May be moving to Oregon

My husband and I took a trip to Oregon to visit relatives in June. I have been there a few times and have always LOVED it there. Hubby had never been and absolutely FELL IN LOVE!!! Now we are talking about moving there in a couple of years and I have some questions.

I know the climate is VERY different from northern Utah and temps will be milder. What have you found to be the best and worst of this? Having little or no snow will definitely be a welcome change, as well as not having the 100+ temps!!!

Portland, Oregon area for a one hundered mile radius is where we are thinking and Seattle Washington, same radius.

ANY comments here would be appeciated.

Kwanjin

If you don't mind rainy winters, you will love it! I moved here from the Tahoe area and still pinch myself at how wonderfully my garden grows!

I have a huge supply of sweaters! LOL And walks in the rain are a plus and no sun for days at a time is a-okay with us.

Kwanjin, may I be the first of many to welcome you to the great Northwest. I live in Oregon, about half way between Portland and the California border. The weather is usually great - but it can get hot - in the 100's for a day or so - in Portland and South. Usually substantially lower.

The winters will be much milder, but snow is not completely unknown. The low's are usually in the 20's to the upper teens. Most of our precipitation comes during the winter. Summer watering is usually needed. In fact, the West Coast area is considered to have the typical Mediterranian climate. So plants that like warmth without high humidity really do well here.

Oh, yes. And I may be a wee bit prejudiced, but I think the West Coast area is one of the most beautiful in the United States. Dotti

Ditto to what dottik said, kwanjin. My folks live in Corvallis, in the Willamette Valley and it's beautiful there.

I miss it, but love living in Woodinville, outside Seattle. Here you can get to the mountains or the ocean within an hour. And Canada, with Victoria and Whistler are only a few hours away.

The rainforest keeps it pretty green year-round, and, with the exception of once-in-a-hundred year wind storms (such as we had last winter), the weather is consistently better (that is, less extreme) than the rest of the country. You can grow most things here with a little adjustment.

The people are a little introverted, but once you make a few friends, the rest follow easily.

I recommend it highly!!!

Katie59

Our summer this year was hot fast. We went from mid-70s to 100 in JUNE! It continued that way for many weeks and has just now gone down to the 80s. It didn't bother me for a lot of years but just the past 2-3 years I'm having trouble with the heat. I don't mind a day or two of it but 3 months is just too too.

And you are right. It is a beautiful area. We didn't want to come home. My DH talked about it for days after and I even caught myself looking at home prices. He couldn't get over how green it is.

Thanks for the welcome, Kwanjin

I'm new to daves garden in the last couple of months. I've found some marvelous help from PNW gardeners, too. I've met a couple and hope to meet a couple more soon. Yet another reason to come. :-)

When we visited, we were in the northern part of Oregon. Cannon Beach to be exact. My sister-in-law owns a home there with her three brothers. The house is right on the beach!!! We went fishing on the Columbia River and hiking in Ecola Park. My brother and his wife live in Keizer and one of their sons is a tour guide for river trips in Oregon and Washington.

Cannon Beach is nice!!! IMHO the Oregon Coast is more dramatic than the Washington coast, though both have beautiful scenery to offer. The Oregon Coast is a very popular getaway for people in both states.

You should try coming out for a weekend of storm-watching on the coast in winter. If you like that, you won't have trouble with our dark and rainy winters....

In February of 1992 I was there for a fantastic storm and again in 1999. I'm originally a SoCal girl and I miss the ocean terribly.

Can't wait till you get here - and I too guarantee you will love the West Coast. I live on Whidbey Island and adore it (and I'm in a 'rain shadow' which keeps our yearly total well below that of Seattle, but it is still plenty cloudy and enough rain!). Last year we had snow several times, but that was rare. Gardening out this way (Pacific Northwest) is marvelous. I've only met a few DGers, but enjoyed them immensely.

