Garden Visit – International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon

In July we spent two wonderful weeks exploring Oregon. Of course we had to stop at a few gardens, including the International Rose Test Garden in Portland.

One of the garden “rooms” at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR.

Portland is known as “The City of Roses.” This is pretty gosh-darn obvious at the International Rose Test Garden where there are 4.5 acres of more than 600 varieties of roses, adding up to over 8,000 roses. The garden overlooks the city of Portland with Mount Hood in the distance (although it was too cloudy to see Mount Hood the day we were there). It’s heaven on earth for any rose lover. Although, knowing how finicky roses can be you have to wonder about how much work must go into it! And how do they keep diseases at bay? In case you’re curious like me, they prune twice a year and spray for black spot about every two weeks.

This rose looks like someone spilled paint on it!

I think this is the first lavender rose I’ve ever seen.

 According to their website, plans were started for the garden in 1917 after the Park Bureau approved it as a way of providing a safe-haven for European roses during World War I. The fear was that European roses would be destroyed by bombings. In 1940 the garden became an official testing site for The All-American Rose Selection. The garden is separated into garden areas or “rooms.” They have roses of antiquity as well as the latest rose releases, replacing some roses each year with the best and newest varieties.

Roses, roses everywhere.

What’s so impressive about this garden is the outrageous amount of color — so much vivid color everywhere you look. It’s shocking. A feast for the eyes, as well as the nose; all of those roses each with their own scent. Shakespeare said, “Of all flowers methinks a rose is best.” Well he would’ve loved this garden. In fact, there’s an area of the garden dedicated to Shakespeare. (However, there aren’t many roses in that particular part of the garden for some reason.) 

So much color!

 If you are ever in Portland in the warmer weather, it’s worth the stop. And right nearby is another great garden – The Japanese Garden. More on that later. To learn more about the International Rose Test Garden, check out this link: http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=1113&action=ViewPark
There’s some history there, as well as a PDF called “Rose Test Garden Self-Guided Tour” that is chock-full of interesting info.

Roses climbing a lamp post.

Container Plants

I have always had a lot of container plants. Before we bought this house we rented a house for six years. I wasn’t allowed to plant anything permanent, so I had tons of potted plants on our front porch. I still keep several potted plants on the front porch and on the back steps. I also have a few in my greenhouse. Here’s some of my outdoor potted plants from this year...

First the front porch. I get a little bit of sun here, but not much. Shady plants seem to do best, such as ferns, coleus, and begonias. 

Potted plants on front porch.

This was a gorgeous double begonia. Unfortunately, it didn’t do so good while I was on vacation and doesn’t look nearly as pretty as this right now.

Double Begonia.

This Osteospermum and Verbena were so pretty, but these didn’t last the whole summer.

The centers of the Osteospermum were purple with bits of bright orange.

I have tried several different plants through the years in my hanging baskets and these Dragon Wing Begonias outperform any other plants I’ve tried. My fern stand is in the background.

Dragon Wing Begonia and fern stand.

I have a few container plants on the back steps: (from top to bottom) Johnny Jump-ups which are no longer there, sedum, a red aloe, Balboa Globe Amaranthe, another much smaller variety of sedum, and one of my favorites which is my “bog’” of carnivorous plants.

Container plants on the back steps.

I planted the carnivorous plants last year in a class I took at Longwood Gardens. It was the COOLEST garden class I have EVER taken. I learned a lot about carnivorous plants and we all got to plant our own container which has these plants in it: White Top Pitcher, Moore’s Pitcher, Purple Pitcher, Venus Flytrap, Spoonleaf Sundew, Threadleaf Sundew, Ladies Tresses, and a Rose Gentian for a bit of pink in the center (not blooming in this photo).

My “bog” container of carnivorous plants.

 Here’s a close-up of part of the “bog” container.

Purple Pitcher plant and Venus flytrap.

I lost the tag for this one that I planted a couple of years ago, but I think it’s a type of Aloe.

Purple Aloe, I believe.

Here’s a tiny variety of Sedum along with Balboa Globe Amaranthe.

The purple/lavender Globe Amaranthe flowers with the bits of orange are really lovely.

I also have a container of water plants right outside the back door. This has a Pitcher plant, Dwarf Horsetail, and Star Grass.

