First up is a Preview Guide for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show which takes place in February each year. For many of us, this show is the start of a new gardening season. We go, see the display gardens, get ideas, buy fun stuff, and visit with friends. It's only a few weeks away and yet as the weather forecasters are calling for freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow again, it seems distant.
The Northwest Perennial Alliance's March Mania Sale follows close on the heels of the NWFGS. Such a treat to see so many great specialty growers and their plants! The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon's "Hortlandia" Plant and Garden Art Sale takes place on April 15 & 16 and is a pretty spectacular event!
This flier fell out of the Northwest Perennial Alliance's "Perennial Post." After very much enjoying last summer's visit of the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Society, I had pretty much decided to open my garden this year but in looking around right now at the naked trees, leaf-strewn paths and nursery pots placed in beds, now quite exposed, I wonder if there'll be enough time to pull it together enough to be worth visiting.
I'm enjoying the influx of catalogs and fliers too. I haven't been buying plants, but I have a week spot for seeds. I'm starting seeds out in the greenhouse. I'm trying a new edible this year that I've never grown before -- tomatillos.
ReplyDeleteA gardening coworker grew tomatillos last summer, put up lots of jars of salsa verde and still had fruit to spare. Hope you have great success and keep us all posted!
DeleteIt's interesting to look at the dates for your events compared to ours. Our WHPS sale is the 3rd weekend in May. I am looking for my stack of notes that I made in the fall about what to move and where there were openings still left for something to be planted. Trying not to order too much without doing that first. I still find so many unusual things that your nurseries have that are hard to find here.
ReplyDeleteI remember well living in a cold winter area and, while we complain about our "winter" here, it's nothing like what you endure. Here, winter doesn't usually hit until December, snowdrops start in January, and by February, it feels like spring.
DeleteNo doubt you'll be able to pull your garden together in time for the tour: deadlines work magic on our to-do lists. If I recall, you opened your garden last year and it seemed to have been a success. This time of year is indeed for dreaming and drooling. I saw in paper a picture of Daphne odora 'Maejima', its sweet perfume practically permeates from the page; do I want to kill Daphne odora for the 3rd time, or just dream...
ReplyDeleteI vote for trying Daphne odora 'Maejima!' The foliage is gorgeous year round and especially shines in the winter. It would look great with the color scheme of your garden. The trick seems to be good drainage but even with that, they sometimes just die suddenly for no reason. I bet Swanson's has some right now.
DeleteI've got my eyes (and heart) set on the NWFG Show. It's kind of late this year so the dates seem like the perfect target for allowing spring fever to take hold.
ReplyDeleteOh, how we need a bullet train to take us up your way! Our garden centers aren't especially well stocked right now, even though planting is a year-round possibility here, so I've been ordering on-line. Gratification is delayed though as most suppliers (other than Annie's) don't ship here until late March or April, when spring is usually already off to a roaring start in February.
ReplyDeleteThe PNW seems to have a lively garden culture--something that So Cal to a large extent has lost. Enjoy it, it's a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't planning to buy many plants this year, but after this winter I think I'm going to be doing some replacing of young plants. I'm also set on adding even more drought-tolerant evergreens. I'm living for plant-related events right now: PDX Nursery houseplant sale this week, then the Joy Creek Blogger Appreciation Day, then the NWFG Show. That reminds me, I need to start begging friends for a spare bed while I'm in Seattle for the show.
ReplyDeleteYep, all those things have arrived here too, along with a plethora of seed catalogs.
ReplyDeleteWe discussed it and decided not to open our garden for NPA this year. I really hope you do!
Yes, catalogues arrive in nearly every post, they are all so tempting, but I usually stick to the same reliable 2 or 3 for ordering. I find that we can get more unusual plants via mail order than the local garden centres.
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