Um...hi...I'm new here...

Not only new to this forum but also new to outdoor gardening. I have always had houseplants (which have absolutely gone MAD up here ~ see my Christmas cactus) but now have a place for outdoor gardens. I was reading some of the posts and I see how so many of you LOVE virtual gardening. We've only been in our new place less than one year and did absolutely NO landscaping last year, thus this year begins the creation of the garden of my dreams. Perhaps you could all share some ideas? We're new to the PNW from Southern Cal via Arizona, so this is an entirely new venture for me with regard to outdoor gardening. We have about 1/2 acre we will actually landscape to begin with, mostly a gentle downward slope. Most of garden is in full sun year-round (well, considering where we are, "full sun" really isn't quite accurate, but you all know that). I have NO idea what to plant. My idea is a wandering pathway through different types of small gardens. I LOVE fragrant flowers, I LOVE colorful...but I haven't a clue where to start. I did plant one planter last summer with 3 Endless Summer hydrangeas, a rhody, 2 bleeding hearts, 3 peacock orchids, a ligularia and ground cover of laurentia. I have no idea what it will look like this summer but hopefully will be nice. So...help? Anyone? Thanks!

~ Sheri ~

Hi Sheri, and welcome! I can't say I have much help for you right off the bat, but at least wanted to say hello, and let you know you'll have plenty of help along the way here. So many neat people here at DG, and especially the PNW forum! Happy new year, and enjoy taking your time to look around everything here at DG.

Sanna

Sheri - welcome to our slice of Earth! That would be the part that has all the rain - the place known for TRUE sun worshippers.
Being that we are continually sun-deprived, we appreciate the sun whenever & for however long it makes an appearance. If at times we seem a bit over the top, well, chalk it up to lack of rays. Or that we are somewhat crazed, which is possibly more accurate.
Virtual gardening - yes, but most of us prefer reality gardening with a healthy dose of fantasy gardening, just for fun.
On a more serious note, in regards to your post: I have questions for you.
Are you planning to create "garden areas" as you go, or do you have a rough idea of what you want to achieve in the long term?
Veg garden? Flower garden? Borders? Fruit trees? Landscaping?
I understand 1/2 acre - I have 1 1/2 acres, and know it can be overwhelming to think in terms of completion. Take a look from inside your house out towards the various parts of your property. Go outside & walk around - look hard & take note of existing structures, seasonal shade, and viewpoints from outside towards your house.

How much time do you want/have to devote to working outside?
Kids?
Dogs?
Outbuildings?
Greenhouse? (Ooooh - Lucky you, if you have one!)

You might want to take a preference inventory: style, colours, texture, form, fragrance. This will provide you some definition. If your budget allows, do any hardscaping first: paths, terracing, patio, stonework, fencing, etc., then decide on trees & shrubs. Filling in with perennials and bulbs becomes easier on the brain & wallet.
If this seems too much to wrap your head around, don't sweat it - focus on one thing you'd like to complete, and go from there.
We are happy to help & love to give suggestions. However, you will need to walk your property & get to know it well.
If you have pics, please post with any measurements of areas shown.
The soil is quite different here from SoCal & AZ, and can be a source of frustration (clay) but oh so rich for your plants if you are willing to help it open up by composting and amending.
This area is a sort of Plant Disneyland compared to most places: there are a wide variety of plant materials that grow well here, and we are blessed with lots of resources in the form of Nurseries. Also - we like to swap seeds & plants, so that is an avenue to explore as well.
I would direct you to the soil & composting forum for questions regarding "all things soil". Lots there to read & a pretty down to earth, friendly bunch. Seriously into soil, but, that's where it all starts...
I wil quit now - this is sounding too much like a homework assignment.

Looking forward to seeing you here - and hopefully you'll be able to meet up with us in some of the Nursery excursions & plant swaps that will be happening in '08.

Hi Sanna - Please pop in more often!
Happy New Year to both of you, Kate

Welcome to the PNW and to this forum. Love your cactus - sure looks happy.

