Site change

Hello all of my readers. I have recently renovated my website and would like you all to stop by and go for a tour. I have been updating the blog rather consistently on the web site.

Thank you for your interest and I hope you are happy with the new setting for my blog!
Gregory
www.nativerootdesigns.com

Plant abuse

It's true; I ran over a whole row of Primroses, Hellebores, and Iris's with my Garbage can! I confess. It really wasn't the first time. Yes the Primrose and the Hellebore are in full bloom but they are almost finished.

Why I opt for functional designs to lifestyle and site. Function; most of us lead outstandingly busy lives. For many years I have kept very close account in my world to what uses energy and what is effortless. This is in part so that I can believe people are truly not too lazy by designing gardens that allow them to be. It gets tiresome returning to old gardens that I have created only to see that the owner didn't actually hand water the shrubs the first three seasons; or to find a pathway trod right through the garden bed even though the owners were sure one wasn't needed in that location.

In truth it is not the owners responsibility (initially at least). Given that every job in horticulture is an educational job it is the designers job to take the site and habits of the owners into consideration. If a path (point A to point B)is trod across a front lawn and the lawn comes out, regardless of the pathways that are installed, chances are the same path will be found and utilized.

Back to my plant massacre. I kill plants a lot. Who is it that said if you love someone set them free (aside from one of my ex-girlfriends:))? I love plants and try to plant them anywhere I can. My garden is full of plants that I have rescued from being tossed to the compost pile. Occasionally I will try to save one and it will sit in my driveway and slowly die because I do not have the time or room. It is very sad but at least it had one more chance. I will ask friends if they would like them and somtimes that works.

Then there are times when it's just shameless. I'm sorry Primroses!

Proper design would have my driveway about four feet wider (with a bench wall the entire length on one side and a low curb on the other side, all poured concrete with a cistern built underneath that channeled run off from the driveway and house!)
It's just not realistic for me too move my wife's car out to street in order to take the cans in and out. So for now when all else fails I take it out on the plants. And they still look lovely!

Northwest Flower and Garden Show 2011- In Review

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show just finished its second year under new ownership by O'Loughlin Trade Shows. With sixty years in the trade show industry and twenty-five years based in Tacoma, they slipped in seamlessly. Maintaining the familiar friendly faces of Linda Knudsen, Cyle Eldred and Janet Endsley certainly didn't hurt! I was impressed this year by the fabulous marketing that went into the show. I followed Janet on Twitter (@nwfgs) and on Facebook and felt consistently informed on updates and schedule changes throughout the planning and building of the show. Five stars on PR this year!!

The gardens had something new going on with them. I've described it as approachable, simple, refined. They seemed to have lost the pretentiousness that has often plagued the garden show. Perhaps it was the theme, "Once upon a time..." but I felt welcomed in to many of the gardens. As though each was a friends backyard or a project that I helped create (well I did help with one a little...)

I definitely did notice the lack of patio tables and chairs with staged wine bottles and glasses half full. A few years ago so many gardens had these that I wondered what they were trying to sell, furniture or landscaping???

Here is the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association's Gold Medal winning garden, designed by Kate Easton, Kirsten Lints and Megan Pulkkinen. As usual, WSNLA has slammed the space full of stunning plants. I must say that they pulled it off real well in this garden. It wasn't too confusing to look at. The foliage variations played very well together in clusters, and similar tones drifted from foreground to background as your eye made its way into the giant tree ferns and bamboo. A thoroughly understated water feature had many admirers watching the little coconut shell float in the stone without falling out.

I also enjoyed the garden by the Arboretum Foundation. Designed by Phil Wood, Bob Lilly, and Roger Williams, it won a Gold Medal and the Pacific Horticulture Magazine Award. It was a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. Lovely, simple path and bridge with an elegant entry gazebo. Extreme awareness of the composition and design elements made this garden stand out to me even when it was just getting started.

A Wrinkle in Time garden had a great balance of simplicity and grandeur. The crystal ball fountain was an eye catcher at twenty four inches diameter, almost clear acrylic with water flowing down over it in the middle of the pool. Beyond that was the stunningly massive yet open shelter built by B.Bissell General Contractor, LLC. The garden was designed by Karen Stefonick Design who took home the Founders Cup Award for the second year running!

All of the gardens were created thoughtfully with respect for the materials and the planet. Every garden used reused materials or natural building elements. In a boost from previous years I enjoyed seeing these incorporated more into an actual part of the gardens not only as focal points and eye candy, but integrated in more functional and creative ways.

