Oceanside Garden

Sebright Gardens

Tucked away in the northern outskirts of Salem is a garden and nursery that focuses on just a few plant types – Hosta, Ferns, and Epimediums. While that may seem somewhat limiting, they have hundreds of varieties of each! They also appear to be branching out into Iris going by the number they have planted and for sale.

Nestled on a 34 acre estate, with over 4 acres of display gardens and some new areas being created, you can not only see them growing but they join a wonderful array of other trees, shrubs and perennials, plus plenty of bulbs. And everything is impeccably labelled. Thank you!

Strolling the grounds

Visiting at the beginning of May, everything was fresh and green, even if they perhaps still had a little growing to do. There was a new extension to the display gardens that was still under construction (or being renovated, not sure which) and many of the plants in there were small at the moment. There were certainly some choice plants in there and I can’t wait to go back when it is more mature.

The area around the house was a lot more mature, probably laid out when it was a homestead. The slope is terraced with grass paths running along the length. A large 10-sided gazebo provides a nice rest and place from which to contemplate their achievement.

Buying Plants

The nursery sells many of their plants plus a whole lot more, so you can construct an entire shade garden. It is the Hosta tunnel that is the most impressive and, truth be told, overwhelming. When you see so many varieties, they start to blend in, and it becomes difficult to discern which ones you like more than the others. Thanks fully, on this trip I was not in the market for Hostas, but ferns.

And here is my one and only niggle. The ferns were organized by common name. Why? It makes no sense. If organized by species (and there are almost no named hybrids and very few cultivars) then you get to see the similarities and differences between them, making it much easier to compare. I almost missed one fern I was looking for because they had given it a common name that I had never heard of.

I certainly came away with more than I had intended to buy, and thoroughly enjoyed by stroll around their gardens.

Plan a visit

Sebright gardens are open from April through to October and you can find them at 7185 Lakeside Dr NE, Salem, OR 97305. They often host the Salem Hardy Plant Society sale in September which is also worth putting on your calendar.

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Gardener’s Log – April 2023

Another month when I have been unable to do much in the garden. At least the MRI results are now in, and I know the reason for all of the problems. It most likely means surgery in the near future but been kept out of the garden is killing me. Thankfully, although most people would not agree with me, the weather has helped somewhat – because it has been awful!

The garden is now getting into full swing, and there is fresh growth everywhere you look. The Cherry tree is blooming, the bulbs are still magnificent, and the weeds are everywhere. That at least is something I can work on a little bit at a time. I find that by having some areas weed free, I can sit and enjoy the garden without feeling the need to get up and do something. Those that I can’t see are not there.

Garden Progress

I did defy the doctors and got a few things planted ion the fairy garden. Under normal conditions, I would not have planted yet because there is still quite a lot of construction that needs to happen. However, I felt it was better to get them in the ground rather than sitting in pots. The gravel necessary for the paths has now been unavailable for a year, ever since they had an accident at the quarry and supposedly covered the rock face in a very large amount of soil. No telling when we will be able to get more, I do want to keep the color consistent with the rest of the garden.

Fairy Garden - April 2023 — Fairy Garden – April 2023

As you can see, no progress has been made finishing the pond and streambed. That may be something I have to get some help with to finish that so that we don’t have standing water over summer. Do not fancy having mosquitoes everywhere.

What’s in Bloom

The bulbs are still the stars of the show, and the Mount Hoods at the bottom of the garden are a delight. You know that a bulb is happy when it puts on a better display in subsequent years than when first planted.

Narcissus 'Mount Hood' — Narcissus ‘Mount Hood’

In the greenhouse, the Ferraria was amazing. While it only blooms for a short period of time, the blossoms are such a delight.

Ferraria schaeferi 'Dark Chocolate' — Ferraria schaeferi ‘Dark Chocolate’

I am also enjoying Erythronium ‘Inner Glow’ which are in pots. We do have other Erythroniums planted in the garden, but there seem to be a favorite snack for the deer. It is nice to be able to enjoy them also at bench height.

Weather Summary

Very little to say about the weather in comparative terms. This year and last year were very similar in both temperatures and rainfall. Thanks to the last week of the month, the high for this year was 76.3. The low was 32.5 and averaged temperature was 46.2. Rainfall was 12.36″, slight more than last years 10.81″

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Gardener’s Log – March 2023

The awful winter spreads into spring as we continue with well below average temperatures. The only good thing I can say is that we have been spared what California has been suffering through this year. It is typical for us to get a handful of atmospheric rivers during winter, but I think California has had a dozen this year. While this will certainly help alleviate their drought conditions, that much rain, that quickly is not good for anyone.

