A Grower Perspective

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. 

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Erica carnea ‘Ruby Glow’ and honey bees, early spring at the nursery February 17, 2011, all is good in the world.

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 A blueberry the size of a quarter! That's the nursery discovery of the day. Even though we grow a lot of blueberry plants of many different varieties- we don't normally see a lot of blueberries in the nursery. That's because we remove the berries so the plants put their energy into growing a strong healthy plant instead of producing berries. Every once in awhile though, a few blueberries sneak past. And what a surprise it is to see that 'Draper' Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Draper') produces such a large, flavorful berry! Other blueberry varieties that produce large berries are 'Spartan' and 'Blueray'. 

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Even though I work in the office, I try to get out into the nursery at least once a day, and I'm always glad I did because I find something exciting. Today that exciting thing was the Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium. The berries are ready to be harvested! This is good news for me because it means that I will be making Oregon Grape Jelly soon. Oregon Grape, the state flower of Oregon is a native plant that is useful and beautiful in the landscape. It grows freely in sun to deep shade and tolerates all types of soil. In the early spring, it blooms with bright yellow flowers that contrast nicely with the deep purple leaves. It will grow to 6 feet tall to about 5 feet wide. The berries are ready to be harvested in the summer when they turn a nice deep blue.

Back to the grape jelly. Lucky for me,

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It’s always exciting to learn something new about a plant. We all know that flowering cherries are gorgeous while they are blooming in the spring time, but who knew that they can be adorned with teeny-tiny cherries in the summer for the birds to enjoy? I certainly didn’t know that, but I noticed it this morning while out in the nursery. The beautiful ‘Snow Fountain’ (Prunus serrulata ‘Snow Fountain’) blooms white in the early spring on weeping branches that sweep to the ground. Right now, in late June, the bright green leaves set the stage for darling miniature, ornamental cherries that are ripening to deep red. The tree eventually grows to 15 feet tall, making it an ideal choice for small gardens. Plant one in your yard and enjoy the year-round beauty of this unique tree.

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