Container of water plants near the back steps.

I have this strawberry pot in my Kitchen Garden. I planted a variety of succulents and herbs in it, including French Tarragon, a Scented Geranium, Curry Plant, and more. The Curry Plant can’t actually be used as curry flavoring in food, but it sure does smell like it. I love rubbing my hands on the various scented plants in this pot whenever I walk by it.

Strawberry pot in the Kitchen Garden filled with succulents and herbs.

When I was at the Philadelphia Flower Show early this year I saw a display there that included a birdhouse with a “green roof.” I looked and found a couple, however they were quite expensive. I thought I could convince Brian to build one for me. In the meantime, I found this miniature green-roof birdhouse (probably too small for birds) at Lowe’s. It actually already had the succulents planted in it. I nailed it to a stake and put it in my Kitchen Garden. Isn’t it so cute?!?!

“Green roof” miniature birdhouse in the Kitchen Garden.

 I have more container plants in my house and greenhouse. I think that will have to be another post, though.

Garden Visit: Mill Ends Park, The World’s Smallest Park

Ok, so technically this is considered a park and not a garden. But really, it’s still a tiny garden. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of posts on garden visits. I’m a fan of visiting gardens because I love to see what other people do with their landscape. Plus, it gives me ideas for my own garden. I can’t say that Mill Ends Park really falls into that category, though. It’s just gosh-darn funny.

As mentioned before, Brian and I took a two week vacation in July to Oregon. We haven’t done a “real” vacation since 2000, so it was a big deal for us. The reason for the trip was to celebrate Brian’s impending 40th birthday. Since he’s a homebrewer and an official beer judge in his free time, it only made sense to take a trip to Oregon where they have more brewpubs than any other state. But you can’t drink beer all day, every day, for two weeks straight (or can you????), so we fit in other fun things. I had read about Mill Ends Park in Portland and just had to see it.

Mill Ends Park is in the Guinness Book of Records as being the world’s smallest park. It is a circular plot that is no more than 2 feet in circumference. It is literally in the middle of the street. According to Wikipedia, it was intended to be a light pole. But the light pole never appeared and weeds grew. A journalist who worked nearby named Dick Fagan decided to plant flowers there. He made up a funny little story about a leprechaun granting him one wish and his wish was for his own park. The result was Mill Ends Park. To read more about Mill Ends, check out Wikipedia. It’s so silly, but it’s the silly things in life that make it fun.

When we visited Mill Ends Park there really wasn’t much interesting planted other than some Black Mondo Grass, a pine tree and some white annuals, along with some weeds. But it was still fun to see. Check it out...

Mill Ends park seen from across the street.

Mill Ends Park close up and personal.

It Used To Be July...

I learned a lesson this month. I learned that it’s not good for me to go on a two week vacation in July. Especially during a heat wave. July is always the prettiest month in my garden. Things were coming along nicely before I left, but despite having sprinklers set on timers, it struggled while I was away. And it shows. So here’s some photos of what it used to look like...BV (Before Vacation).

My flower garden in July.

The daisies bloom in all their glory in July. Daisies are a favorite of mine and are also my mom’s favorite flower. I’ve dug up some of mine to give to her in the past and can afford to give away even more!

Delightful Daisies.

I love this Hydrangea. I just wish I knew the name. I can’t take the credit for planting it. It was here when we bought the house. It has pink and purple flowers all on one plant, and even sports a few blue ones from time to time.

Hydrangea.

The purple Coneflowers are also magnificent in July. I’ve given some of these away before, too, and can still afford to give away a few more. I believe this variety is Magnus. It was one of the first things I planted in the garden. Both these and the daisies like to multiply each year.

Purple Coneflowers.

Some groundcovers now. Moonbeam Coreopsis and an annual called Superbells Coralberry Punch.

Groundcovers.

I planted one Monarda Raspberry Wine last year. I knew how much Mondarda liked to spread, but I had no idea how huge it would get in just one year. I probably need to give some of this away before it takes over half the garden.

Mondarda Raspberry Wine and Purple Coneflower Magnus.

This lily has become a real favorite of mine. I planted three of them in 2009. They are as tall as I am (which is pretty gosh-darn tall), but they’re a whole lot prettier than me. They are very regal looking.

A gorgeous lily: Lilium Leslie Woodriff.