I enjoyed my day and listened to a few of the seminars. A talk by Lucy Hardiman on "The Art of Transforming your Garden" was entertaining and insightful. I managed to forget a pen or pencil, so I relied on tweeting my notes throughout her talk. She presented her garden in addition to a couple of others in the Portland area.

Kate Frey gave a no-nonsense talk on "Gardens that Give--Creating Sustainable Gardens that Sit Lightly on the Planet." She went right down the list from the gallons of fuel consumed by lawns in the US to the very few plants that bees can actually feed from in the typical landscape. She inspired me to further my commitment to habitat space in the garden and the importance of permeable surfaces, both of which I incorporate whenever possible. However, it's great to be encouraged!

The list of things goes on but so does the time! I enjoyed the show and thank the producers and volunteers as well as the garden creators!

Next years theme was just announced: "A Floral Symphony--Gardens Take Note."
I'm not entirely sure where they will go with that, but it's nice to have a heads up. And they say they will provide details soon! http://www.gardenshow.com/

The bones of the garden

Winter in the Pacific Northwest leaves the garden revealed. I have heard from more than one gardener this year that now is their favorite time in the garden. You can really see what is there and admire the structure and layout.

It is a time to admire the fine pruning of shrubs and the careful spacing of perennials. For those who claim there are no flowers, here are only a few that I have been seeing this week!

Why we love Sword Ferns

It is just the type of thing that defines me as a complete plant geek.
As we were cleaning up a side garden full of snow melted Day lilies, trimming the dead canes from the Heavenly Bamboo and raking the piles of weeds we'd pulled I saw them sitting there. Three of them sitting like they had always been there yet never noticed until everything else was pulled, cut, raked away. Three sword ferns perched at the back of the narrow bed just below the top of the deck and perfectly drawing my eye into them, rather then the mess that was under the deck behind them.
They hold their own. Especially right now it seems that unless they have been beaten down by the snow they stand three feet tall. Their size and form are pronounced this time of year as is the deep green that glows from them. From now until march when the new growth unwinds from the center is the sword ferns glory! Just remember to cut them down when that new growth is starting, just before is easiest, so that it can take the center stage. One advantage to the snow flattening them for you is that you don't have to cut them to see the new growth rise alone!

September Harvests

It is so easy to think of Summer ending in September here in the Pacific Northwest have such rich bounty coming from our gardens this month it is certainly still Summer to me. The dryness on the leaves has started it's slow transition into fall colors. The sun is hanging much lower in the sky making it blinding most of the day and backlighting plants from nearly all sides. The lighting is dramatic the gardens are lush and bursting at the seams. I am still waiting for my a last Aster to open it's little starry flowers and then all five will be blooming. Sunflowers are a lovely plant, they fall all over but that just gives me an excuss to cut them.
We harvested loads of Tomatoes and I definitely have a favorite this year; Pruden's Purple. It had six larger than fist sized perfect Tomatoes on it the other day that made the sweetest large bowl of Salsa! All our Tomatoes are producing pretty well and the fruit is excellent. I am planning to sow in some Fava Bean cover crop in one of our beds for the winter but I am waiting to see if I get any Blue Corn before I pull it. Our beans are still going strong Rattlesnake is a winner, perfect texture and flavor for fresh eating; aka grazing!
With darkness at six am it's nice that most of the garden is holding it's own, resting at it's peak before it comes crashing down in the fall. All we have to do is enjoy the views and share the harvest.

Ready or Not?

What should you NOT do right before hosting a garden tour?

1)Tear all the gutters and old fascia boards off your house to prepare for a new roof.
2)Remove your chimney and store all of the busted masonry in your driveway.
3)Dig up a 7x3 foot section of lawn and lift it up 4 inches.
4)All of the above.

Well I managed to get into all of these projects just in time. I didn't think about it until I was lifting up the lawn section at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon in about 90 degree heat. It crossed my mind that it might look like I laid sod down in strips so I stuffed the cracks with dried grass from raking. The lawn has not been watered other than where Lila's pool is and we try to move that around fairly often.

The roses are coming back into full bloom just in time. One of my favorites is Dapple Dawn. It is a beautiful single pink rose that flowers most of the season, kind of loose open flowers. And of course the lovely Sally Holmes, a blushed pink single flower in huge bunches covering the shrub.