Katye has been thorough - all I'll add is that you do want to have some evergreen bones in your garden. There are a lot of evergreen shrub options for up here and they definitely help to keep you going in winter while you're waiting for the rain to start. You can plant your perennials and annuals around them in the summer.

Acid and clay lovers do well up here - check out the native plant sales for your area that come up in the spring.

There's also a plant swap at the Holy Cross Church in Redmond in the spring and fall and many of us will go. I'm not sure exactly when the spring one is (the first Saturday in March?), but I'll post about it when I hear. Here's the official site.

http://www.holycrossredmond.org/greenelephant.htm

Welcome, welcome!!

And Sanna, thanks for popping in. It's good to see/hear from our friends in the warmer zones.

Kathleen

Bug and Magic say hi!!

Welcome Outtamygourd;
My catus is in full bloom too, just love it, yours is wonderful.
I worked in Sequim for 8 years, your are in the area called the banana belt. which is allot different than Poulsbo. ( I am 4 miles from the bridge)

We all went to Dragonfly Farms which is here in Hansville on The Kitsap Pennesulsa. about 50 some miles from you, the best person in the world owns it, anything you want to know She will have the plant or the answer.

We are going to plan another trip this spring, hope you can hop on board with us, would be great to meet you. LOL

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/780556/

This is my woodland area I started last spring.

Hi Outtamygourd, I'm the curious foreigner that the rest of the Pnwer's tolerate ever so sweetly - but then we do garden on quite similar conditions: clay, rain, more rain, a shred of sun, blessed sun, more rain, and more clay. LOOOONNNNNGGGG summer evenings, and short winter days. So, I'm sure they won't mind if I say welcome.

I think the Kates have covered everything as far as getting yourself up and thinking about planting/designing your garden - If you are really new to the whole thing may I suggest that you join some of the others for their Winter seed sowing (I'm envious, I'd love to be there). Here's the link to the invite http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/799045/ You'll get a lot of encouragement, and some expert advice on what to sow, and how to sow some of the trickier things. As well as do a bit of swapping (don't take swap too literally - these guys have buckets of seeds, cuttings, and spares - and once they get going, you'll find they have just about all of the plants that you may need to start up. Offer them a coffee and something to dunk in it, and I bet they will fill your car with foliage to the point that you will have to drive home with your head through the sunroof to navigate).

If you are thinking of a fragrant garden, don't forget to wander through the nurseries at this time of year - there are some stunning winter blossom with terrific scent: mahonia, daphne, saraccocca (I never can get the right number of c's in that) Hellebore Mrs. Jekyll. Worth going and sniffing out the ones you like and make notes for later plantings. Finding some of the winter scents and blossoms can really help to coax you out on short winter days.

Look forward to hearing more, and photos always help.

Yeah, I'm kind of like Laurie I think. I'm more of a PNW wannabe. I'm just a "skosh" south of the Oregon border, right on the coast. Very similar weather to you up there. I'm also a wannabe because my brother lives on Camano Island, and my hope is to retire up there to be near him and his family. I love that area.

Anyway Sheri, you have some good information here, and again lots of great folks around you.

Sanna

We wish you were here, too, Laurie (or wish I was there - can I have both?).

Wow...thanks everyone. What a kind and friendly group. Katye asked a few questions, so here's some info. I work M-Th so have F-Su to work outside, and after work during the longer days seasons. Our weekends are usually fairly busy as we are involved with our bloodhound in search and rescue and train often but usually only every other weekend. Our "boys" have their own fenced yard (of course, this was the first landscaping we did) and our kids are long grown and gone. We have one acre, which includes an area we call the "Quarter Acre Wood" simply because that's what it is. There is a small clearing in the center I would LOVE to do something with but last summer was filled with blackberries and solid with head-high nettles (I don't like them even a tad). I plan a vegetable garden on the north border of the property. I would love to be able to do it all at once but feel it would be too cost prohibitive, so will have "phases." My priorities are fragrance, color, texture. I'd love to attract birds and butterflies as well. We have a small view of the Strait to the northeast, so I want to keep things fairly low-growing on that side. The area to landscape is approximately 100' x 150' but not square because of our garage. We put in 2 Ranier cherries and a Fuji apple last summer. I don't like chain link fencing so have planted 5 passion vines, 3 honeysuckle, and 2 clematis on the fence to hopefully cover it some day. We live at the end of a 600' dirt access and my vision is as I turn into our property to be beaten in the face by an explosion of color and have so much fragrance I can't stop sneezing. I will take some pix and post them but don't want to be a forum hog, either.

