I love the idea of sasa palmata, a bamboo with big glossy foot long leaves, several inches wide. It has potential to be a lush tropical looking stand, but every one I’ve ever seen around here looks just terrible. They get overrun with bamboo mites. What started this year with some affected [...]
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things and places for homes and gardens
File: December 2008
I’ve been out stimulating the economy. You’re welcome. I didn’t set out on a deer buying mission, but thanks to some compulsive shopping/OCD tendencies, I suddenly have an instant deer collection.
This big guy, about 30 inches in each direction, made of resin, looks like wood, pops against the glossy black walls, was on [...]
I came across this yard during a snowy neighborhood walk. I’ve never felt particularly lucky for my wild garlic infestation, but I am relieved I’m not trying to control equisetum. From what I’ve heard, the best way to eradicate it from your garden is to move. I do think it’s beautiful, I [...]
It warmed up this weekend and I uncovered all my winterized stuff. We had about a week below freezing, a foot of snow, with some prolonged periods in the mid 20s.
I pushed all the agave pots up against the south side of the house, covered them with a frost blanket, and covered that with [...]
I took me a while to get into wrapping presents this year, but about an hour before it was time to set out to see the family I dragged out all the bargain gift wrap stuff I collected throughout the year, and ended up pretty happy with the results. After stocking up on a [...]
Rubus lineatus is evergreen, but this is my first winter with it, and I’m not sure if this is a normal response to the snow or cold or what. This may just be the way the leaves look in winter, even if they stick around all year. It doesn’t look super happy. [...]
I did the everything I could get to on the winterizing front. The pots were huddled by the south side of the house, the were bananas wrapped, the really tender stuff was relocated inside the house. Now all I have to do is resist the urge to declare winter over at the first [...]
I spent the last week with jaded midwesterners shaking their head at me for peeking out the window watching for the snow to stick. What’s so good about snow?
Walking to get a bourbon hot chocolate for breakfast.
Walking to get dessert at Pix
Staying to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Followed by a showing of [...]
I got the winter weather I wanted, in a very un-Portland like storm. We got about a foot of snow, which blew around in big drifts several feet deep, like I’ve never seen before, followed by freezing rain, with more freezing rain and another possible foot of snow on the way, with temperatures locked [...]
All the mean things I said about Portland weather, never mind. My mom sent me this picture of her back yard this morning. They didn’t forecast it, but we got a real snow, properly sticking on the branches and leaves, not just blowing around.
Many of the plants in here were a mother’s day [...]