Postcards from the Trail

Garden 2013 Update 5

2013-06-07T20:51:51Z

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I'm a little behind. We have been having wonderful weather and I have been busy at work. This update is actually from last Sunday.

The vegetable garden is doing very well this year. We have harvested 2 heads lettuce - in fact - it has been a week of salad at our house. And lots more to come on. The Swiss Chard and Kale are also ready.

G planted the corn, the squash and the beans. We did not get good germination on our Goldmarie broad beans so he is seeding them direct. He is seeding some more carrots and beets. The tomatoes were also moved out to the front years just after Memorial Day. I actually found a little tomato on our Stupice.

In the flower beds, the iris, alliums, peonies are in bloom. Everything has leafed out and the tender plants have been brought out of the cold greenhouse and planted for the season.

We also visited two gardens on Kitsap Peninsula on Sunday - Celestial Dream Gardens in Kingston and Far Reaches Farm. We really enjoyed talking with the owners of Celestial Dream Gardens and walking around their property. They have a great selection of interesting plants for a warm sunny location. We discussed the challenges of growing borderline plants in the region. Far Reaches is amazing. They have the most wonderful shade garden with lots of exotic plants that they have collected on plant trips especially in Asia. We picked up several plants at both locations mainly for shade. G wants to plant a dark shade area under the trees. More later in the season.

Lettuce ready to harvest

Green beans planted

We're trying corn again - last time years ago, the racoons ate it. But we haven't seen any racoons recently so we have our fingers crossed.

Beds are looking good

Tomatoes are out!

First tomato - a Stupice

Eryngium agavifolium and Euphorbia wallichii

Iris pallida 'Variegata' - These bloom for such a long time and have a lovely scent

Echium pininan - we got a bunch of these from our friends at Langley Garden and we're trying them outside - this is near the deck - it may be too shaded

The shade area that will be planted - Hosta "Sum and Substance", Epimedium, and Weigela

We'll be planting this area soon

Another shade area on the east side of the house - Dicentra spectabilis Gold Heart which is greening up in the shade, Fothergilla "Blue Mist", Aconitum ‘Stainless Steel’, Astrantia "Hadspen Blood' and Rhododendron sinogrande in the back.

Our new grill and bistro set - the deck may be another project.

Neo out on his leash.

Olympic Sculpture Garden

2013-05-28T01:55:37Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Postcards from the Trail]]> The Memorial Day forecast was dismal - cool and drizzle. It was a shame because this was the weekend of the low minus tides. It would have been a great time to explore the eel grass flats. We gave it a go on Sunday and it was interesting and tiring as usual but it just doesn't have the extreme joy of a sunny day at the beach.

I remembered the native plantings at the Olympic Sculpture Garden so G and I drove downtown Seattle. We wanted to visit the Volunteer Park Conservatory but it is now closed on Mondays. I also forgot that there is now an admission charge. This is good - the glass houses are in need of repair.

I remembered a hidden parking area next to the Amgen building. We just had to find it. It was actually pretty easy to find by following the signs off Elliott. There is bridge just before the Magnolia Bridge which takes you over to the west side of the railroad tracks. The parking is south of the building just before the grain elevators.

First we did a walk over the Amgen Helix Bridge which connects the corporate campus with Elliott Way. Then we headed south along the pathway. Along the way, the port has created a rose garden in the section of the path called Centennial Park. I loved the David Austin Roses that were planted. Farther along the way, you catch the sight of the Space Needle top peeking over the office buildings and next to the old Post Intelligencer Globe. The demise of the PI was one of the early warning of the upcoming print media crisis.

The bay was gray but it was warm. Steam rose from the wet paths but soon the drizzle turned to sprinkles as we climbed up to the Olympic Sculpture Garden.

We walked along the curving path in the Grove. The Typewriter Eraser peeked out between the Aspens and the stark black of the Wandering Rocks were softened by the wild irises growing among the Pacific Northwest natives. The native plant gardens are really beautiful now after several years of growth.

We crossed under the watchful eye of Calder's bright orange 'The Eagle'. My absolute favorite though were the plantings just up from the Valley. The path was densely lined by beautiful Pacific Coast irises. The Dogwood trees were planted as accents and under foot were growths of wild strawberries.

We continued through The Wave and then back to the shore of the Bay. We were getting cold and hungry so we headed for a beer at Elysian Brewery in Tangletown. We were glad we were not in a cold wet tent camping as we have on past Memorial Days.

