Oh, February
Oh, February, you tease me with faux spring. Then you definately definately throw miserable chilly, moist local weather, even snow showers, my means. Excessive-quality. Time to camp out inside the greenhouse, my blissful place I identify my halfway dwelling. Halfway between being inside on a winter’s day and outdoor on a dreamy, warmth spring day. Not lower than I can sow seeds and pot up rooted hebe cuttings proper right here, so there’s a win for me. Actuality be suggested, late February into March is definitely practically my least favorite time of the 12 months inside the yard because of it’s so fickle. It must be headed within the path of spring however it in no way is and I should know this by now. Nevertheless hope springs eternal, and yearly I succumb to the temptation of fake spring pondering “That’s the 12 months that winter finishes early.” Human nature is pretty humorous which means. Nevertheless there’s stuff to do! I take a look in any respect perennials and grasses that need chopping once more, a winter’s worth of conifer and oak particles to be cleared from the gravel paths (successfully, not a complete winter’s worth, I exaggerate), weeding, pruning, planting, spreading wood chips and gravel and I want to get on with it. So, that is what’s occurring inside the yard in late February. There are hints of magnificence in the marketplace along with a second take a look on the January freeze hurt (insert expletives). For a day or three it was inside the mid to larger 50’s and oh, my, the bumble bees emerged. There have been many visiting this Arctostaphylos ‘Austin Griffiths’ as there have been on any blooming manzanitas. FM has been dutifully monitoring the daffodil progress inside the orchard, fastidiously marking every clump that comes up with a yellow flag in an effort to not mow over them. It’s his ardour. Anyhow, he seen the first of the bloomers, Narcissus Tête à Tête. Let’s confirm on Oscar the Agave parryi var. truncata since his switch to a sunnier spot remaining April. He is recovering successfully and has grown out of lots of the rot. All through the freezing rain event las month FM put a plastic tarp over him and it appeared to do the trick.My new Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ purchased a bucket over it for the chilly since it’s so new inside the ground. Appears to be okay nonetheless some lower leaf rot.Agave parryi var neomexicana (I found it as merely Agave neomexicana) has been inside the ground some 7 years now and seems to be completely hardy.The ultimate of my agaves, Agave bracteosa moreover appears pretty good, no effort made to cowl it the least bit. It seems all of these are pretty darned hardy for me, nonetheless the A. ovatifolia will take only a few years inside the ground sooner than I am assured of its hardiness.Arctostaphylos ‘John Dourley’ on the left (are you able to discover the bumble bee?) and Brachyglottis greyi, every wanting unscathed. In precise truth, arctostaphylos have been so resilient in every freezing rain and heat waves, I might merely convert all my yard over to them. Unlikely however it is good to have that alternative.Arctostaphylos ‘Harmony’ on the becoming and A. ‘Pacific Mist’ on the left. The latter is a prostrate, cascading kind with significantly blue-ish foliage and tolerates shade larger than others.Arctostaphylos ‘Howard McMinn’ with, certain, one different bumble bee. I’m telling you that that alone is ample trigger to plant these hardy evergreen shrubs. Feeding the native pollinators in February? Look at.The foliage is a bit ratty correct now, nonetheless it will shortly be overgrown with current new leaves and conceal the uglies. Plus, the pom poms! They make me blissful. Phlomis russelliana, one different extraordinarily resilient plant I’d not do with out.That’s turning proper right into a “most resilient crops in my yard” submit! Unlikely, nonetheless I’m merely in the marketplace photographing what appears good after our comparatively nasty January local weather. Teucrium chamaedrys, one different plant I’d not do with out. That’s sooner than their annual late winter haircut to kind them.Juniperis conferta ‘Blue Pacific’ lastly spilling down the sting of the retaining wall of the berm yard.Indicators of life make me smile. Potentilla atrosanguinea ‘Pink’ merely barely rising.Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon’ has had the faintest of leaves for only a few weeks and now it’s formally blooming.Saxifraga x geum ‘Dentata’ on a regular basis wanting good inside the shade yard.Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ received right here through the winter chill with no seen hurt. I planted two Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ remaining summer time season and they also survived, though many leaves are type of burned from the unhealthy local weather, in some other case they provide the impression of being surprisingly good for being unestablished.Shade yard foliage that features Dryopteris sieboldii.Polypodium glycyrrhiza, licorice fern, makes its look inside the cooler, wetter months. Dormant in summer time season, it’s a pleasurable shock yearly when it emerges.Brunnera is creating, such a sweet shade plant.To my absolute delight, Schefflera delavayi appears good, no winter hurt some 7 years in. Moreover, it hangs over the north fringe of our property through a deer fence and even the passing deer on the alternative aspect depart it alone.Chiastophyllum oppositifolium ‘Jim’s Satisfaction’ is blissful in its tiny little shady world. Not a large spreader nonetheless its attract makes it worthwhile.A second saxifrage this week – this one is S. ‘Primuloides’, one different highly effective, evergreen spreader for shade.Mahonia ‘Mushy Caress’ in a pot near our entrance door received right here through the winter chilly unscathed, principally. I am