My brother says if he were to move anywhere away from the Seattle area, it would be Corvallis . . . I haven't been in that area for years and years, but do know it's exceptionally nice.

I work here in Corvallis and it is a nice college town. It is right on the river so that moderates the temperature even milder than it usually is. Gardening is wonderful here! Cannon Beach is a nice little town, but in a tsunami zone. I was evacuated from Cannon Beach once because of a sonic boom that a navy jet made. It registered on the seizmometer (sp?) so all the alarms went off and everyone went running for higher ground. I like living in the Willamette Valley a lot.

It is tsunami territory. We went though the drill on where to go in the event of one. It was interesting to see how all of that worked and the plans they had in place.

So I have another Q.

What's your favorite thing growing right now? Today?

My favorite thing today (and every day) are my japanese morning glories!

I love the color!

They come in just about every color you can imagine!

Just breathtaking!!! I may need to add them to my gardens.

Different shapes, too!

Now you're showing off! You're going to have to share when I get there!!!

No problem, they make tons of seeds! LOL

Gorgeous, Beth, absolutely gorgeous!!! Next year for sure I am going to grow those!!

I'll put you on the list for seeds...

They really are beautiful. I"ve been "afraid" of them because of their wild and weedy cousin that turns up around my yard. Are they easy to control?

No, these need to be babied a little and they won't come back next year unless you carefully save the seeds and sow them again.

I think I may have to try them, then, too. I'd love to have a really beautiful annual vine. I saw one somewhere that was blue with raspberry in the "pleats" and it had the most amazing glowing color but I was afraid I'd never get rid of them so I didn't get it. :(

Maybe like this one?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4001946

My goodness, I'd never heard of Japanese morning glories. Will they climb a cyclone fence? I'd love to cover mine in the summer.

They will climb a fence but not fill out like the common morning glories most people are thinking about. They are two different species. Ipomoea purpurea is the common one and Ipomoea nil are the JMGs. Nils climb about 5 feet high and usually have huge blooms and less foliage. Nils are often grown in containers. The purpureas are a better choice to cover a fence.

I've lived in Portland, Vancouver WA and am native Seatlle. I've seen the most beautiful gardens in the Northwest. My folks are in Victoria BC for their yearly holiday.. Buchart Gardens...one of my favorites. They live in Seattle - GreenLake area, and are always hosting guests from Europe and Russia. My Dad is retired from the Police Dept., offers their home to other Police families from all over the world. So...My Mother, loves to talk garden and if the need arises..dmail me!
I love Portland..it is the coolest town, and compared to Seattle lies in the banana belt for sunshine..(which isn't saying alot!) Actually there is much more sunshine than the stories are painted out to be from occasional visits. I just think summer there starts in July, and ends in October, and it is cloudy during the winter, which actually keeps the temperatures moderate (right guys?) It's been a while since I've lived in the NW now, but that is how I remember it. Winter precipitation mostly rain...and better than snow..but every now and then...when it does...don't even leave your driveway.
Spring starts early and lasts long in Seattle. To me the Northwest has more of a European flare and attitude than a typical U.S. city. Despite the rain, it is the best place on earth..The Northwest..
Even better, are it's inhabitants. As a whole, Smart, but not pretentious...down to earth, friendly and most noticeable, tolerant and open to differences in lifestyles and beliefs.
I find that most people who are from the N.W. and move to another state, end up going back 9 times out of 10. I almost did, but then I work for CO air and Houston is one of our bigger hubs, providing endless non stop destinations of my choosing.. My only regret is that I'm too far away for weekend trips...4 hrs and 45 minutes.. by plane...
Okay..I got carried away there :)


Katie59, I agree with you on Woodenville.. My cousin lives there, it's great. I have family from Marysville, Lake Stevens on up to Bellingham.



Hows that for an endorsement!?