I have some herbs right outside the back door for easy snipping when making dinner. Along with a Green Velvet Boxwood (which is NOT an herb) are sage, lemon thyme, Thai basil, sweet basil, rosemary, and a tomato that came back from last year. Yeh, tomatoes aren’t herbs either.

Herbs by my back porch.

The vegetable garden was HUGE by July. Seriously gigantic.

My Kitchen Garden in July.

Look at all the beets!

Beets with a tomato behind it and some petunias next to it.

The broccoli leaves are dinosaur-big, but no broccoli. I think I planted it too late. I believe it prefers cooler weather.

Broccoli, tomato, swiss chard. Bed to the left has carrots.

Some bounty from the vegetable garden.

Yellow squash and beets. And look at those sad-looking wee carrots. Don’t think those are ready yet!

June Seems So Far Away

In June I was busy finishing my gravel paths and planning our two week vacation to Oregon, so I got behind in posting garden pictures. Here’s what was going on in June.

I think I said it before and I’ll say it again: I think my raised veggie garden (my traditional “Kitchen Garden”) was more involved than I knew it would be. But now that it’s all done, I absolutely love it and think it was worth all of the hard work. I’ve gotten SO many great, fresh vegetables all season long. From beets to romaine and lettuce, to scallions, swiss chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and herbs like flat-leaf parsley and sweet basil. The gravel paths really make it all look more finished and formal. I was so happy to be finally finished the paths!

Gravel paths around the new “Kitchen Garden” were completed in June.

I felt like my Kitchen Garden needed a formal entrance. Something to act as a transition area from the yard and flower garden area to the Kitchen Garden. I came up with a plan. I redid the edge of my flower garden so that it flowed better into the Kitchen Garden area, moving the rock edging and digging more. The gravel paths comes out into the yard a bit now. My plan is to plant formal topiary on both sides of the entrance with some dwarf boxwood. It’s too hot to plant shrubs now and boxwood does better when you plant it in spring, so that will be part of my spring chores.

New “entrance” to the Kitchen Garden.

As you can tell, my neighbors still haven’t put up that fence they said they were going to do over a year ago!

The gravel path in my flower garden was looking pretty sad, so I dug it out, put down weed fabric and re-edged it, then put down new gravel. It looks so much better now. Right now the path just leads to the statue we named Winnie. Eventually I want it to continue to the Kitchen Garden. 

Gravel path in the flower garden.

One thing I learned this year is my flower garden is pretty boring in June. Once the roses are past their prime, there isn’t much color. Something to think about.

Flower garden in June.

I have several different varieties of Hydrangeas in the flower garden and they start to bloom towards the end of June.

Nikko Blue Hydrangea and Winnie.

The lavender looks good in June.

Lavender with pink roses in the background.

I have a red Passion Flower vine in a pot – Passiflora Sherry. Since I don’t think it’s hardy to this area, I keep it in the greenhouse in the winter and bring it out in the spring. It blooms off and on in the summer. It’s a smaller variety than other Passion Flowers, only getting about 4 feet long. It really is gorgeous, although I think I still prefer the pretty purple ones. I AM a sucker for purple flowers.

Red Passion Flower vine — Passiflora Sherry.

Yeh, it really is beautiful, isn’t it?

Molly & Izzy

Ok, so that last post was really depressing. I feel like I need to do a happy post now. What could be happier than kittens! And yes, it still is garden related...sort of.

A month after Monty passed away, we got two adorable kittens, Molly and Isabella. Was it too soon? Yes. Were we ready to be pet parents again? No. Do we regret it? Never. We have two of the sweetest sisters in the world. Even before Monty got sick, Brian and I had talked about when the time came to get a new cat we wanted to get two from the same litter so they could keep each other company. It was a great decision. These two girls love each other so much. And they love the screened-in back porch as much as Monty did. They nap out there, watch me work in the garden, and are fascinated by all the birds, chipmunks, squirrels, butterflies and bees.  

Izzy and Molly on the screened-in back porch when they were kittens.

I had conflicting emotions seeing them take over what used to be Monty’s domain. But I’m so glad they enjoy the porch and garden as much as he did. They especially love watching the birds in the birdhouses and at the bird feeder. Molly’s favorite spot on the porch was Monty’s favorite spot.