Amgen Bridge

Seagull with a starfish prize

Runners and walkers along the path

The Grove

Typewriter Eraser

The Eagle

Wild Pacific Coast Irises

The Wave

For a previous visit (in the sun!) - Olympic Sculpture Garden May 2010

Lakewold Garden

2013-05-27T04:15:23Z

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Lakewold is our favorite garden in the region. It is wonderful early in Spring but a visit around Mother's Day is also a time for many surprises. We were hunting for the Embothrium coccineum and we were not disappointed. The unfurling ferns were a delight but the best discovery of the day was a gorgeous lady slipper orchid. We visited last weekend on May 19th.

Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden

2013-05-26T03:18:00Z

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The Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden is a little sleeper of a garden. It is located just under the take-off path north of SeaTac airport. The highlight of the garden is the Elda Belm's Paradise Garden. This is a re-creation of her garden which was condemmed in 1997 to make way for the third runway at SeaTac. Thousands of her plants were relocated in 2000-2001.

It is also the site of the King County Iris Society beds. We visited on May 19th mainly to see the irises but also to enjoy the spring blooms in Elda Belm's garden.

We missed the miniture iris but the large bearded irises were in full bloom as were many rhododendrons. It is worth a quick visit if you are in the South Seattle area.

Construction at Bellevue Botanical Garden

2013-05-20T02:42:21Z

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Seattle is a riot of color. The Spring weather has been typical, a little rain, a little sun but overall not too cold. But the biggest difference was the mild winter. Everything is in full bloom without any winter damage. The Rhodies are the best that I've seen in a couple of years.

We spent Sunday visiting gardens. We had not yet been to Lakewold Gardens this year. Lakewold is our favorite garden estate in the region. We might be a little late for the rhododendrons but we could catch the Chilean Fire Bush in full bloom. The irises were blooming in the neighborhood so we wanted to stop at the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden to hopefully catch the bearded irises in bloom. The King County Iris Society has a nice display bed. And we wanted to return to Bellevue Botanical Garden to see what it looked like a month after our last visit.

I'm going to start with the last garden - Bellevue Botanical Garden. Wow - were we in for a surprise! Our last visit was about a month ago. The garden was filled with early spring flowering trees and bulbs. We had noticed something was changing in the entry bed but we had no idea the extent of the change.

We drove up Main Street and were shocked when we saw the cyclone fence, the backhoes and stacked logs of fallen trees. The entrance and area next to the rock garden is now fully under construction. And so is the parking lot. The signs directed us back to Wilberton Hill Playfield and the back entrance to the Yeo Garden.

We reviewed the information sign in the lot. They are constructing a new Visitor and Educational Center along with redoing the parking. It is scheduled to be completed in 2014. The garden is open and still beautiful so do visit.

But we were still surprised. We were a little sad to see the Davidia tree at the entrance was gone and we suspect the great Stachyurus praecox in the parking lot may also be gone. But what is a garden without change! We look forward to watching the completed garden grow.

Here are some shots of the construction areas.

View from the Alpine Garden

The old entrance area. The Sharp Cabin will be moving

We think the Sharp Cabin will be moving to this area

And now for some flowers - Lots of beautiful color especially alliums and irises

Waterwise Garden

Garden 2013 Update 4

2013-05-19T00:38:02Z

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Meconopsis 'Lingholm'

Things are coming along very well in the garden. The main flower garden starts its spring glory right around Mother's Day on into the first week of June. Everything is right on time this year. I don't see much from last year in my archives but I found 2011. Everything was late. This post from June 9th 2011 - and our garden is already where it was after the first week in June in 2011. This bods well for tomatoes.

Here are some shots of today's garden.

In the Veggie garden

The first crop of lettuce is coming along well - as are the peas, chard and kale. The red potatoes are going gang busters and the yukon golds are finally - finally coming along.

We'll harvest a head or two this week or next.

The tomatoes are still in the greenhouse. We have repotted them a couple of times and they are in gallon pots. They are about a foot high and some have blossoms ready to open. We'll probably wait another week (Memorial Day) to plant outside.

Chive blossoms

We also started our 'warm' vegetables on May 9th. The beans, squash and cucumber have sprouted. Corn - a new entry in our garden - has yet to sprout.

