Protea Archives - Oceanside Garden

Gardener’s Log – December 2022

They say that every year appears to go by faster, but that has not been the case this year, thanks to the increasing pain in my leg. This has reduced my ability to make progress, especially over the past couple of months, but I remain hopeful that this will be resolved in the New Year. It has also been a year of unexpected surprises from the weather. No longer can we claim to be a marginal zone 10 garden, not even a 9B. In fact, we were book-ended by bad weather – cold early which killed a lot of plants, and a major storm in the past few days that left the whole region without power for a day, and for us – almost two days. Thankfully, it appears that no significant damage was done by the wind and rain that came with that.

Garden Progress

Having said that, some major changes did happen over the course of the year, making it a very productive year. The new growing benches out front have made life a lot easier and are full to overflowing. Much less bending, plants not attempting to root into the ground, and making it a lot easier to get organized for watering and feeding. I also sold plants for the first time this year on ebay – all of my excess Protea venusta plants (it bloomed for the first time this year), many Grevillea, and a few other plants that I had excess of. I should have many more this spring to put up.

Progress through the year

In the main part of the garden, progress happened in three main areas. The new Winter garden, the Mediterranean garden and progress on the Fairy garden. Also made a start clearing out a lot of the Holodiscus from what will be the Native area of the garden. While the Holodiscus are natives, I don’t need the whole area filled with them and it will make room for native Vine Maples, native Rhododendron, Mahonia and others. I also have a batch of Trilliums going for ground cover.

I am not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed about the number of plants that have been purchased over the course of this year. A total of 341 new plant entries have been made in the catalog. If it is any consolation, it is a few less than last year that came in at 375. Many of those are bulbs, with a lot more reticulata Iris being included this year, after they brought so much joy last year. There has also been a concentration of plants that can take a little more shade. Dry, shade, sharp drainage is a difficult set of requirements, and then you add on top deer resistant. A lot of the plants are experiments to see how well they do.

Iris reticulata 'Harmony' — Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’

What’s in Bloom

Winter is time when many of the South African and Australian bloom, although it is still early for most. Crowea ‘Poorinda Ecstasy’ has started early this year and started putting out the first blooms early in the month.

Crowea 'Poorinda Ecstacy' — Crowea ‘Poorinda Ecstacy’

Many of the Correa’s have started to put out a few blooms and that will intensify through winter. Correa glabra ‘Marian’s Marvel’ is one with slightly more pastel colors than some of the others.

Correa 'Marian's Marvel' — Correa ‘Marian’s Marvel’

Grevillea lanigera ‘Coastal Gem’ has really come into its own this year. It has spread nicely and has been holding its buds for a couple of months now.

But there are other more Northern Hemisphere plants that are also blooming. Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘Winter’s Song’ is the first of the Hellebore’s to bloom for us. I gave it a good hair cut a month or so ago meaning that the blossoms are really visible this year. It will soon put on new leaf growth.

Outstanding New Plants for 2022

There have been three plants that I acquired this year that have really blown me away. Two were from UC Santa Cruz arboretum (Norries) and the third from Half Moon Bay Nursery. They were all acquired in July and were blooming at that time. What is amazing is that all three of them are still blooming! The number of blossoms has changed, and the Ceratopetalum cheats a little bit because it is the bracts that are the most colorful and they last much longer than the actual flowers. But it is still putting out a few and with that, it keeps coloring up the leaves.

Grevillea rhyolitica

Leptospermum scoparium ‘Snow White’

Ceratopetalum gummiferum ‘Fairley’s Coral’

Weather Summary

For weather this month I am cheating a bit. First, we had another sensor go out on our array, meaning we had no record of rainfall during the last week of the month. A new array is on its way. Also, during the large storm at the end of the month, we were without power for most of two days, whereas Netarts, just a mile down the road, was out for a much shorter space of time. I have thus “borrowed” the data from them.

The average temperature for the month was 1 degree warmer than last year. The high was 59.4 and low of 27.7, compared to 55.9 and 29.1 last year. Last year’s winds were 29.8 and gust of 51.4. This year, thanks to the late storm winds clocked in at 70, gusting to 85.7. No wonder the entire county was without power.

Weather - December 2022 — Weather – December 2022

Yearly Summary

January and February were quite delightful months with lots of sun and low rainfall. March, April and May made up for that. Then we went into a long dry summer that extended into October. The final two months were somewhat average apart from the big storm in the last week of December. That was the worst since we have lived here. In total we had 105″ of rain this year, that was highly concentrated into 6 months. That is a little bit above last year at 98″.

2022	High	Low	Average	Rainfall
Jan	63	30.6	46.5	14.3
Feb	72.7	22.5	44.7	7.4
Mar	64.8	36	46.9	10.35
Apr	66.2	32.5	46.3	10.81
May	66	38.8	50.3	13.22
Jun	90	45.1	56.6	6.88
Jul	79.3	47.8	58.8	0.44
Aug	80.4	50.7	60.5	0.51
Sep	94.6	48.6	59.4	1.51
Oct	89.8	43.5	54.6	6.55
Nov	64.6	34.7	46.1	17.71
Dec	59.4	27.7	43.9	15.16

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – October 2022

What a month of extremes. The first two thirds of the month thought it was July. Almost no rain and for two days we almost hit 90F. Then the weather broke. We very rapidly descended into the type of weather that is more typical for this time of year. Rain and much cooler temps. While there was no hope that we would finish with anything like average rain for the month, it is certainly tried to make up for lost time!

