Wildflower Ramblings

 I know this should be called "Where the wild things are.....Part something". But I forgot what part we on now and like Lot's wife, I think it best not to look back these days. The past is the past, keep moving forward or you risk stagnation. 

The wildflowers were blooming on the East Slopes of the Cascades this weekend. It's been a pretty wet and cool spring, although talking to some of the elders of the local chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society who were at the garden this past weekend for a visit, it's just a par for the course year. So after a soaking tour and sale, Joleen and I peaced out to find some sun on the East Slope. Couldn't have had a better getaway, it was sunny, lazy, relaxing and filled with flowers. 

Larkspur at Whychus Canyon. 

Erigeron polisospermus

A great cushion plant for the rock garden

such a saturated flower color after seeing all the 

mellow Townsendia blooming. 

Leucocrinum montanum
The Sand Lily was pretty much finished up, but found a few of these interesting, Agave family species. It's interesting to me that this is pretty closely related to the Mexican tuberose, I was selling a particularly hardy strain of the tuberose that I've been cultivating for a while now hoping to get saleable numbers on, and no one bought the Agave amica I had for sale  this weekend. Imagine if you could cross the Sand Lily and the Tuberose? The form of a the sand lily, with the fragrance and summer bloom of the Tuberose (formerly Polianthes, because we know how the botanist like to work overtime to rewrite history.....ooops. I though this post was about the perils of looking back?) We visited Kevin Vaughn's place with the Rock Garden Chapter, and it aways leaves me imaging what is possible, or after seeing his garden, What isn't possible when it comes to creating new plants. 

I did pretty much swear off taxonomic botany after they started messing with my precious Monkeyflowers. This should be Mimulus, but they say it's Diplacus now. I can rail at length about that and since I'm growing at least 9 different species and selections in this "Clade" now I will dedicate a post to it at some point. I do believe there should be a system in place, where if you dedicate so much of your brain to higher learning, then the university or college that you attended needs to offer "refresher courses" free of charge for Alum that now need to go back and study the revisions that were put in place after graduation. College graduates of the world unite and join me in this quest for continued learning. It's not fair that the botanists at the U's get to keep revising everything and they don't subsidize our continuing education credits!

Asperula sentenisii
in the Rock Garden, doesn't seem to mind the torrential spring rains. 

Toxicoscordion paniculatum. 
The foothills death camas....Best common name ever! ...wait, didn't this used to be called Zygadenus? So much for looking backward.....Pillars of salt I might wish on some of the botanists lately who have forced me back into learning an entire new language after I spent so much time learning this one. But a right proper bulbous species for the sake of keeping something consistent in this blog. Look but don't consume. 

Chaco got into the groove of wildflower searching. Supporting the resistance in Ukraine all the while. Maybe the Bear from the north is finally marching south,  but I'm gonna take my time and smell the flowers the whole while. 

                                                                                

Back on the home front, I think the rock garden was looking smashing for the Chapter visit, it was great to see so many faces I  haven't seen in person, some in years now. So much fun to have them all out, the report is that all had a great time checking out the gardens and growers of Salem, despite the 1/2" of rain or so that came down that day. 

Look at me, saying I was going to be way to busy to post anything more here before the flurry of summer sales, rock gardener tours, administering finals and wrapping up the school year. But as it turns out, the never ending onslaught of pacific fronts setup a super rainy weekend and I caught a break in between, so hence the post. 

Rain, probably at least a 1/4" today, but mild temps in the high 50's. I would say it was comfortable, the kind of rain that just mists your t-shirt,  you know the natives went naked most of the time to avoid such discomforts as clothes when it's such a mild climate. 

Cheers, 

Mark

The May Garden

“How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live 'em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give 'em.”

― Shel Silverstein

These days are just packed, despite having no resturants, movie theaters or bars to visit, the boat launches mostly closed so I can't go fishing. I somehow have managed to fill about every minute of every day with something to keep me busy. Lot's of work in the garden lately, as I'm doing an extra big vegetable garden planting this year. I had noticed over the past few years it had gotten progressively smaller and smaller until it seemed to balance out the needs of the two individuals that live at illahe most of the time. But this seems like a time to have a good supply of food on hand so the planting season has been a busy one. There are flowers as well, and I finally managed a quick walk around the garden and greenhouse with the camera on a lazy sunday afternoon that alternated between sun breaks and thunderstorns. 

The Calochortus season has begun

The Rock garden has really been a lovely respite through the "social distancing days"

Allium unifolium 'Wayne Roderick' and Cammassia cusickii in the fading light.

Calochortus luteus

Townsendia's have always delighted me, I grew some in pots plunged in a sand bed this year. I really wish I had more time to do the alpines I love justice. 

The last of the Fritillaria to bloom out in the raised beds, F. biflora grayana

The Calochortus are like paintings, lovely paintings done in natures hues.

Cypella, I've been doing more subtropicals on the patio during the summer and overwintering them in an unheated shop or the greenhouse, and this one is a fun long season bloomer. 

The iris collection is expanding every year. I think the Dutch call this 'Eye of Tiger'

I have sworn that I finally identified this Iris that was growing neglected in a corner of the yard at our first house on Tolman St. in Portland as Iris ensata 'great white heron'. But the foliage is more like a bearded then a Japanese. Whatever it is I have propagated thousands of them and put them everywhere for the lovely fragrant hankerchief sized flowers. 

Iris douglasiana one of our wonderful native species that grows so well with so little care.

Looks to be a wet week ahead, as soggy sneakers were to be had after a morning walk to check the greenhouse. Good for the plants though as I don't really like to start irrigating anything if I don't have to until well into June.

Cheers,

Mark