Elsewhere in the garden - I'm waiting for our peonies to open. The side bed and banana are looking great. A few special blooms - the Mecenopsis is in bloom as is the Ixia in the greenhouse. The front porch with the tropics looks great. The Chilean Fire Bush made it through the winter but only has one blossom. Let's hope it gains some strenght.

Magnolia seiboldii

Ornithogalum nutans

The side bed is leafing out nicely with lots of different colors and textures.

Hosta "Patriot"

Hardy Banana

Embotrium coccineum

Tender tropics such as Protea Safari Sunset and Crinodendron hookerianum

Latest container garden

And two unusual blooms in the greenhouse

Ixia virdiflora from South Africa

Aristolochia semprevirens

Our Echium wildpretii is blooming but did not develop a spike like last year. We don't think it was broken. We didn't think it was going to bloom but it just started these short spikes.

But compare it with last year mid-May - It got above the roof!

Bellevue Botanical Garden

2013-04-28T23:36:30Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Postcards from the Trail]]> We have a wonderful botanical garden here in Seattle. It is located in Bellevue and it is managed by the Northwest Perennial Alliance. They have recently (past couple of years) redone the perennial border. I have to admit - I had a lot of concern when I first heard that they were going to redo the beds. I loved the old apple trees and the meandering trail through the lush plantings. But I have to admit - after a couple of years - I am stating to love the new plantings. There are some very interesting plants and some good color swatches. The steps and paths allow for more discovery of unusual plants. We have made two trips this year to watch the progression. Nice job!. Here is what we saw on our most recent visit mid-April. (check this post see the beds before the change in 2007).

Wild Horse Windfarm

2013-04-28T05:09:17Z

This material better viewed on its originally published location: Postcards from the Trail]]> One of our favorite day trips in the spring is to go to Eastern Washington to view the wildflowers. I was searching on this blog to see my previous posts and I found that I haven't blogged that often about our spring trips. We almost always make one trip to see the wildflowers. Timing is key. I will follow hiking trip reports from my local NW Hikers forum or the trip reports on Washington Trails Association. The bloom can be anytime from mid-April to mid-May. So much depends upon the temperatures. Some years the bloom can start and then be blasted by high temps. Other years, it is slow and spreads out into mid-May. This year it is a little early.

We like to just ramble over the sage country exploring and seeing what can we can discover. Our favorite area is along the Old Vantage Highway between Ellenburg and Vantage. The area around Whiskey Dick and Quilomene Wildlife area are our favorites for exploring. The reports that I have read said everything was already in bloom so we wanted to do a trip.

This area is extremely windy. Puget Power has build a wind farm- Wild Horse Wind Farm in the past years which has changed the area. But they have done a lot to repopulate the area with the native plants and open the area to visitors. I saw that it was the start of their Wildflower Hike season. Perfect timing. I called and signed up for the hike this weekend.

It takes about 2 and half hours to drive from North of Seattle to the Wild Horse Farm. We started to see Prairie Lupine along the drive. We gathered in the seminar room at the Wild Horse Facility before heading off to an hour and half walk/hike exploring the wildflowers. We decided to go with the advanced botanical group and spent time exploring. It was great to meet other plant enthusiasts.

We went back to the visitors center after our hike and got a permit which allowed us to stop and explore more of the property. We drove north and into the Quilomene Wildlife area. The dirt roads can get pretty rough. The wind started to really blow. We could hardly walk across the fields. I checked the wind speeds and they were around 45mph!

But the blooms were stunning. The perfume of the prairie lupine was intoxicating. The big head clover was at its prime and accented by the golden Hooker's Balsamroot.

Around 2pm, we headed back to Ellensburg. We stopped at U-Totem Burgers for an early dinner and then over to Iron Horse Brewery for a sampler. It was pretty tasty and we filled our growler with some of their IPA before heading back to the gray.

First a couple of previous posts on Eastern Washington and the Wind Farm:

Washington Desert in Bloom

Technology (Wild Horse Wind Farm)

Wildflowers and Wind Turbines

Visitors Center

Group heading out to search for wildflowers

Prairie Lupine

Yes - Cactus grows in Washington State!

Late April in the Garden

2013-04-26T22:53:14Z

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Euphorbias along our driveway

Seattle residents fuss over the weather. In the early 90's, we had rather predictable Spring weather. You knew when to plant and what to expect. But recently, you really have not known what to expect each winter and spring. In the past five years, we have had three rather cool, gray, late springs. This year seems to be back to normal. We have already had one or two days get to 70 degrees. Two years ago, it did not get to 70 until late May. There have been more sunny days. I am starting to not wear sweatshirts everyday. Live is good.