Molly in her favorite spot on the porch next to the potted catnip.

The circle of life goes on, as they say. Monty will always be with me when I’m in the garden or relaxing on the porch. And now my girls are there with me, too. Happy belated birthday, Molly and Izzy! (Their first birthday was July 5th.)

Izzy enjoying the view of the garden.

A Tribute to Monty

It’s been much too long since I last posted. Planning for and going on vacation for two weeks really threw me off schedule. As I adjust to being back home after an awesome trip to Oregon, I find myself reflecting back on what happened a year ago.

Last year on July 27th we had to have my best friend and constant companion, Montague, put to sleep. Monty was with me for 15 years. He was my little shadow. Everywhere I was in the house he had to be right there with me. But Monty got cancer and I couldn’t let him suffer.

The vet once told me that Monty had “behavioral problems. ” Kind of an understatement. He wasn’t a friendly cat and most people were afraid of him. He could be sweet one minute and bite your hand off the next. But he was a momma’s boy and loved me probably more than any other creature in the world has or ever will. Even though we have two adorable, loving sister cats now, I still miss my Monty.

What does this have to do with gardening, you wonder? Well, Monty loved the screened-in back porch that overlooks my garden. He would nap on the porch or sit there watching me work in the yard. He loved to watch the birds, butterflies, and squirrels in the garden. In fact, when it got towards the end and Monty was so sick with cancer, the only place he wanted to be was on the back porch. Brian and I took turns sleeping downstairs on the sofa so we could leave the back door open for him at night.

Monty napping on the screened-in back porch.

Putting Monty down was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but we knew it was the right thing because he was suffering. We also knew the right place to do it. We had a mobile vet come to the house and put him to sleep in his favorite spot on the back porch, overlooking the garden with the birds, bees and butterflies.

When I sit on the back porch looking at the garden, I can’t help but think of Monty. Sometimes I feel as if his little spirit is sitting there with me. When we had Monty cremated I knew he belonged in the garden. His remains are in a stone marker with the hydrangea, daisies and roses.

Monty's final resting place in the garden.

A few days before we had Monty put down, I wrote a little tribute to him. It’s no work of art, but it sums up what he was like and how I felt about him: 

Tribute to Monty

You were a devilish little thing as a kitten. You kept me up all night knocking things off my dresser. Pouncing on me every night, trying to play. You tried to climb my bare legs when you still had claws, you climbed my Christmas tree and even tore apart paperback books. But I loved you anyway.

You stuck to me like glue, whenever I was home; following me from room to room. Never out of my sight. Always by my side.

You wouldn’t sit in my lap, but you loved to cuddle up close and lay your head in my lap. And sometimes at night you’d lay on my chest with your face right in mine.

When Brian came along you let him know who was boss. And you let him know every day since. You’d snub him, or bite him, or sit in between us. You always made sure he knew that YOU came first.

You’ve lived in three different places; from a one bedroom apartment to two different houses. But I know you loved this home best; with a greenhouse to sun yourself in the morning, with a screened-in porch to watch the birds in the garden, and with great, big French doors where you’ve met the neighborhood kitties.

I’ve called you by many nicknames through these past 15 years; Wookie, Ewok, My Little Bear, HR Poop-n-Stuff, Fuzzy Britches, Grumpy Bear, Muffin Man, My Precious Baby, My Little Buddy, My Special Little Guy, My Little Sunshine, Fuzzy Monster, Monsterque, Magellan (because you loved to explore), and My Little Shadow.

My steadfast friend, my constant companion, you always loved your mommy and I always loved you.

I will miss seeing your little black shadow out of the corner of my eye. I will miss you lying on my keyboard as I try to type. I will miss you sitting under my chair, or your fuzzy little body curled up by my legs in bed each night. I will miss you pawing at my magazine as I try to read. I will miss seeing your little face peaking through the curtains when I come home from work. And I will miss the squeaky sound your paws make as you walk on the hardwood floors.

My heart breaks to let you go, but I know it’s for the best. I want your spirit to be free, and as happy as can be. I’ve imagined setting you down at the entrance to a great, big, beautiful garden. And you trot off on your happy little way chasing the birds and the butterflies as they fly away with you. 

You will always be with me in my heart and I will always love you, my little shadow. 

Montague: My Little Shadow