I do plan on having the place cleaned up for the Rainier Valley Garden Tour this weekend so please stop by and take a look!
See you on Saturday!

Gregory Smaus

Native Root Designs
sustainable garden management, design, and exploration...
206.227.4458
www.nativerootdesigns.com

Summer thinking

August 10th 2009
Just under two weeks until the Garden Tour. The rain came and wet the earth nicely. Thirsty roots in hard clay soil waiting patiently through our hottest days on record. There is no irrigation system that is adequate when it gets that hot and dry for so long. A couple of good soakings with the hose help immensely to water the back sides of shrubs and in between spaces that the irrigation doesn't reach. The rain came last night, so by 8 pm tonight the ground was perfect to go and weed. Nice and moist but not saturated, dandelions coming up with nearly full roots in the loose soil. I used the evening as a chance to go at the Morning Glory along my fence line again. That is the second time this year but I should have done it two weeks ago. It is very good at wrapping around stems so tight you pull a plant apart just while trying to get the morning glory off of it. My next strategy will be to plant larger shrubs and small trees so they won't get covered up so quickly and they will be easier to free. The best method is to cut the Morning Glory vines every 12 inches or so along the stems of other plants so that you can pull it off in sections without stripping the leaves off or breaking the preferred plant.
Soon I will be getting around to cutting most of the burned foliage out of the garden. Despite watering fairly consistently I ended up with many burned plants. The plants I put in about a month ago have done very well with regular watering and all the sun and heat. The garden will be a good representation of a Seattle August garden. The Asters are just getting started and most of the Fuschia's have come through unscathed. The Sedum look great and the ornamental grasses are full and billowing. The burned and dry leaves begin the transition into our true Western climate Fall Season. The Summer drought stresses the plants so that many of the natives are already going dormant.
I will go out and get a few pictures in the morning.
With the hours of daylight becoming more precious by the day, Fall seems so strong in the air. I was out until I could not see the thorns on the rose as I removed the weedy vines from it's fragile branches, joined of coarse by an evening chorus of tickling mosquitoes and, a shame, it was just past nine o'clock. Not yet ready for Fall I will thoroughly enjoy the coming weeks of warm sun and burned gardens, Morning Glory and Mosquitoes because one of my favorite things about Seattle is it's entirety of Seasons. Every Season is so full you are ready for the next when it comes time. Now is the time of Summer. Fruit is ripening and faces are red. Warm skin, white wine and so many things to do sleep is just another thing on the list.

Things you don't question...

I enjoy my vegetable garden. Last year we had a very nice consistent crop of beans, peas, beets, chard, kale, lettuce, and some others. I still talk often about not knowing what I'm doing with vegetables however that is because I have known many organic farmers who still say they don't know what they're doing after twenty years or more. That said, my true love is in Ornamentals.

So I rearranged our vegetable garden this year. I terraced the slop and moved it back a bit so that I could plant ornamentals above the wall.

I realized that below the wall would be the perfect spot to plant tomatoes. They could pick up all the radiant heat from the stone. Before I thought of that I had been pretty excited about planting some Japanese Forest Grass at the base of the wall. So I kept an area clear for tomatoes and started to plant around it. When I was almost done I thought again about the tomatoes and realized they would be much happier above the wall where they would get a lot more late afternoon sun. The wall would actually shade them pretty earlier in the summertime afternoons. Obviously I found a couple choice plants for the spot, antique roses that I've been saving for something perfect. I planted the first one and dug the hole for the second. As I picked it up it told me that it didn't want to be down there, it wanted to be on top of the wall. Now this is a special little rose so it's deserves a say in things but I was saving the spots above the wall for tomatoes right? Apparently not.

The lesson is when a sweet little rose tells you what it wants you should listen. Souvenir de St. Anne will be absolutely charming up there backed by a Skyracer Moor Grass and a Mid-Winter Fire Dogwood. Plus you can sit on the wall and smell it!

Intro to new blog

Gregory here, I am starting this blog as a source for my many thoughts that don't fit into my other Blog, The New Parents Organic Garden Blog, which is most easily seen from my website www.nativerootdesigns.com. You can also find out all about Native Root Designs at the website. In short we are a seattle based organic gardening/landscaping company.
I have found that I think a lot about a very wide range of issues and would like to practice writing about them. I do not intend this Blog to be any sort of finished writing material it is more a source for me to vent ideas in writing.
I look forward to reading any and all comments!
Thanks!

Enjoy...