Several varieties of sweetly scented geraniums are available in our front greenhouse. Come by and choose some for a porch or deck pot. Bring them in during the winter and you’ll have them ready for next year when the time comes. Along with their sculptured leaves and delicate flowers they are useful in cooking and in sachets or luxurious baths.
A few weeks ago I was in Portland and although it was a brisk day in February a bit of sun was shining through; a good day to wander into the Lan Su Chinese Garden, my first visit into this walled sanctuary in an urban setting. Many of the plants were very familiar: the winter jasmine was so lovely flowing over the rocks above the pond, many camellias were blooming, and the Edgeworthia was filling the air with a sweet fragrance. The tree that attracted my husband’s attention was a well shaped Japanese Black Pine. (You can see our example above, pruned to resemble an ostrich) He asked me if I knew that tree and I said yes it was a common landscape tree and we had lots at the nursery. I will bring one home to him and we can have it in our garden. It is not a tree I’d necessarily choose. There is no comparison to the right plant in the right situation. What is common in one case can be the most outstanding thing in another.
As we are starting to see more spring blossoms pop out take note of this flowering cherry, lovely blossoms, soft double pink fading to white, red shiny bark that peels away to give a unique texture and year round focal point to any landscape. The size makes it suitable to a container, small or large garden. Now blooming in front of the nursery. Come look!
The sunny days of pre-spring are upon us and our thoughts not only wander but race to the garden in a flurry to get out and do something. At least my thoughts do and I remind myself to go slow as I might be a little stiff from the winter hibernation. Do you want to start something new this year? Last year maybe you added blueberries and an apple tree or two and a raised bed for salad greens and you are ready to move on to something else. What about taking out some lawn and making a meadow? A meadow “like a lawn it is a calming place for the eye to rest, yet with the richness and complexity of a border. Unlike lawns, meadows are better for the environment, a safe habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators, a place where native ecology can thrive…meadows require less maintenance and consume significantly less resources than a lawn or border.” (from the preface to The American Meadow Garden by John Greenlee). This concept was brought to our attention by local landscape architect John Pellitier. John Greenlee came to Eugene recently to talk about planting meadows and this fired John P. up and he called us to talk about it and see what plants we had available. Yesterday he stopped by to pick up some Juncus effuses ‘Gold Strike’ and he noticed the beautiful meadow book on our counter. (Yes we listen to our customers and do our best to respond). We have quite a few grasses and perennials that do well in meadow gardens and we have natural meadows full of camas and native grasses surrounding the nursery. If this excites you and you want to add some meadow to your landscape come out and we’ll help you get started or call John Pellitier and he’ll get you going.
Leylandii cypress is the unlikely union between a Monterey Cypress and a Nootka or Alaskan Cedar. This occurred in England on the Leyland Estate in 1888. The two parent plants were collected from far corners of the world and planted within proximity on the estate, and the bond resulted in the offspring of what we know as simply "Leylandii" today. Propagation of this hybrid began in 1925 as the result of a search for a fast growing, salt and wind tolerant conifer.
PHN Growers Blog
