Lush Tropical Pacific NW Garden/Yard
poolmissy
17 years ago
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Ratherbgardening
17 years agoRelated Discussions
NW Flower & Garden Show: what did you think, what did you buy?
Comments (36)Thanks for the additional mouse plant information. I'll be sure to mark it somehow so I don't dig it up (or at least reduce the likelihood of me digging it up) during its summer dormancy. Amy, you're as likely, or unlikely, to get fruit from your seedling as from most grafted, named varieties, so I'd say test-drive you new seedling and see what you think. Otherwise you'll be spending prime money for a grafted named variety that probably won't bear fruit anyway in this climate. My old one has become a very, very attractive little tree. As gardengal mentioned, they really can't be expected to bear fruit in the Pacific Northwest unless you can give them additional protection. My old one does flower reliably, so that's a start, but in this climate they're basically fun foliage plants. The raintree catalog mentions that clearly, and I hope the sales person did when you talked with them. I still may plant one in this current garden as a foliage plant. Let us know what you do with yours, and how it works out. Take care, Grant...See MoreNoone understands the Pacific NW
Comments (69)Well, there are stupid people everywhere, and people who manage to be stupid about everything! Mind you the PNW is guilty for creating some of its own myths. My parents had one close friend who was into gardening. I remember in the late 80s they took a big trip to the west coast after their son moved to San Francisco. I was just getting into gardening there and he said to me "David, you wouldn't believe the roses at Butchart Gardens. And do you know what, they told us they don't even have frosts in the winter." I was skeptical of that at the time, and consulted my trusty World Book encylopedia LOL. Anyhow I can imagine the PNW once seeming remote - that's the reason the likes of David Lynch set Twin Peaks there - but I don't think it seems that way as much anymore in these internet connected times. it is after all the secondary silicon valley. (OTOH my Mom jokes that my brother who lives in Seattle was trying to move as far away as possible LOL) I will say one thing that struck me driving south from Seattle to LA was that after the Willamette Valley, that highway _really_ clears out. In the middle of the day, headed south through southern Oregon, it was mostly logging trucks, some RV/campers, but really desolate. Very very little "just people in cars" traffic. In comparison the whole of the I95 corridor from Boston to Florida is busy all years, all days. Even in the less dense sections there are people on the move for whatever reason. In southern Virginia on 95 it's nothing at all to see New Jersey and NY license plates. I've been at a gas station near here and run into some kids from the Boston area driving to South Carolina to go to the beach. OTOH, it seems like for a Seattle area person to even drive to the Bay Area is rather rarer...and LA would be like driving to another country LOL. I don't think there's anything like the mass exodus to/from Florida which happens on the east coast. Just in my definitely middle-class neighborhood...in this county (most northeasterly in Maryland) but not even on the water...I know of a couple older families that winter in Florida....See MoreTips for a brand new (pacific NW)gardener?
Comments (19)Putting down a mulch after you weed can prevent some of them from coming back from roots left behind. I use a lot of straw mulch, because it's cheaper than bark mulch, but I live on acreage so it's more acceptable than it might be on a city lot. I will also lay down newspapers or cardboard with a mulch on top to kill off weeds, much easier than pulling them all and it benefits the soil too. It won't stop blackberries, though. They'll just come up through it, as will thistle. Be careful of what you let go to seed. Birds will transport them to other areas and some can be invasive, choking out native plants. Your rhododendron won't have blooms next year where you trimmed it, just to warn you. It will the following year, though if you don't cut it back again. A lot of people whack them back to get a fuller plant. You'll learn a lot through successes and failures along the way, just as I still do. That's what's nice about gardening, you never quit learning. If I'd had the internet when I was gardening in my youth, I'd be way ahead by now! I started gardening before I was ten. My grandmother lived with us and she let me have a little plot in her garden, so I spent a lot of time tending that little piece of land. Then in my teens I took over the vegie garden. My grandmother had a small greenhouse that I grew cacti in too, so that was a fun diversion from the outside plants. Enjoy your days in the garden and take some pictures to show us your progress....See MoreNW Veggie Gardeners...what's growing in your garden?
Comments (18)It's my second year vegetable gardening as well, and I'm loving it! If only the sun would come out! Fruit Trees: *Cherries *Melrose apple *Redfree apple *Peaches *blueberries (multiple varieties) In raised beds: *Lettuce/greens: black seeded simpson, green oak leaf, red deer tongue, Australian yellowleaf, cracoviensis, rouge d'hiver, merlot, arugula, spinach *Tomatoes: black giant, black, bali, red russian, eva purple ball, russian 117, yellow peach, stupice *Peppers: gypsy, jalapeno *Winter squash: small sugar pumpkin, potimarron, musquee de provence *Summer squash: ronde de nice *Beans: vermont cranberry, rattlesnake, purple, jacob's cattle, agate soybean *Peas: green arrow *Carrots: dragon, atomic red, scarlet nantes *Onions: rossa di milano, generic white sets *Potatoes (in wine buckets): russian blue, french fingerling, alaskan sweetheart, caribe, german butterball *Cucumbers: lemon, armenian, boothby's blonde, straight eight, tondo di manduria Herbs: *greek oregano *italian parsley *lemon thyme *rosemary *mint *cilantro *garlic chives Still to go in: *Rosa bianca eggplants (under lights) *Genovese & Christmas basil (under lights) *Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts (from seed) Beans: Rossa di Milano onion: Greens:...See Morepoolmissy
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