The Lilac Lady

For years I've noticed a sign on I-5 near Woodland, Washington for the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden and always made a mental note to come visit when the lilacs are in bloom. Of course I always forget, but this Spring I was lucky enough to have a friend invite me along for a little drive up from Portland to check it out.

The Lilac Days run from mid April through Mother's Day and are the only time the house on the estate is open to the public, though the grounds can be accessed any time. You can also buy plants during the Lilac Days. 

It was an immensely beautiful day. The skies really were that blue! It's a perfect place for a picnic. The grounds surrounding the old white house are a mix of brick pathways and green lawns. Of course the lilac trees are the star attraction but there are also lovely mixed beds near the house and a lot of impressive rhododendrons.

I haven't seen it stated as such, but my guess would be that Hulda Klager was the world's foremost lilac breeder. She developed over 250 lilac varieties in her lifetime. She held her first open house in 1920, a tradition carried on today by the Hulda Klager Lilac Society. 

A couple varieties that really caught my attention were this double, dark purple variety called Adelaide Dunbar--the unopened blossoms actually looked red. 

Alexander's Pink Lilac had vivid pink blossoms with a unique, more upright habit, reminding me of a butterfly bush. So pretty.

It was fun to see the inside of the house which is full of memorabilia and family photos of the farm. The house was built in 1889 and seems to be mostly in it's original state, though I spotted some modern light fixtures (circa 1920's!). 

It really is a bucolic setting. I love that the paint isn't in perfect condition. Things are ever so slightly rough around the edges. There was an assortment of wonderful old floral wallpaper throughout the house. You really get a sense of what life was like for Hulda living there most of her 97 years.

Somebody was painting en plein air in the front of the house. 

Out front there was a magnificent Monkey Puzzle Tree with cones in full, fuzzy, chartreuse glory. 

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Rediscovering Foxfire Magazine

"Shown here (top left) is the very first issue of Foxfire, completed and published in Spring 1967, followed by each fifth anniversary issue since, up through 2006's 40th anniversary issue. This spring's release of issue 173/174 of The Foxfire Magazine will mark the 45th anniversary of the Foxfire organization."

If you were a hippie, or your parents were hippies, or your aunt was a hippie, or your ex-Rajneeshee neighbor that you house-sat for was a hippie, then you probably remember seeing Foxfire Magazine. It was on the bookshelf next to the Whole Earth Catalog and Our Bodies, Ourselves.

The magazine was first published in 1967 in Northern Georgia as an experimental school project and included folklore, oral history, and how-to articles based on interviews conducted with elder Appalachian residents. The magazines were collected in 1972 as the first Foxfire book (several more were subsequently published) and became a national best seller and bible of sorts for the back-to-the-land movement.

I am very happy to see that not only is Foxfire still in existence, but that they celebrated their 45th anniversary last year and continue to publish their magazine and create other interesting publications such as Foxfire's Book of Wood Stove Cookery:

Yum, that sounds good. I have a feeling everything tastes better cooked in a wood-burning cook stove.

I also found it interesting to find an article about ramps on their site, which have become the vegetable du jour of Portland foodies recently. Seems they've been hip to their merits (and demerits!) in Appalachia all along:

To prepare fried ramps: parboil three minutes, drain, throw water away, add more water, cook until tender, drain. Season in frying pan with melted butter. Serve covered with bread crumbs. Or fry in grease along with tuna fish and/or eggs, or add potatoes, salt, pepper for flavor. Clifford Connor says, "Most important, go into solitary in the woods somewheres, stay for two or three weeks, because nobody can stand your breath after you've eat 'em."
                                                --From Spring Wild Plant Foods, Foxfire 2

"Several Foxfire contacts had information to offer on ramps, and a few
of them even took students out into the woods to show them where
ramps naturally grow, and what they look like in the wild."

There's a lot of terrific info on the Foxfire site. You can learn about the Foxfire Museum & Heritage Center, the Foxfire approach to teaching, and visit their online store where you can subscribe to upcoming issue and purchase their commemorative collection published last year in celebration of their 45th Anniversary:

Foxfire's 45th Anniversary Collection

Includes Singin', Praisin', And Raisin: The Foxfire 45th Anniversary Book

Echoes Companion CD featuring gospel and bluegrass musicians from the book

Commemorative Leather Bookmark Set featuring illustrations from the book

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Pollen, Seeds, Fruit: The Work of Rob Kesseler

I first discovered the amazing photos by Rob Kesseler on Brain Pickings. They are from a series of books exploring the plant life at The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership at Kew Gardens which endeavors to collect seeds (over a billion seeds and counting!) to be used in case of disaster and threatened extinction. Isn't it amazing the mind-boggling beautiful things nature is doing even at the microscopic level? Did you know that the seed stage is the only time a plant can move and you will often see such ingenious designs such as wings, piercing spikes, and parachutes to help them on their way?

Check out this great video which gives you an inside look at the seed bank...