I'd love to go along on nursery excursions. Tilly...sounds like you live very close to my bro and s-i-l, who just a few months ago moved into their new house in Poulsbo on Seminole. I believe it's about 1-1/2 miles from the bridge, so she will be landscaping as well.

And Katie...love the hounds. Hi to Bug and Magic from Chile dog and

Crikey...

Happy New Year to all. Looking forward to what's next!

They are so sweet!!! And I absolutely LOVE that you do search and rescue.

Thanks ... we love it, too. Chile is the search dog and Crikey is a therapy dog. Chile and I are a team and hubby Tim is our backer (I have a mantrailing bloodhound and a bloodhound trailing man!). Crikey and Tim do the visits as a therapy dog team. Busy, but love it. Your kids look Borzoi but smaller? Or is it just an illusion?

Good call. Silken Windhounds are a rare breed, not AKC - originally from Borzoi and Whippet. Bug, the black and white one was born just before the studbooks were closed - his grandmother was Borzoi, so he really has that look.

I'm waiting to get the right dog for therapy. I think it'd be great to do that someday. A few years back I'd take my Whippet, Nick, to visit my Uncle, who was in a nursing home in Corvallis, Oregon. People who didn't appear to be interested in anything would always come over to ask me about him or pet him. It's such a nice change for indoorbound people to have animals in their lives.

Sanna - you're close enough to be PNW! Besides, Eureka has its own type of weather - not typical for what many think of a California climate. But you just get more sun than most of us!
If you ever plan to visit your brother, and time allows for a diversion - make sure to let us know. We could try to plan for a get-together, which would most likely be centered around a Nursery...plenty of those around here!

Sanna . . . what Katye said. Let us know if you are ever up this way!!

Hi Laurie:
1. it's only water that separates us.
2. tolerates you? Geez, I thought it was the other way around...and how is it that you knew about our love of dunkable material, hmmmm?
3. S a r c o c o c c a - you are so right. Lots of c's & o's.
Katie59 & I spent part of the day at Flower World today. Guess what I found/bought? 3 Sarcococca ruscifolia @ $6.99 each, in full bloom.
A true steal, as they normally retail for at least $20 - 25. My car still has the aroma of Springtime.
OK - it's only the 30th of December! 2 more months to go...

Sheri,
My suggestion is to get your hardscape done first, mainly your paths. Find where you normally walk and put in your paths to be both convenient and part of the design of the garden. Also the type of material you will use for walkways and/or patios areas.

After you have the paths done then its really easy to just see where you have the best sun and how it will all look. If you put the garden plants in first, its very difficult to do the paths and have it look good. I know because I did my first yard with the plants first, was quite ugly, this time I have a much better looking garden.

After that then its all fun and experments. I just love to buy things I never heard of and pop them in. Plants are easily removed, paths are not, lol.

Look into heath and heather. They are really nice plants, evergreen, deer resistant and require very little care in our climate. heathsandheathers.com has a nice website with beautiful pictures.

Welcome glad to have you join us!

Sheri,
Welcome to Dave's (from way down south). I love your babies,,er, I mean doggies. I would love to let my dogs visit nursing homes, but they just don't have the right attitude. We visited P. Angeles back in 2000 on our trip around the US. Loved it. Went across and visited Butchart gardens also. Wow, you can grow anything up there. Would you be interested in growing Brugmansias? They smell wonderful and are very easy. You might want to go over and check out the pet forum too. Lots of nice people..
Elaine (Spot & Mopsy say hello too)