Rj

I have know quite a few people that moved away and were sorry they did. The biggest plus for me is the temperature moderation...warm winters and cool summers. Yes, winters are rainy, but I like it. And notice: the humidity is only high in the winter when it is cool. In the summer it is dry, so you don't have that sticky heat!

I'd rather have rain in winter than snow or ice..
It rains more here than it does in Seattle. Matter of fact I think we had the rainiest summer on record this year. I thought I was in the rainy season of Central America.

Besides..if we want hot sun tan weather during the summer in the Northwest...It's a hop...a skip.. to the eastern side, of the state (s) where one can find all the sunshine they want.. That's the beauty of it there..
Mountains? plains? Surfing? Rafting? Fishing ? Hiking? skiing? Dune buggy..... It's all a drive away!

That's one of the things I like best about living here as opposed to Seattle (I'm a native Seattleite, too) It's a shorter drive to both the ocean and the desert and the mountains. I'd agree that it's just a bit drier, colder, and hotter here as well. Houses are less expensive down here as opposed to Seattle, too. But, Seattle still holds a special spot in my heart.

True...All of the places there have great qualities..It's like being in a chocolate store trying to decide what type of chocolate your going to pick.

Do they still have that International Air Academy there in Vancouver? I attended the academy..and..well here I am at Co head quarters.......24 years later...

Yes, it's still here. Don't know how well it's doing these days, but it's still here. I think they've added some new courses-in airplane catering, maybe?

What's your favorite thing growing right now? Today?

Since I am into edibles... that would be Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and water melon. Also winter greens, spinach, and carrots. This year I am going to leave my carrots in the ground to overwinter, and just harvest them as I need them. Last year I pulled them in fall, and many of them spoiled before I could use them, because I don't have optimum storage conditions. Since then I learned about leaving them in the ground. Same thing with parsnips - the parsnips gains flavor by overwintering.

I was thinking about my tomatoes, too-now that they're finally ripening. When will you harvest the rest of yours?

I'd like to hear how leaving the carrots in over the winter works out.

I think next year I'm going to turn the front yard into a vegetable garden!. I can only grow tomatoes when I empty the vegetable drawer of over ripe tomatoes and dump them on the dirt...They grow like crazy......If I intended to grow tomatoes, I bet I wouldn't have seen a sprout!

My favorite thing growing right now is an australian fern tree.

I was born in Seattle, raised on a farm in Enumclaw and now live on an acre in Olympia. I have to agree whole heartedly with all of the previous comments. It doesn't get better than the Northwest. I have traveled alot and nothing quite compares.

I must say that I do prefer the Oregon Coast to the Washington Coast. It is more rugged, as you saw in the Cannon Beach area. Unfortunately in WA they allow motorized vehicles on the beach, blech! Talk about ruining the ambiance!

The Willamete Valley in OR boasts numerous wholesale and retail nurseries. The dirt in that valley is amazing! ByndeweedBeth you are so lucky to have that great dirt! Oregon also has amazing covered bridges. Last month my folks and I spent a few days kicking around the Willamette Valley and visited my favorite nursery, Fergusons Fragrant Nursery in St. Paul. We also went to the Oregon Garden in Silverton. I took over 200 pictures, thank goodness I have a digital camera!

Kwanjin I'm sure that you and your hubby will both love the NW, I sure do!

I have attached a picture of the Hannah Bridge in Scio, OR it has a great swimming hole under it! Rachel

Okay. I have now read an entire days worth of this thread. I had to leave to do the "real world" thing. I have tried to get to Oregon at least every three years since my brother moved there in 1975. But the last six or seven, I haven't been able to make it. I think it's one of the most beautiful places on this planet of ours. The weather is fabulous and I know it has lots of sun. It just doesn't grind you into the ground like it can here.

Regarding the soil? They don't call these the Rocky Mountains for nothing! And Salt Lake City is smack in the middle of a dry salt sea bed. You want to talk about clay? Yuck!

Thanks for all the input everyone. This is helping. Helping me want to come sooner!!! LOL