of weeks and then I can start getting them foamed into place before we start getting into wet weather.

I have been happy with the garden this year – especially the new Mediterranean Garden and the Fuchsia wall – which has done better than I ever imagined. I probably do need to think about feeding them more than I have – that is something I am very bad about in general. While I do mix a slow release fertilizer into my potting mixes (except for the Protea), I always forget to fertilize in subsequent years or top up with liquid feed when they are in rapid growth.

The cutting bench is full, and I have yet to process the cutting I just took from the Wonder Garden and still need to get all the Fuchsia done, and other plants, that act as backups in case we get another really cold winter. I am also hoping that I can have a few more plants to sell next year to offset how much I spend on new plants.

Selling plants on ebay really is a bit of a pain. I am astounded by the attitude of so many people who are looking for every way they can to claim a refund, or blame me if they kill the plant because they did not follow directions. You would think plant people would be better than the general population, but it appears that they are no different.

What’s in Bloom

During summer, there are many big, blowsy, and dare I say almost vulgar things in bloom – and don’t we love them all! Lilies, Dahlias, Daylilies, Bougainvillea, and then the annuals putting on such a show, such as Fuchsia, Lantana, and Verbena. I love them all as much as anyone else, but I am always drawn to the less common, or sometimes more diminutive performers. Ceratopetalum gummiferum ‘Fairley’s Coral‘ is one such marvel. This plant is new to me and was acquired during my trip to California.

Ceratopetalum gummiferum 'Fairley's Coral' — Ceratopetalum gummiferum ‘Fairley’s Coral’

This is a large bush or small tree that in Australia is called Christmas Bush. Of course, that is the middle of summer for us and so it is more commonly called Festival Bush for us. The floral display starts with small white blossoms, but as they fade they turn red and then persist on the plant for months – often well into fall apparently. This plant is only 18″ tall at the moment, but can you imagine this when it is 15′ to 20′ tall and covered like this. We will have to be a little careful because it is only hardy to zone 9b, but this may well be worth pampering.

This is the time of year when the Grevillea start blooming, and perhaps one of the most colorful that we have managed to keep growing is King’s Rainbow. The bicolored flowers are quite amazing and the red of the anthers has a metallic sheen.

Grevillea 'Kings Rainbow' — Grevillea ‘Kings Rainbow’

Before you call fowl, I want to add a fern onto my blooming list. I know – ferns don’t bloom, but is we judge something by putting n a colorful display, nobody can complain about the emerging fiddleheads of Blechnum spicant. The combination of red stem and yellow center is quite amazing.

The last one I want to feature this month is a plant that continue to struggle for us a little (Polygala dalmaisiana), in that it has a very sparse structure, but it has the most remarkable flowers, unlike anything else I can think of, except perhaps an orchid. The combination of the deep purple and the almost coral-like white feathers emerging from the end are almost other-worldly. Then it has the little striped ears and horns. Just amazing.

Weather Summary

After all of the extreme weather we had had this year, August was relatively normal. It was slightly hotter and dryer than last year, but not by much. Last year, the high was 77.4F, the low 48.2 and the average 58.6. This year the high was 80, the low 50 and the average 60. Rainfall last year was 1.11″ and we only had half of that this year, coming in at 0.51″. The anemometer is still not really working. It does provide data at times, but now sure how reliable it is. If it is to be believed, we did record a gust of over 80 mph this month, with a wind speed of over 50mph. It certainly has been blustery at times.