Oh thank you all for your contributions. I saw some plant names that I was not familiar with, but will be checking out soon. I walked through the garden this evening and saw that the Stoke's aster was about to bloom. The whirling butterflies shows no sign of letting up. The coneflower are going strong. I added two goldsturm rudbeckia this year that are loaded with blooms. So those are all probably July and potential August bloomers. :) Mary, I know how you feel about the garden being mostly green. That's the way I felt when I walked out back to my woodland garden. There are patches of partial sunshine where some blooming plants like asiatic lilies, daylilies, and a few of my other blooming plants go. It's hard to find things to bloom in the less sunnier areas. The astilbe is looking fried right now. Azaleas bloomed way back in April. The oakleaf hydrangeas have bloomed and the blooms are turning that golden brown color now. My other hydrangeas are young and haven't produced much blooms. In fact, the only one I'm happy with is Endless Summer. Lemon Daddy, Lanarth, and Blue Billows have yet to give me a bloom. Lady in Red is blooming, but lightly. I am just craving more color...more umph! :) -Sharon

Estreya, yup I'm still here! Here's a (very long) rundown of what I did. I did this process after talking to several nurseries, talking to my mom who is an avid gardener, and reading a bunch of books. It may not be what everyone advises (I'm sure someone out there has other methods!), but it worked brilliantly for us. First, I soaked the tree in it nursery pot in a big bin of water for an hour or two to make sure it was really REALLY hydrated. Meanwhile, my poor husband dug a super big hole, putting the dirt he dug out into a wheelbarrow. Into this wheelbarrow I added some "good" soil. Our "good soil" was Miracle Grow Tree and Shrub Soil since we were in a hurry and didn't have time to make a custom blend, but I'm sure you could be more foofy with your blend if you want! I would say the ratio was about 2/3 regular garden soil to 1/3 Miracle Grow soil. I mixed everything super well, making sure to water the Miracle Grow soil properly since it was bone dry. Now, back to the hole for the tree. In the very bottom of the hole, I made a mound for the tree to rest on. You can see how to do this in any good tree book. This helps the tree get good drainage. Then I put the tree in, checking one last time to make sure the tree was at the correct height, and then started backfilling with the soil mixture. I did not tamp the soil down with a shovel. Instead, I used water from a hose, which washes the soil down evenly, preventing air pockets. Then I would add more soil, water it in, add more soil, and etc. It took a ton of soil and a ton of water, too! But it really worked. Those trees did not settle at all. They stayed exactly as planted. So be slow and careful with this stage. It's worth it! Finally, we made a watering ring about four feet in diameter using the last of the soil, and gave the tree one last drink. And then I gave it a good serving of Miracle Gro Quick Start Transplant Solution. I use this on everything I plant, and it really seems to help when planting in the heat of summer. Things may wilt for an hour or two after planting, and then they are fine! I used to use organic everything, but the Miracle Grow stuff just is amazing. I love it. As for watering, I give each tree half an hour with the hose (just lay the hose down and walk away) two times a week minimum. You can buy plastic watering rings, but I was pretty sure these would be stolen since I live in PDX. I know this is a lot more info than you asked for, but I was hoping to prevent you some of the suffering and indecision we went through planting our trees last year. We were so scared! But it all worked out great. Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle Gro Quick Start Transplant Solution

Looks like a lot of rain my way Andy so hopefully I'll get to take a break from watering for a little while! Thanks usmarine! I dont have a lot of bees in my yard, but I do have a ton of wasps (they dont seem to like flowers as much as the foliage plants) so the passion vines are usually left alone from the insects. Hopefully it stays that way since it's growing on a fence right by the pool. This is a pic of it today, I changed the brightness a little to make it have a sharper look... -Alex

I live near Portland and am not a native Oregonian--been here since 2001. I have found Oregonians to be friendly and polite. The Columbia River Gorge is a must see and there's plenty of hiking. Some of the waterfalls can be seen without a hike. Latourell Falls is one of my favorites. They'll be smaller that time of year because there's probably not going to be much snow melt from Mt. Hood. You could drive from Portland to Bend and spend a few nights there. Bend had been overrun with Californians, so there's good food and lodging there. There's some interesting volcanic landscaping in central Oregon, which I think you'd enjoy being from the east coast, where everything is eroded, geologically speaking. Smith Rock and the Painted Hills are pretty cool. Also Paulina Peak, which is a mountain of obsidian and like being on the moon, and Newberry Crater. I got this from their website: The crater boasts one of the most amazing collections of geological wonders found anywhere in the Pacific Northwest: cinder cones, lava flows, waterfalls, crater lakes, several gigantic obsidian flows, jagged cliffs, and steep yet forested crater walls. All of this can be seen from or encountered on the climb to the summit of Paulina Peak. (It's a short, easy climb.) I've never been to Crater Lake--just never seemed worth the drive. But from the lake you could then drive back up 5 to 42 out to the coast at Bandon. That's a pretty area and a good place to start the drive north up the coast. I haven't driven 42 but I imagine it's a long slow drive, but any drive out to the coast is. I would see the coast between Bandon and Newport because of the tide pools and wilder aspects of the coast line. At Lincoln City you could head inland to McMinnville, which is kind of a foodie place. Then go to a few wineries in the Dundee area, where you're an hour from Portland. While Cannon Beach is a nice beach town (day trip for Portlanders), there's not much between Cannon Beach and Lincoln City. It's inland and there's only the Tillamook Cheese Factory (whoop-de-do), and that adds 1 1/2 -2 hours to your drive. If you do go to Cannon Beach, go to Ecola State Park and take the drive through the forest to Indian Beach. Order their travel guides--they're excellent for having in the car with you so you know what to see. Oregon Travel Guides