grateful as so many mates in Portland who develop this had virtually full defoliation.Hebe buxifolia, wanting super inside the labyrinth yard. Nonetheless, practically three toes away is that this:Hebe diosmifolia, in no way appeared worse. This plant has been on this spot for on the very least 7 years and on a regular basis received right here through winter events until now. I really feel it merely purchased too chilly after an up-to-that-point delicate winter. There could also be inexperienced on it and it will doable recuperate, nonetheless ouch. It would come out all collectively. It is worth noting that solely a pair hebes in my yard suffered. This, a ‘Good Orme’, perhaps ‘Patty’s Purple’ and a second H. diosmifolia are horrible. The remaining, along with the subsequent, all look completely unscathed and have confirmed to be fully hardy for me: H. buxifolia, H. cupressoides, H. cupressoides ‘Boughton Dome’, H. glaucophylla, H. purpurea nana, H. ‘Sutherlandii’, H. ‘Karo Golden Esk’, H. recurva ‘Boughton Silver’, H. odora ‘New Zealand Gold’, H. ‘Quicksilver’, H. ‘Pink Edge’, H. rupicola, H. ‘Western Hills’, H. vernicosa, H ‘Wingletye’, H. salicornioides, and H. ‘Hinuera’. And certain, I do know that they are now reclassified as Veronica. And, certain, I propagated all of them for future plant product sales. Hooray!Now for additional winter hurt:Further ugly bits. There are only a few phygelius on this area that had been completely inexperienced sooner than the freeze. Whereas they could really recuperate (you presumably cannot kill this stuff), it’s unpleasant to check out them now.Muhlenbergia rigens is commonly an evergreen to semi-evergreen grass. They’ve in no way completely died like this nonetheless I am hopeful they could rebound this spring, in precise truth I would wager on it.Phormium tenax does this yearly. This 12 months it will get within the discount of onerous to start out out current. I completely depend on it to recuperate.All my Diplacus aurantiacus look like this. There are inexperienced bits, significantly on the bottom, so they could too doable regrow as they do virtually yearly. It’s solely in a light-weight winter that they proceed to be evergreen in my yard.Baccharis pilularis has completed this for the previous couple of winters and rebounds completely. I uncover a pair inside the gardens at Cistus Nursery the place I work that did the equivalent issue which, to that point, that that they had not. Eucalyptus p. ssp. niphophila, snow gum, was planted in February 2020. Not the perfect {{photograph}} of it nonetheless you presumably can see the leaves turned buff coloration, it’s in no way completed this sooner than. It must be hardy to very low temps and has been up until now. I’ve hope for it, however.Acca sellowiana (syn. Feijoa sellowiana), pineapple guava, did this early in its occupation proper right here at Chickadee Gardens when it was not however established, so this defoliation just isn’t an infinite alarm. I’m going to observe it, though, crossing all fingers. It took just a few weeks post-winter storm to do this, in numerous phrases proof of hurt was delayed.Ending this submit with one factor a bit additional cheerful, spreading of wood chips. We purchased uninterested in prepared for Chip Drop so FM had only a few yards delivered and he has been faithfully spreading them to newly created yard beds and refreshing some outdated ones. I am so appreciative of this as I’ve not been able to do lots with a shoulder hurt. Shoulder hurt, what? Oh, certain. I believed my virtually two-year-old, over-use-because-of-drought-related-hand-watering hurt (that I’ve had bodily treatment for) kicked up its nasty heels. One super day just a few weeks prior to now, excruciating ache emanated from my shoulder and I could not use my correct arm. The least bit. Visions of no longer being able to yard scared me. Urgent care, x-rays and most superb care from The Portland Clinic remaining week gave me options – appears I’ve calcific tendonitis. Who knew it was even an element? Calcium crystals kind inside the tendon which could set off 10 on a scale of 1 – 10 ache. The doctor said I perhaps have had this for a while (would make clear earlier shoulder ache) nonetheless I did one factor that introduced on this Almond Roca-sized crystal to scrape in the direction of my clavicle whereby different expletives spewed. Nevertheless the good news is not any surgical process, and it will doable resolve by itself in time. It is not really recognized why this happens – not from weight reduction plan, for example. Now I’m on the mend, shoulder has improved to just about full range of motion, so I am extraordinarily grateful. Now you already know – crystals can kind in your tendons. I solely share this story because of one factor tells me I am not the first gardener to experience this and information is vitality. I’m merely glad this occurred in February; I could be a fairly feisty complainer had it been prime spring gardening local weather. Oh, February, I suppose I forgive you.And now that I’m on the mend, I suppose I would larger get in the marketplace and shovel up some wood chips, rain or no. I’m unable to let FM have all the pleasurable! Oh, gravel, too. Presumably I’m going to depart that one to him this go-around.That may be a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As on a regular basis, thanks lots for learning and commenting, we do love listening to from you and determining what you are as a lot as in your yard!
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Oh, February, you tease me with faux spring. Then you definately definately throw miserable chilly, moist local weather, even snow showers, my means. Excessive-quality. Time to camp out inside the greenhouse, my blissful place I identify my halfway dwelling. Halfway between being inside on a winter’s day and outdoor on…