And the garden is doing well. The lettuce is hanging in. We had to buy another pack of lettuce because our old seed did not germinate. I scored a bargain by finding a pack of "Nevada" lettuce for 79 cents. It is what we usual grow since it is slow to bolt. Tomatoes are coming along. The potatoes are interesting. The Yukon Gold which were supposed to be early have yet to show any leaves. We dug around and they are there but just not up yet. Carmine, the late red, is showing some plants but the Satina is going gang busters. It is a mid season yellow.

Lots is also blooming in the garden. The winter was also not as cold so many of the less hardy perennials are starting to leaf. Matilija poppy has run and spread around the bed and the stalks from last year have started to leaf out. Our Basjoo Banana did not need to be cut back to the ground and is starting to leaf out. A few items still are tender such as our Chilean Firebush. It is going to have one bloom. Our Echium wildpretti is also doing something strange.

Here are some pictures of the garden taken at the end of April.

First up - our vegetable garden

Next views in the backyard

The Front Yard

Seattle Chinese Garden

2013-04-25T03:40:36Z

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The second garden we visited was the new Seattle Chinese Garden. It is located right next to the South Seattle Community College Arboretum. Here is an explanation of a what composes a Chinese Garden from their self-guided tour brochure:

A Chinese Garden harmonizes nature (plants, trees, water, rocks) with culture (architecture and the arts) in a beautiful setting to be enjoyed in every season.

It opened in November 2010. The garden designers were from Seattle's sister city of Chongqing and the garden is Sichuan-style. There are two other major Chinese gardens in the Pacific Northwest. The wonderful Dr. SunYat-Sen Classic Chinese Garden in Vancouver BC and serene Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland. I love visiting the garden in Portland. It is located on a full city block surrounded by a wall. As you walk through the first moon gate, you are taken to a tranquil paradise where you can forget the city and contemplate peace.

The Seattle Chinese Garden is much more ambitious. It is located on 5 acres and at this point only two buildings have been completed. The main building has a lovely 'Knowing the Spring' courtyard but yet it is very stark. It was built as a gathering place and has space for functions and it is composed of the four main elements.

A second pavillion is located a short distance away. It has many more plants along with a pond and stream. There is so much work to be done. I look forward to seeing how the garden progresses over the years.

The Entrance

Knowing the Spring Courtyard

Stones to signify a mountain

Encircling corridor

Magnolia near the Pine and Plum Pavilion

The Pine and Plum Pavilion

The Main Gate

Aboretum at South Seattle Community College

2013-04-21T01:44:53Z

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Cool and damp weekend. We wanted to visit a couple of gardens. We discussed maybe the Rhododendron Species Foundation but decided we didn't want to go that far. We were going to go to the another garden when I remembered that we had wanted to visit the Arboretum at South Seattle Community College.

It was new to us even though it started in 1978. Recently, the Seattle Chinese Garden opened next to it which gave us another reason to visit. It is located on Delridge area south of West Seattle Bridge. Five acres of about a dozen different growing areas. The best by far is the Coenosium Rock Garden which contains a world class collection of drawf conifers.

We were a little disappointed in the current condition of the garden. Many of the beds were overgrown with both plantings and weeds - most common the horsetail. The Coenosium garden is in good condition but most of the others needs some work.

After our visit, we walked over to the Chinese Garden which I will post about later.

Coenosium Rock Garden

Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'

Tucson

2013-04-03T23:24:05Z

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We are heading for a desert spring break. It seems like ages since we've done a spring trip to the desert. And I don't know how long it has been since we were in Tucson - maybe 8 years! Our first trip was in 1994. I will never forget the trip. We had to change planes in Salt Lake City and we heard the news that Kurt Cobain, legendary Seattle musician had committed suicide. I remember rushing into our hotel to turn on the TV to hear the news. Grunge was such a part of city life in Seattle at the time.

We made a trek almost yearly to the desert to enjoy the spring wildflowers. We learned how to track the weather starting in October to know how much rain was falling and what the chances were for a Spring wildflower bloom in the desert. Some years we went in mid-March and some years even earlier. One time we were so obsessed we flew to Las Vegas and drove to Death Valley to see a one-in-a-lifetime bloom and then came back and needed to go again to catch the blooms in Tucson almost a week or two later. Crazy.