Hello to all to whom I have not yet said "hey." What a warm welcome I have received...wow. I apologize for not acknowledging each individually but know that I appreciate EVERYONE's kind words. Laurie and Sanna...the only differences between people are geographic. We all have some common bonds and that is quite obvious here (wouldn't it be nice if the whole world were this welcoming to others?). Laurie...I was in the UK once many years ago but would love to return, and Sanna, I used to live in Northern Cal...Sonoma County and Chico, specifically. Had several friends who went to Humboldt State and gave it serious consideration for a while but never panned out. Rebeccanne...I have roots in Oregon as well...my son and uncle live at the top of your state (Portland) but when I was a kid we took a vacation which landed us in Gold Beach. Anyway...thanks to all

Elaine ~ I would consider growing ANYTHING! I was amazed the first time I came up here how lush it was and now I live here! WOW. The brugs are beautiful but I didn't know they grow here. I have SO much to learn about this area! Think I need to take a local horticulture class just so I can sort everything out. I will definitely pop over to the pet forum as well because my boys are my life since the human kids are grown and gone...fortunately hubby Tim knows his place in the pecking order (#3) and accepts it graciously! Chile and Crikey say
"woof" to your Spot and Mopsy.

I will be taking photos as soon as the holidays go on hiatus and will post a walkabout here for ideas. Thank you again, EVERYONE, for your willing acceptance of a stranger (than you know) amongst you! Merry ramakwanzanukkahchristivus to all (just covering as many bases as I can in one word!) and to all a good night!

Looks like you have a great snuggle-dog, Sheri! Wish my Ridgeback would oblige me this way...

Re: Brugs - they are strictly "pull them inside for the winter" plants. They'll mush outside here (personal experience), but will overwinter nicely if you have somewhere to stash them inside, or in a greenhouse.
Are you taking the hint about the greenhouse? =:0)

By the way - no need to worry about being a "forum hog" - this is your thread, so feel free to ask/opine as much as you need. The more information you can give, the better suggestions we can toss to you.

Landscaping in chunks is so much easier, especially when you are working with different climate & soil conditions than you're used to. Plus, it is easier on the budget and the brain.
Colour explosion - oh yes! There are lots of annuals that will provide just that, as well as an idea of which colours work best for your setting & style. Less expensive to fill in areas with annuals prior to investing money/time/labour in perennials, etc.,

Another question for you (well, I'll always have ANOTHER!) is in regards to plant choices:
is there a favourite you like/want to grow in particular?

OK - back to snuggles with Chile. Hey - where's Crikey?

I'll see if I can find that list of fragrant shrubs & perennials. It's probably posted somewhere in the PNW forum, but its location...?

Take care, stay warm & Happy Gardening in 2008!
That goes for all of you!
Pieris: not too much longer - mine are all budded out & coloured up...

Rebecca Anne and Elaine - Thanks for popping in on us!!

Sheri - what an awesome picture. Is that you sleeping there with Chile? After a hard day's work sniffin'? When I see a Bloodhound I think of the movie Best in Show. It always makes me smile.

Everybody: As Katye said, the prices at Flowerworld today were great - lots of fun stuff there. We even scored a few baby samara with seeds and a little tassel off some oat grass - wouldn't it be amazing if I "accidentally" found a little Japanese Maple or some oatgrass growing in one of my seed trays? LOL

K

Hey K59...funny you should mention "Best in Show." Hubert, the bloodhound in the movie, is actually my Chile's uncle Rocky (his mom's bro), "Ch. Quiet Creek's Stand By Me." That whole thing is a very long and amusing story and maybe when we do the field trip I can fill you in. Yep...that's my boy...we're watchin' a movie after work (yeah, right). He was being extremely kind to share his futon with me. Katye, I don't have any favorite plants yet because I have not yet truly gardened outside...with the exception of planting planters in houses where I live and crossing my fingers. I do have one favorite plant which I have already handled...Passiflora. My g-grandpa had a huge passiflora at the house when I was little and remember the flowers SO vividly. So I have 5 planted on my boys' chainlink fence and actually had quite a few flowers for a first year, was quite happy about it. Other than that, I have no idea so my mind and yard are a totally blank canvas. Like I said, I love color and smell. Those are the two things which really make me happy and which I am determined to have. With regard to Crikey, he's DH's partner...they're the therapy team, but Crikey is not much of a cuddler. Being a therapy dog he minds his boundaries. Chile is the pushy, obnoxious one and Crikey is the quiet and more reserved of the two. Funny how we and our personal K9 partners share so many similar personality traits! < : O

Nooooooooo . . . get outta here. That's awsome - he's from a celebrity family!! Way cool. I think I'm going to go out and rent that movie again - just for that.