I have heard that several of the gardens that I visit down there have suffered damage this year. Trees downed or broken, plants that do not like winter wet conditions have suffered, as they do here and even plants being wrapped in insulation in Los Angeles to protect against extremely cold conditions for them, with frost happening on a few occasions.

As for me, I am under orders from my physical therapist not to do any gardening at the moment. Setbacks in my back and leg happened at the beginning of the month and also thanks to the weather, I have obeyed (this is not a habit that I expect to continue for too long.)

What’s in Bloom

While the bulbs continue to make the biggest splash, it has transitioned from the minor bulbs, like the crocus and iris to the majors – primarily the Daffodils. They are all over the garden right now and will continue for at least 6 weeks. The first of the perennials have joined with the Hellebores to provide an additional layer of color.

One that is particularly valuable at this time of year are the Pulmonaria because they provide a touch of blue. Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountain’ is doing particularly nicely at the moment and the silver blotched leaves add another level to the charm.

The Grevillea also are putting on a show.

Grevillea 'Poorinda Constance' — Grevillea ‘Poorinda Constance’

Weather Summary

Nobody would be surprised at how cold it has been this month, but to be almost 4.3 degrees colder on average is a huge amount. The high this year was just 61.7, the low 30 and the average 42.6. This compares to a high of 64.8, low of 36 and average of 46.9 last year.

Hardly a dry day all month, even though the total this year (8.17″) was less than last year (10.35″. Nighttime lows have hardly left the 30s and only a few days have nudged above 50 Most of the rain last year fell in the first few days and the rest of the month was reasonably dry. Each week saw a useful amount of rain, but many dry days when work could be done.

General

California Botanic Garden

I very much wanted to love this arboretum. While most botanical gardens tend to focus on exotics, with a small area set aside for natives, this one is all about natives. With a name like “California Botanic Garden,” I expected to be in for a treat. Learning about, and preserving native species is important. Not only are these plants extremely adapted to local conditions, in terms of soil and climate, but they are a vital link in the preservation of local wildlife.

The garden is a fair size, covering 86 Acres in Claremont, about 35 miles from LA. They claim over 2000 taxa in the collection, many of which come from the California Floristic Province. That is an area that spreads along the Pacific Coast and includes a portion of Southern Oregon and Northern Mexico. It is one of 152 such provinces distributed around the world. This one is a biodiversity hotspot, having a Mediterranean-type climate characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. It is not one of the larger provinces, containing about 3000 species, but a large percentage of them are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else. What is perhaps most important is that the region has lost over 70% of its primary vegetation, so everything that can be preserved is vital.

The Early Days

The garden was conceived in 1927, when Susanna Bixby Bryant saw the increasing pressure exerted by development on California’s native plants and habitats and set aside 200 acres of her Santa Ana Canyon Ranch near Yorba Linda, CA, as a native plant garden. In 1951, the plants and garden were moved to Claremont.

A Split Review

Unfortunately, I have to split my review into two parts – one good, the other bad. Let’s get the bad out of the way. This garden is a jumble. It is an incoherent assortment of styles, with few unifying features. While I think it has been made from bringing together several properties that had all been established before becoming part of the whole, few steps have been taken to do any unification. Paths are a jumble, signage is not particularly good and inconsistent, and I am not sure if the right word is unkempt or naturalistic. It made me feel somewhat unsettled as I wandered around.

The collections

With that out of thew way, they did have some nice collections. An impressive collection of Oaks (Quercus), Mahonia (Berberis) Manzanita (Arctostaphylos). Then they had what could be described as matrix plants that were replicated in many places throughout the garden. Examples of this were cylindrical Opuntia and some of the Ribes.

My favorite part of the garden was California Habitats area. Here, the planting was meant to be naturalistic, and apart from the fleece covering some plants to protect them from the unusually cold condition, it was an area I would have liked to spend more time wandering around in, had my legs been up to it.

I was particularly taken by a genus of ferns that were previously unknown to me – Pellaea. I think they were located in the Channel Islands Garden. They had two: P. andromedifolia and P. mucronate. Both were delightful and have been added to my shopping list. Initial searches show that they may be very difficult to acquire. If anyone has, or knows where I can acquire spores of these, I would be very grateful.

Would I go back?

Certainly, if I was in the area, and having my expectations now properly set, I might find I enjoy it more. I hope that at some point they get a director who can get their head around a unification project, and doing a better job at labeling and interpretive signage. What they had was good, they just need a lot more of it.