Amazingly, we have an iris in bloom in early October! We are now spending the cool mornings and warm afternoons cutting back perennials and generally winterizing the garden. I spent last weekend cutting 25 peonies to the ground, checking the rhizomes to be sure they weren’t diseased, putting in the stakes now so I know …
Read more “October 8, 2026–Autumn is settling in for the duration”
This spring and summer in West Linn has been especially beautiful, with trees, shrubs and perennials blooming their heads off. Right now, our hydrangeas are the stars of the garden, with echinacea and rudabekia (Black-eyed Susens) gearing up for mid-summer bursts of color. The roses continue to bloom, as well. Bed 1 in the pasture …
There are two videos in today’s blog– one for April where you can see what things looked like in early spring, and one for late May, when the garden is bursting with late spring color. In addition to seeing peonies, iris, roses, late flowering rhododendrons and early hydrangeas, you will notice how quiet and peaceful …
Read more “May 24, 2026 Beautious Blossoms in our Spring Garden”
I tried my first video of the garden on March 20. It gives you a different perspective on the scope of our garden. I apologize in advance for moving too quickly. So if you don’t want to get dizzy watching it, click on the gear in the upper right and change the speed to .25. …
It was a looong winter, not so cold or wet that it kept Gordon out of the garden, weeding, and more recently pruning. But all that hard winter’s work paid off as you can see in the photos below: This past week’s warm weather brought the magnolia into bloom! The cherry blossoms at our front …
Ever economical, we raked up the fallen pine needles and put them around our blueberries as mulch. The acidity helps keep the blueberries blue. This was in November, but oh, what a view of Petes Mountain Winery–just two doors away (and a looong walk) from our property! Despite the rain and cold, we know that …
Dahlias fill our cutting bed with lots of color. We would have had roses, as well, but deer have found a way over our deer fence or are coming from the Pete’s Mountain side of the property and have decimated the roses. It’s a good thing it is the end of the season and it’s …
Echinacea are beautiful, but like the coreopsis, shasta daisies, buddleia and other perennials, they need to be deadheaded mid-summer so they can bloom again. Even the vibirnum are enjoying a second bloom. These were planted by the original owners in the early 2000s.
Growing up in New York, my family loved the blue hydrangeas that lined our driveway. My mother started them from clippings from my grandmother’s garden. And when my mother and father moved some 50 years later, I took cuttings back to California and made starts for my brother and sisters. Today, all of us— including …
These orange azaleas were planted by the original owners more than 20 years ago. They are huge and so colorful (The little roof is the cover to our well.) A couple of weeks later, the red Rhododendron and white viburnum next to the red Japanese Maple put on a showl We like the Rhodies so …