New to Dave's

Hi everyone!

I have been reading the PNW threads and am impressed with the knowledge and friendliness of the members! I just finished school after years of working and going to school and now have time for my real passion - working outdoors - gardening to cutting firewood. I just finished a big project and am now looking for help with advice for my area - Rogue River OR - and perhaps seeds. I have a few to trade too but not many.

Any advice on what to plant in my area that is very dry in the summer - no rain for months.

See the attached picture - that is what idid - 3 tons rock/gravel

Wow, what alot of work, and it looks fabulous. I see it with a bunch of hosta, lillies, lupine, heather, lavender, oh gosh, just everything. I'm feeling garden deprived, all mine are filled, I want more space. LOL there are so many more plants I want to grow,
BTW, welcome to DG, you'er going to like us.

Viv

thanks viv! i will look into your suggestions. : )

I'm going to pin that picture on my fridge so my husband will know what I want! Very nice.

Hi betsyah,

That looks great and I really like that the paths are not straight lines and seem to flow like a natural waterfall. What I see in your new paradise is maybe a few strategically place nice bolders/large rocks. I'm not sure what zone you are in but from seeing the Arbutus, I'd say Z8a/8b/9a. I was really taken this year by a plant I've had for a few years but never grown it in the ground - New Zealand Lilac http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/60376/index.html.
Wow - the plant cascades with burgundy edged scalloped leaves, spikes of lilac coloured flowers in profusion and this plant takes drought very well. You can probably go with most of the Hebe's too. I'd suggest doing your best to get ahold of a Catalina Island Ironwood http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64252/index.html - ah, what a cool small tree with Sequoia-like bark, long serrated evergreen leaves and clusters of white blooms - it's in the Rose family. I saw one at a Chevron Station in Northern California and it's a definite "must have" if I could ever get it across the border. A few other suggestions are selecting the best Ceanothus to suit your needs, Garrya elliptica 'James Roof', Freemontedendron 'California Glory' and a good collection of hardy Fuchsia. All of the plants I mentioned will blend nicely with the surrounding native plants. Cistus Nursery in Portland has alot of unusual plants and cultivars and well worth the trip.

Take pics as it develops! Welcome to DG.

Hi Betsyah. Welcome to Dave's Garden. Another nursery that has not only great plants, but is in your area is Forest Farm from Williams. You can find them in the Garden Watchdog, in the top 30, and they have one of the largest selections of plants of all kinds except annuals I have ever seen. Hope you find all that you are looking for - you certainly have a beautiful yard to plant them in. Dotti

Thank you all for your great suggestions! i willl be researching the plants and try to get out to Forest Farm and see what they have. This is great!

welcome to the garden, betsyah. you will just love it and the dear gardeners. anastatia/ aka, mary

betsyah, the path looks great. I second the motion on the Forest Farm catalog, I just received their fall catalog. I've been buying from them for several years, their selections keep getting better especially the Acer palmatums, great selections. good luck, hostajim1

Hello! I just wanted to add a line to compliment you on your efforts! The path looks gorgeous. It "feels" very serene to me, even though you haven't planted it up yet.

I'm a neophyte to gardening, and come here to eavesdrop on the voices of experts. Having said that, though, i offer you this: Among whatever other plant choices you make, mix in one or two that are indigenous to your area. By definition, your selections will undoubtedly be draught tolerant. For me, it's a particular kind of fern that i see in great abundance on my nature walks. I just adore it, and although my gardens are currently empty, i plan to mix several of those ferns into every bed "design." My local nursery has an area specifically dedicated to indigenous plants, as most nurseries probably do.

Just my two coppers ...

Congratulations again on your very successful project!

:)

This message was edited Sep 11, 2006 9:29 AM

What a wonderful garden you are going to have. Personally I am partial to conifers and heather. There are some great books on growing them together, heather is so great, the deer don't eat it, at least not where I am at, they don't get slugs and snails, aphids, etc. The gophers don't eat the roots, you don't have to fertilize, they are tough and beautiful. You can pick differant varieties so you have flowers all year long, hieghts from 7 feet down to 2 inches. And they would look so good on that slope.

I really like the way you did the steps. I have an area that would looks so good done like that, but , wow, thats a lot of rock packing...makes my back hurt.

