flynn070

  The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm also had a nice little garden tucked off to one side. There were some beautiful rhododendrons. Just spectacular!   Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

We drove to Woodburn, Oregon (about one hour south of Portland) on Monday to visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. Last weekend, over 70,000 people were there! The crowd was not bad at all the day we were there but there was a continuous line of cars coming in as we left. It was quite a spectacular sight.   Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

I went to Alabama last week and wouldn't you know, as soon as I leave, there is a glorious week of sunny weather in Washington. Thankfully, the stroke of clear weather extended itself after I returned. Michael and I hit the ground running and we have just about exhausted ourselves with knocking off some major projects. First - staining the fence. We did this on a clear day with no clouds whatsoever but it was not hot, just pleasantly warm. I actually broke out the shorts and the tank top. The stain is called "Mahogany Flame" which I think would make a good drag-queen name. This is what our friends used on their fence in Portland and we really liked it. Our neighbor across the street commented and said that it glowed in the sunset. I will take that as a compliment. Michael stained the fence and I took on the gate and arbor. Painting all those slats and criss-cross panels just about drove me insane. I do hope this is not a project that will have to be repeated soon. Notice ...

The local plant sales are beginning. It looks like all kinds of plant events are on the horizon. Today, my friend Rebecca and I stopped by the Native Plant Sale in St. Johns. I purchased a native bleeding heart ( Dicentra formosa ), a red columbine ( Aquilegia Formosa ) and Twinflower ( Linnaea borealis ) . Despite predictions of rain, it was a beautiful, sunny day with blue skies. On the home front, Pan has risen! I have been concentrating on the little garden off the deck and it is coming along nicely... Rhododendron 'Blue Baron' - I could not resist that color! New rose foliage always looks great - but can it stay that way? Spanish Bluebells ( Hyacinthoides hispanica ), one of my favorite bulbs. These were already here in the garden. On the bargain bin at Home Depot - Mountain Bluet ( Centaurea montana ) Wild Ginger ( Asarum caudatum ) Expanding the foundation border on the front of the house. I am going to add a pathway soon leading from the gate to the front door. Text an...

There is a plan here... Thank goodness the neighbors cannot see this or they would be thinking that Alabama rednecks had arrived. This is in the back and as you can see, the cardboard from all those moving boxes are being put to good use. This is the view directly from the deck. I envision enclosing this area with tall plants to form a room. If you look closely, you will see my beloved Pan statue lying near the back. The base was cracked during the move but Michael and I patched it this week with epozy. Now to get him off the ground. I cannot do it alone and I don't want Michael to hurt his back, so I ponder what to do. Maybe we will have a "Pan Raising" party but we don't know who we would invite! I will figure something out... I have been planting in earnest. The past 4 days brought us another nice stretch of sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s. Hooray! I absolutely love the weather here. Even rainy days usually have periods of sun. Adjusting to temperatures and...