Harvest update and Heat Wave aftermath

 “Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another.” Mark Mason

So a coworker gave me the Mark Mason book "The subtle art of not giving a Fuck".  I'm a couple chapters in and I must say I love it. Definitely reiterates a few maxims I've come to realize in life. I'm excited to see where he goes with what seems like pretty darn good advice in life, the less you care about the meaningless the easier your life will be. 

So in the aftermath of all time record high temperatures for our little part of western Oregon, it's been interesting to take stock of what was affected and what was not. The hardest hit were conifers and the berry crop, especially the Josta berries which were a few days away from the prime of harvest, the berries literally cooked on the vines at 117 degrees and sort of fermented in the steamed juice to become completely inedible. I know this is mostly a bulb blog, but for me it's also a garden journal so I'll share a bit about what fared poorly in the face of undeniable climate change for our microclimate.

The quite rare, Xanthocyaparis vietnamensis showing the 
damage from the heat. A few mature noble firs  on the property have the same symptoms. 

The garden looks great despite the heat, I've been selecting for heat and drought resistant 

plants since I started my nursery business over 20 years ago in Portland. At the time it was because I was a pretty poor new dad, putting a wife through law school while paying off my own student debt and trying to build a life and the City of Portland water bill to keep a garden and nursery going was a luxury I could barely afford. It is nice to see the fruits of those years of selections paying off now. Romneya and Burkehya blooming nicely above sedums to make a fine show of drought tolerant garden design. 

The veggie garden actually seemed to appreciate the heat. 
Bumper crop of garlic this year, and some beautiful cabbages, I got as starts from the horticulture
program at my old community college. The faculty and students there make some great plant starts. 

Tis the high season of summer now and the border gladiolus are just starting in. 
That is elephant garlic in the back that I've let become an ornamental. The bees absolutely love it.
Completely unnafected by the heat, self seeding california poppy's and the Aesculus californica that has been blooming for two months now in the background. 

The bulbs are done (except of one lonely pot of Calochortus clavatus in the bulb house)and ready for harvest. It was seed collection time this week and Anya gave me a hand in between shifts at the local craft pizza establishment where she is working to save up for college this fall. Since she is busy working for the guaranteed income of minimum wage and tips, the harvest might be a bit slower this year since I don't have my trusty nursery hand to help me out this year. 

Overall the garden was not all that badly affected by the extreme heat, the cherry crop was huge this year but unfortunately no one wanted to pick them in the heat. As mentioned the worst hit were the josta berries, especially the ones in the direct sun. Made me rethink one of my plans that was to put in some commercial plantings that could go to the cider industry around here. If extreme heat waves are a thing in june, currants, gooseberries and josta's probably are no longer a viable crop here. I heard the raspberry crop was hit hard by this heat have. Dried fruits on the canes instantly. In the rock garden a few casualties were the newly planted alpines, mostly from our own Mountains, like an Arenaria selection from the Wallowa mts, that came from Kathy Allen and Petrophytum. 

Catalog Update:

I'm planning on starting the harvest prep this week, hope to have it done by the second week of July, and with any luck and some decent weather the catalog should be out in the next two weeks. As mentioned I don't have as much help this year so it may take me a bit longer. I'll definitely be keeping this updated as the bulbs start coming out of the ground though. 

Sunny and highs in the 80's and 90's this week, but the nice cooler nights that makes the "normal" summers in the valley so pleasant. 

Cheers, 

Mark

The Hottest Summer

 "This is the hottest summer of my life........"No, this is the coolest summer of the rest of your life".

Some meme I saw on instagram.

115 degrees, the thermometer read at 2:15 in the afternoon on a Monday. I put on a wide brimmed hat, over a cooling, water soaked bandana and decided to go see what the effects of this inferno looked like on the cool, temperate loving plants of Northwest Oregon. It wasn't pretty, evergreens scorched with burn marks, the huge cherries, loaded with fruit were flagging as if someone held a blowtorch to the leaves. The sun burned on my skin and every breath felt labored like it sometimes does in a sauna when you take a deep breath. It was a record for Salem and at 117 I think it was one of the hottest places on planet earth for that day. 

Stopped to see some of the lilies of the high country on the way back from a fun filled weekend along the cool, crystal blue waters of the Mckenzie river. 

Lilium columbianum
 blooming along side the road cuts of the ski trails I often hit in the winter.

Lilium washingtonianum
The fragrance of this one is hard to describe. It permeates
the dry woodlands where it always seems to grow only above 4000'

       Lilium 'Fusion'

                This hybrid between the easter lily and the 

                              Leopard lily above is one of my all time favorites, 

            It naturalizes and increases well and has 

          huge leapoard spotted summer flowers

Lilium pardalinum
This is in the rock garden in a mixed bed with Eremurus and Itoh Peonies

                                                                             

All the lilies in the garden seemed to stand up to the heat well, I can't say the same for some of the other plants. It was a true scorcher and it's clear the entire compilation of Northwest gardens may have to change if this weather is the norm. It was crushing weights of ice in February followed by all time record heat and drought. The climate has changed. 

Highs in the 90's seem like sweet, cooling relief. 

Mark

Lilium washingtonianum ssp. washingtonianum