Awesome. A hint, I have not been to forest farm but have friends who have gone. I hear its really huge and the best thing is go online or get the catalog and make a list and have them locate the plants you want. My poor friend came back exhausted and frustrated, she was overwhelmed. Me, I would have just been broke.
Rebecca

Welcome Betsyah. I have a suggestion for you: come to WA and do a repeat performance of rock work on my sloped lower yard LOL! That is just beautiful and in my kind of setting- so woodsy

I can't imagine the labor that went into that, and hope that the level areas started out level instead of you having to shovel it all by hand. I keep hoping for a bulldozer to mysteriously appear in my yard, with keys, but neither the Lotto fairy nor Publisher's Clearinghouse is hearing my pleas! Blast.

Do you have sun/shade combined and how much of each? I would also think about something evergreen to break up the view around the walkway curves in the winter months. A surprise around every bush/tree, you know.

Welcome to the NW forum and be sure to post updates as your lovely place gets planted!

Nice paths.

I thought stone would be hard to come by after I saw how small the nurseries were when we moved to Ruch, from Beaverton, last year. But the rock supply is very good.

Many times, I go to NW Stone and Boulder on Antelope in White City.

There are a few - about the last 12 - images of their product in this album...

http://www.mdvaden.com/album_DecorativeRock.shtml

The rest, are mainly northern stone yards, but the supply is just about as good down south - maybe better.

Have you been to Leave Your Mark in Phoenix area. They have some nice pebbles. A bit spendy, but nice. Feel free to let me know about your favorite rock places.

poochella - well - all i can say is a quite the shovel expert now! this is what i started with. but i like the feeling of doing the work and getting a result. i am an accountant so at the end of the day usually all i have is a few pieces of paper to show! the garden is my sanity! i have both sun and shade - the bank where i stood to take the pic gets almost all day sun and the side where the little garden is gets mostly afternoon sun. the other half of the back yard not in the photo gets only a little morning sun. its crazy! i have a small fern garden next to the house there and it is happy happy. says damp almost all summer and soggy all winter.

mvaden - we got the rock from hilton fuel in central point. good prices for the rock - had't heard of the other places. i checked out that site and they have some nice stuff - that bear is great! i love rock - when i was in school i considered becomming a geologist but after 15 yrs of work in accounting decided that would be nuts. i will check the place out in white city. i work in medford near costco so i am out that way every day. thanks!

how about some heather

Strever I'll bet that is just wonderful in bloom... not that it's not anytime.. beautiful

Viv

Welcome to DG Betsy, what a wonderful job you've done on the hardscape and prep. wanted to say I adore the Coca Cola machine, Is it going to get a roof for protection?

And is that an absoulutely terrific garde shed at the end of your path? Back there by the little patio area. How nice to back up against a woodsy area like that. Maybe you could include the fern leafed bleeding heart in the mix.

You have a nice eye, the design is great. ~~~ waving from the red sandstone desert of southeast Utah. ~Blooms

well blooms - it's like this - the building is our pumphouse and until i get it cleared out a bit - it's 10x12 - well... need i say more? when we can we plan to cedar side it like our house - with a green metal roof. now, the coke machine.... that got moved to a covered shed (after 8 yrs outside) because i was doing the landscaping and my husband has been wanting to make it useable for bottled beer - but at this point it is so old - who knows!

utah - i lived in rock springs wy for a couple years.... i do love the green here and the trees but the rocks there are very cool!

thank you for your imput and kind words. : )

Hi
I'm new to Daves Garden! I'm hoping to find someone else in the Central Oregon area! I'm in the high desert and am dying to plant something with large leaves (other than rhubarb)! Is there any way I could possibly grow Gunnera? Maybe in a big pot that I bring indoors? I have a small water feature that stays wet on the outskirts & is partially shaded from the blistering dry heat we get here in the summer. Winters are generally frozen down about 6-8 inches & very dry too. Snow stays on the ground for weeks at a time.
I really miss the green, wet mossy fernlike landscapes of the Seattle area, where I'm originally from!
Any help or suggestions to this high desert newby?
Thanks,
J

Welcome Fallen leaves! I don't have any suggestions for your high desert climate as I am smack dab in one of the very wettest parts of King County- green and mossy abound.

Sure do like your path and gate though! Looks very inviting.

FallenLeaves, I'd open a new thread on the main PNW forum. It's going to be tough to get a Gunnera to grow there as the air is too hot and dry. The only way is to create a cool/humid area with misters.

Welcome to DG, FallenLeaves! I like your DG name! :o)

Nice to meet you Betsy!

Karrie

welcome to DG Fallen Leaves - i'd try posting a new thread asking for input too
actually that's a really nice dooryard you've got there.
~~Blooms