Plant List Updates!

When I started this blog I had every intention of photographing and cataloging each and every plant in my garden.  As the years go by and I add to my collection of plants, I now see this as a daunting task.  I’ve had a page for My Plant List, listing all my plants in alphabetical order almost since the beginning.  If you haven’t noticed, I’ve finally begun adding sub-pages under it with photos of my plants!  Descriptions, growing conditions, etc. will have to wait for now while I finally begin adding photos.  Yay ME!   Above is a ‘Honeycomb’ Butterfly Bush, that you’ll also find on my new Shrubs and Trees page.

I think this is my favorite Heuchera ~ ‘Georgia Peach’.  You can also see it on my Perennials Page along with a host of other perennials!  Trust me, I have hundreds more to add….  Finding photos of all my plants is also forcing me to clean up the messy way I keep photos all over my computer – I am learning ‘o-r-g-a-n-i-z-a-t-i-o-n’!

This is my favorite Fritillaria ~ stenanthera, which you’ll find on the Fritillaria page under the Perennials Page.  It’s a ‘bulbous perennial’ and I wasn’t sure if I should have it stand alone or add a ‘Bulb’ page (which sounds horrific right now as there are SO MANY bulbs in my garden)…I can always rearrange later, right?

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’ is on the Grasses page also under Perennials.  Many of my photos are detail shots because that’s how I love to capture plants.  Especially if they flower…unless the foliage is particularly interesting…and I can remember the name of the interesting foliage plant!

Speaking of foliage, Hosta ‘Aphrodite’ is on the Hostas Page…again, under Perennials.  Does it all make sense now?  I’d love to entertain your ideas on how I should list these extra plant pages!

‘Keeping up Appearances’, a Tall Bearded Iris is found on the Tall Bearded Iris page.  That’s actually the page I began with when my iris started blooming.  The next page I add will probably be day lilies since they’re blooming now and I’ve hovered over them with my camera for weeks!

Since I tend to ‘collect’ plants I don’t have ‘just one’ of hardly anything.  Eventually I’d like to separate out more sub-pages like the conifers from deciduous trees.  But for now, while sitting near the fan blowing cool air, escaping the hot August sun for a few hours I’ll just keep adding photos.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Spring, I Love You

I’m breathing a sigh of relief after our cold, long and dreary Northwest winter.

Spring has finally arrived in my top of the world, higher elevation garden.

Work still has me scrambling, which is a good thing for an artist.  More people are realizing that owning original art is more fulfilling, fun and rewarding than having the same thing all your neighbors have that was purchased at a big box store.

If you’re in the Portland Oregon area, please come to the Glass Gallery at the Portland Convention Center April 29 – May 1st to see what I do!

Yesterday when the sun came out I was compelled to take a break….

….to make sure my garden was still growing.  And to see what the deer left me.

Yes, they’ve been grazing through my garden all winter and spring.

I haven’t had time to spray Liquid Fence, which has worked beautifully for me.

I’ll be showing glass garden art at the Master Gardener’s Plant Sale at the Extension Office in Hood River on May 7th in the morning.  Their sale closes at 1pm, so come early!

May 14 and 15 you can come tour my studio along with 40 other artists in the Gorge Artists Open Studio Tour.

June 3 – 26 you’ll find my work at Columbia Arts gallery show ‘Get Centered’.

As you can see, I will only have limited forays into my garden as time allows.

Hopefully I can work fast in the mornings, then spend a few hours in my garden.

I have so many plans for this year.  Plants that need to be moved, a terraced slope that needs to be redone.  Not to mention expansion.  I still have several areas that can be converted to garden space on my little two acres.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time…..

A Fondness for Fritillarias

F. stenanthera, one of the earliest frits to bloom, it's an unusual pink color!

Have I told you I’m a collector?  Why have just one when you can have multiples.  Not multiples of the same thing, mind you, but different views of the same idea.

F. pallidiflora, large, yellow, easy to grow.

Or in this case, different varieties of the same flower.  Like Fritillaria.  I love the sweet little flower that comes in many colors and shapes from this interesting bulb.  I even love the name…say it with me….Fritillaria.

F. persica, tall as F. imperialis with small black bells.

I’m attempting to document my collection as each flower blooms (time permitting) and will eventually have photos of each.  Of course, eventually I’ll have every pretty little Fritillaria!

F. assyriaca must have been a favorite one year because it's growing in multiple spots!

I just placed my order with Odyssey Bulbs for F. caucasica, F. nigra, F. whittallii, F. bucharica and F. camschatcensis.  I’ve tried F. camschatcensis many times without success.  So what do I do?

F. acmopetala is very subtle, but large enough it doesn't go unnoticed.

This time I ordered three (three’s a charm) to try each in a different location…I MUST have this beautiful black beauty!  And the price has come down since I first tried it.

F. lanceolata - I think this is the wild Guinea Hen but I have several that are similar.

My day job (I run a full-time  art glass studio) is still preventing me from spending time in the garden, so weeds have overgrown and this blog has become dusty.

I began my collection with the Crown Imperial as the centerpiece of my first bulb bed.

Although I long for the outdoors and tending my plants, I am grateful for the work in our current economy, so will refrain from complaint.

F. sewerzowii? Not sure I have the right name here, anyone know?

Thanks for continuing to stop by!  Until my next post….

F. raddeana, a yellow Crown Imperial