Don't get me wrong - I love herding dogs, but this is the first Aussie I've heard of that minds his boundaries. Good training on your DH's part. He sounds great (I love the comment about the mantrailing bloodhound etc.). That will definitely be the challenge I face with mine . . .

Anne Lovejoy is a great author who talks about gardening in a "naturalistic" way using native plants - keep an eye out for any of her books for ideas. Don't forget our lupine, foxglove, and fireweed as natives that will give you drama and color and self-sow readily once you get them started. Japanese maples do really well here, of course and give you lots of fall color. I love the huckleberries - you probably have a few already. And for those who are disciplined in the fall and spring, dahlias actually seem to do pretty well here - at least the deer leave them alone in most cases. Hydrangea and ninebark are shrubs that do well here, too. Katye and I saw some beatufiul Hamamelis today in a beautiful orange. I'm still dreaming of it . . . http://www.gardenseeker.com/calendar_feb/hamamelis_orange_beauty_8th_feb.htm.

Here's Magic fancying himself as a therapy dog with my mother, totally unprompted (fortunately she like it) - he REALLY doesn't get the boundaries thing yet. :-) But he SURE does get the lovin' thing . . .

Love the pics of everyones babies!

Welcome Sheri! This is a wonderful group, beware we do get a little plant crazy!

Post pictures, it makes it so much more fun!

Happy New Year gang!

Magic is GORGEOUS. Such a sweet, kind face. And NO droolery (dog slobber is not just an accessory anymore...it's also a condiment!) Crikey is a very good boy. He's very sweet and gentle, doesn't lick but sniffs ears, a perfect TDI pooch. DH LOVES visiting, particulary the elementary school reading programs, and Crikey seems to enjoy them as wel. Chile, on the other hand, feels everyone in the world has come to see him and share his world, his drool, his love. He's 133 pounds of love and slobber. The only obedience he knows is to sit for cookies. I tell everyone, he's my first bloodhound...my next will have manners! I have actually seen bloodhounds who are obedience trained and marveled in the fact that it could actually be done.

I haven't seen any huckleberries on the property yet, but don't know what they look like. I've seen about 9 different kinds of blackberries and nettles up the wazoo. I've already planted 3 hydrangeas (Endless Summer...beautiful. They lasted well into the freeze and I had to cut off the remaining blooms) and one red rhody, a couple of bleeding hearts, a ligularia, 3 peacocks orchids, laurentia, and a few bulbs (daffs, tulips, and something else) which were left over from my mom's plantings (they were growing in the nets in her garage so she asked me if I wanted them...duh!). Also planted 2 Ranier cherries and a Fuji apple. Oh yeah, and 10 peony trees which may or may not make it. Thought they would look great along my driveway, but got them from Directgardening.com and they were in terrible condition when I got them. I got 5 different colors and interspersed them thinking it would look really great when they grow up big and strong, but don't know that they're going to grow up at all...we'll see next spring. I nurtured them all summer long but really didn't do much soil prep before sticking them in the ground. Somehow the word "clueless" keeps popping into my head! : < S Anyway... off to sleep land...have to work tomorrow. Dagnabbit...work sure seems to interfere with my life! Thanks for everything tonight...I am really looking forward to everything to come here! Hugs and tummy scratches to the kids!

Welcome outtamygourd, and happy new year to all! I love the dogs! We have aussies - 11 year old Fran and 4 year old Skippy. Your dogs do search and rescue, mine do rescue and search, especially Fran. She 'rescues' my shoes from my closet when I'm not home to let everyone know that I'm away, then I "search" for them when I get home!
Looks like you are already discovering that you will get plenty of help and advice on this forum. I believe we have the friendliest forum on dg.
Here's Franny, lying in fresh dirt. Her favorite.

