PNW Garden Photos of 09

Thanks! I sure hope so because that are is certainly a long term project. First with cleaning out the underbrush (one season), thinned out the ivy (the next 2 seasons), about 80 trees down the next year, another 15 the following year.... then, I finally had some room to plant....a strip about 8 ft. wide. lol Now it's almost 12' wide. Some day I want the Ivy back at least 50' ( well completly gone would be good, but that's not real), a trail through there, and stuff planted along the trail. I think that I'm looking at at least another 20 years given the constant battle with the ivy!!! lol.

Can you imagine that area with 95 more trees stuck in there? It always seem as if it was night time in there.

This message was edited Apr 15, 2009 12:33 AM

It was probably dark, constantly. You've done a great job. Definitely long-term. Maybe you could bring one of your crews someday to help you clear it out. (as practice before they get out on the trail) LOL Sounds like a plan to me :)

RC love seeing your "project" and can certainly relate. We are still mostly in the clearing out the underbrush and deadfalls. Every year Mother Nature seems to give us the "one step forward, two steps back" scenario. We we first got here we both cleared out maybe an acre or so, so that the DH's could have their large shops, and the fallout benefit of that was perimeter areas available for planting. It is too wet here today to go out for pictures, and both of us have to work, but will share more, maybe this weekend. I pity you the battle with the ivy. It is not so pervasive here, but my previous owner actually planted it and I am still fighting a few places. (She also used scads of landscape cloth around the yard, which I am still also fighting.) Well, guess I can get one pic of the cedar in my front yard that is my current "fight the ivy" project: The other stuff is periwinkle, which isn't quite so bad, but hopefully there will soon be hostas there.

My front yard this morning. So many colors!

Gorgeous Bea. But I don't remember your house. lol

mixed bed in my shade garden

Lovely. You are way ahead of me in color.

RC, Love your woodland. It's amazing what you have done.

Some of my houseplants since I couldn't get out today.

This is 'Queen of Tears' Bomiliad (sp)

The plants in the living room

One in the bedroom

African violets in the dining room

In the kitchen

Kitchen window

Another in the dining room

Sorry these turned out so dark. Another in the living room

Willowwind... Your house is like mine. African Violets everywhere!
Very nice house plants!
My first strep bloom of the season.

And a little violet called Little Cheyenne girl.
Sure wish my flash would go off when necessary! Pic a bit dark.

Some pots of color near my front door.

This photo captures the cycle of the anemone from bud to spent.
I just love these . They are really putting on a great show this year!

Nice pics, everyone! I'm enjoying them. Love all your houseplants, Willowwind2.

Shelly, You have done great work on that woodland area. I can't imagine all those other trees in there. Wow! It's looking fantastic!

Karen

Bea, you sure have a lot of nice color in your yard. I don't have a lot yet, but some nice stuff here and there.

Karen

Karen..it will come to your garden too! It is hard to wait! I still have a few months for the roses..and TOMATOES!! Can't wait.

Here is a picture of my Koi this evening. They are getting very well trained. If I pace up and down the side of the pond they follow. The little ones are also learning to eat out of my hand. Had a few nibbles from them tonight.

They started here

and swam to the other side

Weeeee...lets do it again! It helps when I carry their jar of food!

What a nice pond, Bea! I wish I could put in a big one like that. Mine is such a dinky little thing, certainly not big enough for Koi.

Karen

Okay, Bea - you have me sold on blue anemones. What a wonderful picture.

Patricia - your house is so neat and your plants to healthy. Where do you find the time to do gardening both in AND out?

Shelly - first off, is that acer yours? What an incredible looking plant. I've never seen the likes of it. I have many trees to thin, but will never get even close to your 95. Heh heh. It's good to see somebody making progress with ivy - I have my own similar project.

Nutsfordaylily - good to see you hanging out here!!

Redchick, OMG that Maple is gorgeous! Just went on my list of things that I think I really need! Your woodland is very very similar to ours, and it is a LOT of work to get it to the point where you feel you can plant something successfully. Fortunately, our trees in most areas (the ones that don't include cottonwood or alder) are not quite as closely spaced as yours...it was a wonderfully tall deep dark forest full of ferns, vine maple and salal when we started so we have been able to work with the edges without a horrible amount of clearing. You will cringe when I tell you that I have a few little pieces if ivy that I have left alone because I thought they looked pretty! It is probably along the same lines of the lesson I learned when the little sword ferns looked so cute that I left them in my gardens for accents. Not so cute when you move the 80 pound ferns three years later!! Probably should start pulling ivy too...

