Spring Break 2019

"When I'm in Canada I feel, this is what the world should be like"

                                                                  Author Unkown

Erythronium grandiflorum

The Avalanche lilies have started in, Marking the first of the Eyrthronium collection to bloom for me on the last week of March. 

I was in Canada this weekend and I completely agree with that statement above. The kiddo and I took a quick spring break weekend road trip to Vancouver BC. I hadn't been in maybe 10 years and I am so glad I took the time to go again this past weekend. I had almost forgot how much I love British Columbia. Kiddo fell in love too and I have no idea how it could  possibly get paid for but she now is determined to go to UBC for her college years.

We mostly touristed which was fantastic but I did manage to get in a quick visit to Van Dusen Botanical Garden. Years ago I was in Canada for a Western Winter Study weekend for Nargs and I remembered Van Dusen having this great alpine collection with troughs and a legit alpine house. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. I've been meaning to send off an email and ask what happened to the alpine collection there.

That is a beautiful, but completely empty alpine house, and I mean completely empty, it even seemed to have some detritus like hoses and such just laying about. Very unbecoming for such a great botanical garden. 

Miles of boxwoods are my new jam since I went back to being a full time garden manager for a historical garden conservancy. These demarcating the rose garden were very tidy. 

The heaths and Heathers were looking fantastic and smelling every bit as wonderful. 

The Crown Imperials were well on the way. Must be the climate.

Anya had a fantastic time in Canada even if it was only for a short spell we managed to fit a lot in. I've only got like 2 more spring breaks before she is off to University so I'm bound and determined to make every last minute of that time count.

The weather is something else right now, I think it just rained an inch and a half in about a 20 minute period. It was 35 degrees on Tuesday morning, but the afternoons have been somewhat warm.

Cheers,

Mark

Bombus, Snow Camping Adventures and Iranian Fritillaries

"A great deal has been made about the weather, but very little has ever been done about it"
                                                                                                   Mark Twain

This post is dedicated to the indefatigable William George Johnson, Aka Billy. A friend I have had the great fortune to have spent much of the last decade working along side to further clean water in Oregon. He left government work about the same time as I did, his path taking him on an attempt to walk the great Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. We skied into the backcountry one last time to camp out on the Flanks of Mt. Washington and reflect on a career well spent trying to make Oregon a better place. We wish you well buddy, godspeed on the trails!

                                                                                                     

Probably one of the most scenic campspots I've ever had in my life, camped in an old burn on a ridge off Mt. Washintons West Flank, we had views of the Mckenzie pass, Three Fingered Jack, Hayrick Butte, Mt. Jefferson and the Cascade Crest. 

I like to pretend I could have been one of those intrepid botanical explorers like Rock or Fortune or Ward. If you had to ski into a patch of high alpine plants I could have done that I tell myself.  Our campsite was right below the tree line on that spur to the Right of Zach Deihls Head.

 I

Speaking of the weather, the sun brought the crocus out in full force. 

I even caught old Bombus out for an early snack on the still blooming Colchicum hungaricum 'Valentine'

Frtillaria reuteri
This little gem is blooming now, I should get a better picture since the white background washes it out a bit the color is really much better and it has those wonderful glaucus leaves. This Iranian blooms a little bit later then the crassifolia complex I have with similar yellow on brown/plum colored flowers.

Well, the spring weather has fell into place nicely, it was 71 degrees yesterday and I have a bit of a sunburn from the snow adventure and then a good day in the garden pruning. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Spoken much too soon.

"I like the cold weather, it means you get work done" 

Noam Chomsky

I think I spoke about the return of the sun much too soon, This so far one of the most consistently cold starts to march I've seen in awhile. I'll be monitoring for frost damage as this is the most vulnerable time. Things are in growth and pushing hard, but we have had some really low temps. 

Queens own Gardener John Anderson was in Salem, and drew a great crowd. The talk was wonderful, covering a fair bit of ground, but with a fairly intense focus, on some of the more unusual trees and woody species he has grown throughout his career. Props to the Salem HPS for getting such a great speaker to come free of charge. Wish that I would have had some flats of flower bulbs for sale at this one!

The JJA Crassifolia group I grow are starting in well despite the incessant cold

These have been shown on here for years, but I do need to point out that if you give space to the single bulbs to grow on to large mature size, the size of the blossoms definitely increase and they can produce up to 5 flowers per single bulbs, maybe more?

The cold has stuck around as evidenced by the snow still lining the greenhouse.

Oregon Myrtle wood on Oregon Ash, I think one would be hard pressed to
find a better combination to create a stunning guitar then those two woods. 

It's my take on a Garry Oak Leaf, Seems fitting with my home environment, Predominately oak woodlands
can be found in any direction you walk from illahe. It fit nicely onto the Gabon Ebony truss rod cover. Boy if I had a penny for everyone of those leaves I've raked up in my life, I'd be richer then Kylie Jenner. 

The guitar project continues despite the cold, I thought the warm sun eluded to earlier was going to stick around, instead we had the lowest temperatures of the entire winter hit the first week of March. That's never good for a gardener. Had quite a few flower heads bending over with the 22 degree temps in the greenhouse, despite a solid covering of frost blankets. Most things look to be on the bounce back, but it's been awful chilly at night and it snowed most of today.

Cheers ,
Mark

Return of the Sun

"Let the sunshine in and chase away your blues, cause smilers never lose and frowners never win"

                                                                                               Screeching Weasel

Well finally the sun has returned, there are still a few patches of snow hanging around in the deep shadows but for the most part the thaw is complete. The sun feels extra good after a few weeks of cold. It's the old adage, you don't really know what you have till it's gone right? You only miss the sun when it starts to rain...........I could quote song lyrics all day here but I started this post with the seminal punk band talking about sunshine because I was thinking today about how I started this guitar project so long ago and the intent was to build a guitar that would blaze on stage as I took to the road a touring punk rock guitar player, couch surfing my way across the U.S. playing smokey bar rooms and basements filled with sweaty punks, the smell of beer thick in the air. And now as I am about to complete it, I'm thinking that life seemed to have passed me by and maybe I should outfit the guitar more for a reality of playing along to the jeopardy theme song on the couch every night. I guess I could always finish this guitar as it was intended to be and build another one that more mimics the middle age person I've become. Regardless, the sun is out and here is what happened when I walked around the garden:

Crocus X leonidii 'Early Gold' pushing through the snow.

Crocus X leonidii 'Early Gold' A day later with the sun out. 

The guitar is really coming along well, I got the Old growth myrtle wood top laminated on and most of the inlay work done. 

Check out the display of early crocus opening wide to catch some rays.

Colchicum hungaricum 'Valentines day' always looks good in the snow, and the color seems to wash out a bit on bright sunny days but the bloom period is impressive when you think about how these have been going since a week before valentines.

So it goes, spring feels like it wants to break in any day, although today a north wind blew pretty good in the afternoon. If you could get out of it though the warmth was palpable. Longer days are here. 

50 degrees and sunny today although it felt like 68 after the last week of on and off snow showers. 

Cheers, 

Mark 

P.S. Happy Birthday J!