Garden Progress

Marginal construction progress this month. There were a few areas that got finished off, or tidied up. One example is the pathway to the compost bins. Sand can be very messy when the ground is wet and there was a short area between the emergency supply dump and the compost bin that was unpaved. Wet sand sticks to your shoes and then gets tracked into the house, so this area was finished off. That also means that the very top portion of the staircase down on this side of the house was started.

While many people see this as being the end of the gardening year, it is also a beginning. It is when all of the bulbs arrive. While parts of the garden are being put to bed, others become part of the great anticipation of spring, making the garden the bridge between the past and the future. We garden for the anticipation of the future and the glory of today. This can be on many time scales. When we plant a tree, we are anticipating what it will look like 10 years, 20 years or more down the road. When we plant a bulb, we are anticipating what it will look like in a few months.

Bulb Planting Time

This year, one of the new garden areas was clamoring for bulbs – the winter garden. For this area, I wanted all of the earliest of bloomers I could find. In went daffodils that are normally considered for indoor forcing, such as paperwhites, along with what I think are the harbingers of early spring – Iris reticulata and histrioides. I bought several new varieties for this year – half of which were planted in pots to be displayed by the front door as they start blooming in January and February, and the other half in the Winter Garden.

Gardening Values

I am often asked about my gardening philosophy. Am I an organic gardener – well sort of but not quite. How about a naturalistic gardener – nope, environmental gardener – yes, but with reservations. I try and be a responsible gardener, but I am not resolute about any of them. Let me explain.

Organic is perhaps the easiest. I do not use chemicals in the garden where there is a suitable alternative. I have never used insecticides, apart from natural ones when I have an infestation that I cannot control in the greenhouse. Same with herbicides and fungicides. Fertilizer becomes a little more difficult. Proteas require a very specific fertilizer regime which is absent of phosphorous. That eliminates most natural fertilizers with the exception of kelp fertilizer – which I use a lot, but the analysis on this is 0.3 – 0 – 0.6. It is a tonic and useful for seedlings but not really a fertilizer for mature plants. I find a need a slow-release chemical fertilizer suited for this purpose.

I love to attract wildlife to my garden, so long as they don’t do too much damage. That means I attempt to exclude deer, but do everything I can to attract birds, bees, butterflies- even when they eat the plants. Do I only plant native plants – no, although I do have an area of the garden that is reserved for natives. Even then, I may go for a cultivar rather than the species, meaning that I am restricting the DNA distribution of the plant. Many of the plants I do grow are the opposite of native and in many cases are endangered plants in their natural habitats. I do try and make sure that there are critters here that can enjoy them and given the choice between two similar plants – I will generally pick the one that provides the most value to wildlife.

Being a Good Citizen

I want to be a good citizen of the planet and to me that means first and foremost – doing as little harm as I can while enjoying the little piece of it that I can influence and derive pleasure from. My attitude on this has changed over time. I would never plant something as bad for the planet as a lawn today – which I did in the past. But I perceive the planet has many needs, and it is my choice how I choose to respect those needs – I hope she agrees that I do try and show respect.

Visits

One thing I do enjoy at this time of year are the clearance sales at the nurseries. Who doesn’t love a bargain? That meant a few Mangaves at great prices, as well as some more shade loving plants, such as ferns, Pulmonaria, hellebore and more.

What’s in Bloom

The shimmery, silky pink of Hesperanthus ‘Sunrise’ has been a delight this year. This is another South African plant, but it does require a little more moisture than is available in Gondwana. The plants I tried there have fizzled, but those in pots that get more summer water have done really well this year.

The autumnal bulbs have been putting on a grand display. Autumn Crocus, Colchicums and Cyclamen have been adding pops of color all around the garden.

One plant I picked up in the nursery sales is a new one to me – Lisianthus. The blossoms look something like a rose although it is on a succulent type of growth. These are apparently somewhat difficult to grow, so I may be treating it like an annual, but it sure has put on a marvelous display for 3 weeks now and is still going strong.

In addition to plants that are in bloom, many of the Grevillea are packed with buds that are bursting to open. ‘Coastal Gem’ is one such example that is becoming a beautiful carpet in the corner of Gondwana. It is difficult at times to believe that this plant is only 2 years old. I am sure it will look even better as it cascades down over the rock wall.

Weather Summary

As I said in the opening paragraph, it has been a month of two extremes. The high this year was a lofty 89.8, compared to 67.8 last year. The lows and averages were comparable. We did manage to get 6.55″ of rain this year in a little over a week. That compares top a much more even rainfall last year that totally 12.5″

Weather - October 2022 — Weather – October 2022

Calendar

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

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.