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The Elk Rock Garden of the Bishop's Close

The manor house at Bishop's Close 

This February and again in April, I visited the Elk Rock Garden of the Bishop's Close, which was once a private residence but is now owned by the Episcopal church who keeps the garden open to the public year-round. Originally created in 1906 by Scottish businessman Peter Kerr (with the house being sited by John Olmsted) the estate sits on the Willamette River and has a beautiful view of Mt Hood. The garden is a mix of natural woodland trails, manicured lawns, and gardens within gardens such as the  Asian-inspired pond and monastic knot garden.

The Parterre

As per tradition the enclosed knot garden is sited close to the house for quiet reflection.

The pond at Elk Rock Garden 

The pond area has a graceful wedding cake tree which was just leafing out and there were quite a few magnificent rhododendrons.

Elk Rock Garden in February

It was a different garden in February and one I think I may have enjoyed even more. I loved seeing the structure of the trees and shrubs--the grounds had the quiet meditative quality of Winter. 

Noticing how much my own garden changes from week to week makes me want to visit my favorite public gardens at different times throughout the year. There is always something new to see.

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How To Make A Tiny Garden

My tiny garden in a style I like to think of as deconstructed (code for lazy woman's) Bonsai

They had me at "tiny". My Mom and I recently attended a class at Garden Fever called Tiny Gardens taught by miniature garden design experts Nancy Goldman and Genevieve Layman. I really didn't know what to expect but I have enjoyed making topiaries and I imagined this would be somewhat similar. 

As a mobile option, I've created a Snapguide for this project which you can find here: http://snp.gd/eap3zw

This is a really fun project whether your tastes are whimsical (you might want to add some furniture for the fairy visitors) or sophisticated (let rocks, sand, gravels, and bark be part of your natural palette) and I will walk you through the six steps needed to make a charming, wee garden.

Supplies List:

• 1 small container
• Potting soil
• An array of small plants
• Rock, bark, moss, or any other decorative items that suit your fancy

  
  

Instructions:

1. Gather your materials. Your garden can use moisture loving plants like ferns, mosses, and grasses, or xeric plants like succulents and cacti. Add moss, bark, gravel, stones, shells--you are the artist!

2. Partly fill your container with either regular potting soil or a cacti blend for succulents and cacti.

3. Trim your plants to your liking and to fit your container. Some root trimming might be needed to get everything to fit.

4. Begin "building" your garden, layering and rearranging until you are happy with the composition.

5. Don't be afraid to divide plants into smaller segments by pulling apart their roots. Remember that in nature things often grow in clusters or groups.

6. Once planting is done feel free to add rocks or moss, figurines, or tiny structures. Make a nice spot for the little fairies who might visit. And once you're done, give everything a good watering, of course.

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An April Tour Of My Garden

I wanted to give you a quick tour around of my own garden today. These are photos I took a week ago and things are already looking quite a bit different. I will try to take shots in similar spots throughout the year to compare how things change through the seasons. One thing about my garden is that I have a lot of tropicals which don't really get going until late Summer but continue well into late Fall. It's fun taking walks around my neighborhood in October with all the changing leaves and Fall colors, to return to my luscious green garden, looking more like a setting for a Mai Tai than trick-or-treaters.

Above are two of my favorite plants--cerinthe (which was actually evergreen this Winter, it was so mild) and the illusive checkerboard fritillaria which I have planted three times. This is the first year I have seen a bloom, and what a bloom it is!

The color theme in my Spring garden is yellow and purple, though by Summer it will have shifted to hot colors of orange and red. This is a pairing that brings me so much joy. Our neighbors have a small grove of these dark purple lilacs which have never been pruned and reach two stories high. I have never seen such an impressive display of lilacs. I trained my banksia rose up into the lilacs and this is the view out my livingroom window.

 Every room of my house has been filled with lilac bouquets for the past couple of weeks and I'm so sad that they are beginning to fade now. To console me, the peony and rose buds are swelling though.

I mentioned my tropicals and here is one of my favorites, starting to grow by leaps and bounds. The Chinese Rice Paper Plant loses most of its leaves here in the Winter but quickly springs back. This is a baby from the mother plant that's just in its second year. I expect it to grow several feet this Summer. I love sitting under these giant green umbrellas!

On the South side of my house I have palms and Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, which is a contorted hazelnut and so much fun during the Winter. It is just setting its leaves now so you can't see all the cool corkscrew branches very well.

The white flowering dogwood is in full bloom now. This tree is a not stop party. I love it's autumn leaves, it's red berries, it's ethereal white flowers, it's beautiful Winter bones. And underneath are the Spanish bluebells that I have a love/hate relationship with. They are always appearing where I don't want them but I do love the little ring they make at the base of the dogwood.

Also on the South side of my house are my veggie patches. Not a whole lot going on there at the moment--just some seeds getting going, celery that overwintered, and some young lettuces and radishes. I use chives to line my garden as seen above and those are about ready to flower. The mint is so invasive so I only grow it in containers and even then you have to watch it. I'll share more of my veggie patch soon.

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