Bea, your spring bulb display is awesome! I can't imagine the time that it took to plant that many! Your koi are very cute too! Must be very fun to see them gather when you come out to feed them. Your pictures are wonderful as usual.

Willow, you have to be constantly working with your plants to have so many beautiful things both indoors and out. I wish I had an indoor greenthumb, but can't seem to grow anything unless it is outside or in the greenhouse. My houseplants are scrapy at best. Probably because I don't spend enough time inside to remember to take care of them...

Thanks, Katie59! BTW, I have problems with ivy here, too. English ivy growing on the house. We've been slowly getting rid of it. Good luck with all here who are battling it!

Karen

We have a lot of ivy here too.

Thanks all! If I every come across the only before picture that I ever took, I'll post it. Unfortunately it was taken about 7 years ago with a disposable camera, and I have no idea where it's at! Maybe it would suffice if I were to go take a picture of the property next to mine that hasn't been touched?? Oohhhh I know.... there is a corner back there in all that, that I haven't done anything with, it's about 50' x 50', but still a good example.

RJ and PNWMG.... you're right!! I do cringe at leaving any ivy at all! sorry. This stuff was planted in the 40's and left to roam free. I'm constantly pulling starts of it out of every area of the yard. Then trying to free the trees of it is something too. Before I cleared out all the underbrush..,..It actually looked tropical because the Ivy looked like ropes going from one shrub to the next! The downfall is a challenge too. I cleared a little the first year or two, but didn't hunt out the unstable or leaning trees. Those trees made problems the next year. So, the sickly or leaning ones were the first of the trees to go when I started thinning in there. So far I haven't had a tree come down in the winter in almost 5 years... knock on wood!!! I highly recommend doing that. I definitely agree with you about those sword ferns too!!! cute when little, but when 5 or 10 years old......... Landscape cloth has actually help me sooooo much..... the ivy and Japanese knot weeds can't come up through it nearly as quickly. which is great. Nor can the scotch broom and vinca. Not a fan of that stuff either since it's been roaming free for 50 years as well. Anyhow, hopefully your DH's appreciate all that you've done so that they have room for their shops! That's crazy and good at the same time. lol

Katie, yep of all of the pictures that I take.... that tree is actually mine. Surprisingly enough. lol For anyone who likes that tree... you need to check out it's sister seedling Acer Negundo Violaceum. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/83277/ (I wish I could get rid of the first picture there) I really want one of these too. But, I just don't know about room for both of them. I didn't know about Violaceum, until after I had Kelly's gold, or else I likely would have just Violaceum.

Bea....you have soooo much going on at your place! It's beautiful. So are your pictures! I'm still find it hard to believe that we're in the same state. You're so far ahead! darn it. lol Even your pots are ahead of mine. But they're beautiful.

Willow....OMG, Your place is a plant sanctuary! It's wonderful. I can't grow anything unless it's in the bathroom. I'm so jealous!

Karen, It's great to have you over here! I sure hope that you stay with us over here and share lots of your lovely pictures with your new camera.

Karen, you're up way too late for someone who has to get up fairly soon. :-p But I'm always happy to chat with you!

Beautiful pictures everyone!! Bea, wonderful color....makes me want to add more bulbs for next year. Willow your inside garden is as beautiful as your outside one!

I use to think the ivy on mom's tree looked pretty, until I found out how bad it was. So out it came, luckily that was the only spot she had it.

glad that you got to it before it was a problem. at times, I do think that it looks good in the right light. But, it only takes a second or two of analyzing how much of it is really there, to bring me back to reality. on the pic up at the very top. the last tree or two at the end of the driveway, on the right side, has it growing up in it......AGAIN! I do think that it looks pretty there, but I just look across the driveway at the area covered in it and that thought quickly turns to contempt!!!

This message was edited Apr 16, 2009 1:09 AM

LOL! The love/hate relationship with ivy!

Yup, I was up late last night. And I did my taxes last minute on Turbo Tax. I thought I would qualify for the free one, but I didn't. I ended up paying almost $70. Next year will have a pro do it, as it would cost me the same and save me the headache. I'm getting money back in the Federal but I owe some to the State.

