Why Portland is called the City of Roses

I stopped to smell the roses the other day...and I took their pictures too!

Color!

Size...this one was as big as a salad plate!

Fragrance!

Contrast!

This was my favorite...a mama and her babies!

A Garden Parfait

A client wanted a little curb appeal in front of her shop on NE Alberta Street. Garden Gal to the rescue! We started with ginormous galvanized tubs that normally provide beverages to farm animals. Then we added layers...just like a parfait.

First layer: River rock. Lots of it. The rock has 2 purposes...to provide drainage and to make sure the containers don't get "borrowed" by someone.

Next layer: add landscape fabric to to help keep soil from slipping through the rocks. Water will drain through, so our plants don't drown.

Bark dust follows. This was done simply as a cost saving measure...Bark dust costs much less than planting soil.

Next, we add a layer of about 9" of enriched planting soil.

And here's our final product...filled with grasses and perennials!

A beautiful garden parfait!

Spring in a Minute

It's been a long, cold, wet winter (again) here in Portland. The ground is beginning to yield to some sweet green sprouts but the pots and urns are still sadly wanting...
Garden Gal to the rescue!

Voila!...a pot of lovely color and texture...Tete a Tete Daffodils, Ruby Red Tulips and miniature Iris plants just make the world a little brighter. Yes?

Helpful Hint from Garden Gal: Plant bulbs deep in your containers. Later in the season, add summer annuals in soil on top of them. The bulbs will sleep all year and wake up again to let you know that Spring is on it's way!

Garden Gal designs containers too!

Call me at 503-757-5563 to chat about your custom designed seasonal planters and pots.

Table Arrangements for Fall

Do you have pumpkins and squash lying around the house looking for something to do?
Use them as vases for gorgeous fall colors...

I cut a hole around the top of the pumpkins and squash and dug out the seeds with a teaspoon. Then I headed outside with my clippers and found beautiful and FREE bits of nature in the garden. (From L to R) Burgundy Heuchera leaves, Autumn Fern and Sweetbox sprigs and stems of variegated Hypericum. Or....

Sweet potato leaves with Valerian blooms, fabulous Ivy blossoms and blue Salvia with lime green Sedum Stonecrop. Use what you have in your own garden to make beautiful and unusual arrangements for your Thanksgiving table!

Autumn in Portland, Oregon

Aren't we lucky?

Wanda's Garden

We recently discovered a delightful and delicious cafe in Nehalem on the Oregon Coast. The best thing about Wanda's (besides the Eggs Benedict) is the small but lush garden by the back patio. Here's a little taste...pun intended.

White Mallow

Japanese Anenome

Oxalis (aka: Shamrock)

The Buddah of Breakfast