Here's skippy. Lying on the chair. HIS favorite. Taking advantage of my good nature.

Pixy - is Skippy a heart-stealer? He's looking extremely comfy!
My friends who have Aussies can speak to the "fresh dirt" issue.
So glad my Ridgeback likes blankies....

In my estimation, it's all downhill from here, right? We will slide right into early Spring, and will not require any prodding to get out & get going.
I hope that January & February behave themselves. If today's weather is any indication, the gardens could be weed-free before I plant peas! Wouldn't that be nice? Except that this type weather fosters rampant weed growth...
Digits crossed, hope for the best/expect the worst so as not to be blindsided....

Oh & don't forget the winter-sowing in Redmond, 1/12...
Winter-sowing sounds so...cold. Needs a new name for emotional appeal.
Couldn't we call it "real-early" sowing or "living-in-denial" sowing?
Onward! A great week to all! K

Who's planning on going to the Winter Sowing event?

Me, and Katie59, too. Rachie, are you able to make it?

I plan on going. Should we meet for an early lunch at 11:30?

Welcome and don't worry about being a hog - we love pictures, the more the merrier!

I think Port Angeles is a great area for flowers and gardening in general. You gets lots more sun than I do! I am in the 'banana belt' as well but do not see nearly as much sun as you. :(

Gwen

P.S. Another possible 'field trip' for us is the Lavender Festival over in Sequim. I have been twice and it's loads of fun and not just all lavender.

We have also kicked around the idea of a major field trip to see Laurie.

Laurie, is there a UK forum? If so, I want to check that out, since I am such a Brit-fan.

Gwen

New person - sniff, sniff. A little late, but, Howdy outtamygourd! There might be some ideas for your landscape on this previous thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/649549/ and don't be afraid to use drought-tolerant natives like Arbutus, Arctostaphylos, Salal, etc in the more difficult areas. 2 nurseries that I love buying plants from are Colvos Creek Nursery http://www.colvoscreeknursery.com/ on Vashon Island and Cistus Nursery http://www.cistus.com/ in Portland. There's some amazing southern hemisphere plants from Chile, Tasmania, etc that do well in the PNW. Try an Embothrium for evergreen foliage and nice red blooms. Golden Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa 'Goldstrum') for nice bright foliage and lemon scent when brushed - it might grow like the ones in Monterey if you've got the wind. There's a wide variety of Ceanothus that attract tons of bees. If you've got an area with great drainage, you could always try out many of the South African & South American bulbs - some really neat stuff out there - even a PNW-hardy bromeliad from Chile. I guess I could go on & on.

Welcome
growin & Astro

Now that's a picture!!! Great!

Growin - You must have been busy: long time, no post!
Is Astro part Hound, or a Viszla or....?????

Gwendalou - what's your Pup's name? Looks pretty huggy-ish!

I am currently going through the seed catalogues that have graced my countertop, and I think I will post what extras (for sharing) I plan to sow on the thread for the Winter Sowing invite. I don't want to hijack Sheri's thread for this. Travel on over there if you like...

Nah, Skippy isn't a heart stealer. He's a food stealer. Especially if Fran isn't looking. It's hard to be dog #2 when Franny is dog #1.
Growin', SUCH a cute photo!!

Lovin' all the pix of the pups! All the babes are beauts! I just love 'em all to pieces! DH will occasionally make a comment about why the boyz get a kiss before him when I get home from work. My reply is "who is at the door to greet me? They don't have to find a 'save place' and put down the Playstation controller first!" Go figure...huh? Happy New Year to all...our greeting:
May the new year bring you truckloads of happiness, joy, love, health and prosperity, and may all your troubles be "returned to sender!"

Chile (and Sheri)

...and Crikey, too!

Wow - everybody, you have SUCH beautiful dogs. I wish I could squish them all up. What darlings.

And their names - too cute. Astro has some nice lips, there.

The lavender festival sounds great - I've wanted to go to that for the longest time.

And yes, I'm going to the seed-sowing event and would love to meet up before-hand.