Mother's Day Ideas - Succulent Cube Garden

Stylish, cute, easy and perfect for any home or garden, succulent cube gardens by Vivaterra.  The blocks are lightweight and can arranged on a windowsill or center piece on a table. 

Other great ideas include an herb basket, these can be purchaes at most local nurseries or at Giving Plants:

Happy Mother's Day and happy planting!

Queen of Denmark Rose

Happy Birthday to her royal majesty Queen Margrethe of Denmark born in 1940.  To honor her birthday Daves Garden website choose the old garden rose 'Queen of Denmark' as their plant of the week.  Here is what they say about this lovely rose:

"
April 16, is the birthday of Queen Margrethe of Denmark. Born this day in 1940, she was crowned queen upon her father's death in 1972. This made her the first female ruler of the country since Margrethe l, who ruled from 1375–1412. The lovely old garden rose 'Queen of Denmark' honors both of them and is a favorite rose among gardeners. While it only blooms once, in late spring, the beautiful, fragrant flowers are captivating. The soft pink blossoms are quartered rosettes and are very full, having up to 100 petals. Plant in full sun and give it room to grow, as the shrub can get quite large. The plants are disease resistant and hardy and it is considered a good 'beginner' rose."

New USDA Hardiness Zone Map

The USDA has come out with a new hardiness zone map with help from Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group among others.  Check out the new map:  New USDA Zone Map

According to the new zones map, Bend is now 6b.  I am rather surprised at the high rating and I would still be careful and stick to zone 5 plants.  Our irregular climate is what makes it difficult here for many plants, as well as our drying air and sterile soils. 

Remember if you live west of Mt. Washington Blvd. you are in a different micro climate than the rest of Bend being at a slightly higher elevation and more prone to harsh winds.  Deschutes River Woods and Sunriver are also different (colder) climates. 

Shop at our local nurseries and ask lots of questions for the most success!

International Garden Photographer of the Year Winner

Beautiful and stunning images of gardens, landscapes and plants on the KEW website for the International Garden Photographer of Year.

Here is the overall winner Magdalena Wascizek 'Upside Down':

Others include:

 'Hummingbird' by Patrick Corning, the Young Photographer of the Year winner:

'Morning Glow' by Abigail Rex:





The see all the photos from  the different categories visit the International Garden Photographer of the Year website.

Beautifull Landscape Design

Browsing through images of scotch moss for a client, I came across this serene image of a landscape designed by Sculpt Gardens out of San Francisco, CA. 

I particulary like the use of the moss between the stone wall and the patio, ingenious!  Take a look at their portfolio for more beautifully designed landscapes.

Landscape Design Fun

I was trolling for landscape images for a client the other day and came across this one.  The lightness and good humor of it all was just what I needed on a winter's day.

'Clothespin' from the Rueben Miller website by

mmarsupilami



Growing a Salad Garden in a Pot

This past year I thoroughly enjoyed harvesting fresh greens from my garden for dinner salads and I plan to expand my edible gardening this year.  Since I now have a drip irrigation system for my garden bed and all my containers, I can easily add more containers without the worry of having them dry out.

I came across this article in Garden Design about growing salad greens which provides very good information and planting ideas.  Here in Central Oregon, we definetly need to grow produce that harvests quickly since our season is short (officially Memorial Day to Labor Day) and our nights are cool (plants stop growing when the temperature dips below 55 degrees).  I have had good luck with cherry tomatoes and I do cover their beds with plastic to reduce nigh heat loss.

The article mentions growing 'Bright Lights' Swiss Chard which is one of those edibles frequently used in combination edible/ornamental gardens since it looks quite stunning with its multi-colored leaves.  Consider incorporating this beauty into your garden for this year.

'Bright Lights' Swiss Chard image by OSU Extension



This past year I also had a surprise cucumber.  I thought I had planted some squash, the leaves looked the same, but then after our first frost and all the leaves died, I saw I had a cucumber.  It was delicious as well.  Since cucumber is one of the few vegetables my daughter eats, I will plant many more this year. 

Cucumber image by Vegetable Gardening Ideas

I know it is only January but winter is the time for landscape designers and gardeners to plan for the coming season and this warm weather has me itching to get back outside in the garden.  I actually did get out today to water some of my plants and it was very, very pleasant. 

Let me know what edibles you are planning to add to your garden this year, there is nothing better than home grown goodness!