But for some reason we haven't made the trek in several years. We decided early on to go. It ended up that timing wise we decided to go in early April. This is a little late for wildflowers and a bit early for cactus. Plus the desert has not received a lot of rain this year. But I have been following the posting on the blooms - we may still be in luck. Desert USA is still talking about blooms up near Phoenix and some cactus has started to bloom.

We have a nice rental in the Armory Park area near downtown Tucson. It sounds like an interesting area. The owners have been great to work with and it looks like it is well equipped and located. We're planning on trying to make the most of our five days. We may drive up to Phoenix to see the Phillip Haas art exhibit in the Desert Botanical Garden. Bizarre but very intriguing. We hope to do a couple of walks in the desert in Catalina State Park and Saguaro National Park and a little nursery hoping and maybe a drive up into the mountains.

It should be a good break and spring will be busting out when we return and hopefully not endless gray rain.

Vegetable Garden 2013 - Update 2

2013-04-02T22:59:53Z

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What a gorgeous end to the month of March! And so different from the endless wet gray days. The sun arrived and brought warmth - up to mid-60's. I hope that way do not have to pay for this gorgeous week.

We got a little gardening done. The Nevada lettuce has not sprouted. The seed is several years old and may not be viable. So we bought a pack of lettuce starts - $3.00 for 6 large healthy looking green leaf lettuce. That will get a jump start. A few of the red leaf sprouted so we will have a bit more to plant later.

The sugar snap peas are in the ground and already twinning their way up the string. No sign of activity in the potato bins. The greenhouse has several spots of color from our South African bulbs. I love to see them because they remind me of walking the fields in Nieuwoudtville.

Here's this week's activity.

Sugar Snap Peas on the rise

Healthy looking green leaf lettuce starts

Hesperantha vaginata

Gladiolus tenellus

Sparaxis tricolor

Goodbye to our Linden tree

The former Magnolia tree

Vegetable Garden Update

2013-03-27T22:01:12Z

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Peas are up! So is the swiss chard. Lettuce is a little slow yet. Tomatoes seeds are planted Peas will be going outside soon.

We are growing potatoes this year. It is the first time in many many years. I wanted to give them a try and G had some extra pots. We are growing three varieties; yukon gold (early), Satina - another yellow fleshed potato that is supposed to be mid-season, and Carmine which is a later red. We'll see how they do.

Tomatoes have been seeded. This year we are growing Stupice, Sungold cherry, Taxi, Oregon Star, Siletz and trying Early Girl for a change. We also seeded some lacinato kale. And we did a new herb pot. Costco has a great deal on large plastic pots. Our previous terra cotta pot has chipped up by the cold winter and the thyme is real ratty. So out it went and we bought all new.

Herb Pot

Potatoes

Muscari

Our banana - Musa basjoo - which is hardy did really well this winter. Also note we cut down a huge evergreen Magnolia behind the house. It was shading our backyard too much. You'll see it above the chimney in the next picture.

The banana in full glory. The magnolia had gotten huge behind the house. It was about 20 years old. It was sad to see it go but it was for the best.

Blood root - Sanguinaria canadensis

Greenlake blossoms

2013-03-18T23:49:47Z

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After visiting the Ballard Market and the Locks, we headed to Greenlake. We have been trying to walk daily since I spend most of my time sitting at the computer. It has been hard to get back into a routine since I have switched back to working 10-6pm. It was fine the first week but daylight savings really disrupted us.

We usually walk at the Edmonds waterfront or Richmond Beach. It takes about 1 hour to drive to the Marina, walk the 1.5 miles and return home. I need a little time to eat before starting work so we usually are heading out around 7:45. It is dark again!

On the weekend, we'll try to do something longer. We decided to walk around Greenlake since we were already there. It is a great place for a 3 mile walk. We were checking out the plants along the way. There were several large plantings of daffodils under some of the trees that were in full bloom. But our favorite discovery was a spring garden planted next to the Bathhouse. We had never noticed it before. Large plantings of Hellebores but what really surprised us were the three paper bushes - Edgeworthia chrysantha. We used to have one but it never really did very well. The blossoms would usually die before opening due to a late freeze in mid Marsh. These were thriving and in full bloom. Such a nice surprise to find.

Garden near the Bathhouse - Corylopsis spicata

edgeworthia chrysantha

Hellebores