Karen

Great photos everyone. I have been inspired to plant more bulbs in the fall! Such pretty house plants Willow and Beahive what great color! Redchic your Kelly's Gold is stunning!

My neighbor (not the garden designer, the one on the other side) has lots of ivy and lets it grow up and over my fence, and almost pushes it over. It grows up all of her trees as well. She also has many Ailanthus trees and the seedlings from those pop up everywhere. I don't know a lot about those trees but my other neighbor, the garden designer, said they are invasive and should be removed. Have any of you had experience with Ailanthus trees?

Sorry to hear about your taxes Karen, that's never fun. What I don't understand is how federal and I can agree on the amount owed, down to the exact penny, and the state never agrees with me. I do mine by hand because i usually have 4 or 5 w-2's (by the time I add all those boxes together to do it on computer, I might as well do it by hand), but for the last 5 or 6 years, I've also filled them out on one of the tax sites...just as a way to double check myself. The federal and I ALWAYS match to the penny, the state..... oh no, they always think that they owe me less or that I owe them. I can't figure out how my math can be different for one form than it is the other. lol

Portland, Ailanthus are definitely a bigger problem in some climates than they are here, and they are definitely on the list of trees to stay away from. Here, they're not as big of a problem, but in certain areas here they've taken over. They grow really fast and are hard to kill. I'd almost say to let the ivy grow up over the trees! In time... It'll kill them. But then to get rid of the ivy. The ivy will push over your fence. Hopefully they'll replace the fence?? but it doesn't sound like it. If you want, I can go out tomorrow and take pictures for you to show the neighbor of some of the trees on the property that the ivy killed before I was able to get at it. Just in case the neighbor doesn't believe that Ivy will do that.

Redchic thanks for the offer to take photos but it probably won't help. They consulted an arborist and he told them just what you said but they said they don't care - they like it like that because it's good for wild life. I have photos of my fence now and if it gets bad I will take more and talk to the proper city department. Their Ailanthus trees are planted so close to my fence that the trunks touch the fence. All the neighbors have Ailanthus seedlings in their yards and have complained to them but they only get hostile. We get along well so far and I don't want that to change so I am treading lightly.....

My what a beautiful day here! I hope the rest of you are getting some sunshine as well.

When we first moved here the neighbor had planted ivy in a 15' X 30" area between the two houses. They sold and the new owner were part-timers but when they sold I told them my DH and I would pull the ivy and spread mulch if they would buy the mulch. We did that and it never came back. None of it. Here it is on the noxious weed list because of the damage it does and it also harbors rats. English Ivy that is.

We paid our tax preparer more than we paid in taxes this year. LOL

I also love your maple RC. Never have seen anything like that.

Portland....that's to bad that your neighbors are like that. that's not any fun at all. The unfortunate part is that they are probably just used to having a tree there, and that's what they are attached too, not the fact that it's an Ailanthus. I can understand loosing a "feature" of your yard, it's just sad that they can't realize that they could have a better feature within not too long of a time frame. I at least you have one set of good neighbors!
They folks who bought the property next to where i'm at are from Portland. They still live there, but want to move here when there kids graduate. They're great people. Fortunately we think alike! But they got fed up with neighbors like yours, and the traffic in the area they live in, and that's why they like the area they bought the land at. We have one crazy neighbor that everyone sort of tolerates, but other than that, everyone is really respectful of everyones property lines. Keep in mind that none of us are close, by neighbor, I truly mean the persons that happen to own the nearest property, not the person within talking distance. But still, it amazes me that people are not considerate of there neighbors. When they first came and introduced themselves as the folks next to me, the actual property owner wasn't there, just me. But, I took them out and found whatever property markers I new of and was up front that the edge of the shed was on the boundary line and volunteered to move it if they wanted me to (it was the best place to put it and the former neighbors didn't care). They said maybe someday, but for at least the next 5 years (they wont be there until then) they were ok with it there. I also told them that I had been removing japanese knot weed and ivy from their property....they said to feel free to keep doing whatever I've been doing. I knew we were going to get along famously!

This message was edited Apr 16, 2009 1:34 PM

A note from the Master Gardeners yesterday says that Lowe's was found to be selling Scotch Broom. All the plants were pulled after they were notified.