Snowmaggedon '08

The snow has melted as fast as it arrived, and here we are again, in the dark days of winter. We had a blast in the snow, though. I loved how bright everything was dressed in white and sugar coated with ice. The city can't be bothered with plowing snow, so we were left to our own devices. I loved driving around in the F150 through unplowed streets and parking lots and I am going to invest in a plow for the front of the truck. Next winter, look for 24-hour Superwonderful Plowing Services.


The worst of the snow and frost damage was to my Phormiums. Looks like this was a case of heavy snow weighing down the foliage. The 'Maori Sunrise' Phormium in the backyard was also pretty bad looking. I am going to wait until Spring and if they do not shape up, they will get tossed (no mercy here!).



This is standard frost damage here, so it looks like I may be eating my words from my previous post about plants surviving the cold temps. I thought Hebe's were hardier than this, but these 3 plants actually have the most damage of anything else in the yard. (I actually could not care less about this because 1. I'm not a huge fan of Hebes and 2. I have no mercy for poor performing plants!)


I have an affinity for broad leaf tropicals and also succulents - high maintenance or not. These plants get most of my attention, and they do require a bit more attention here in the PNW. This Agave definitely looks soggy and not so happy. I can't remember what temperature this guy is hardy to, but I did mulch it before the weather turned cold, so hopefully that kept it protected enough. I believe it is an Agave americana variety. I am also going to plant an Agave striata this year. I do have to mention that although I tend not worry about winter temperatures killing hardy plants here, I think it did get down into the low teens for a few days, and that is lower than average for Portland.


This is how I protect my hardy Banana tree over Winter. I remove the leaves and wrap it with Burlap, cover it with mulch, then cover it with this landscaping plastic so that it is waterproof. Hardy Bananas that are not protected like this will overwinter and come back in the Spring, but they will die back to the ground, and thus never really get tall.


This plant here is a little secret I will let Portlanders in on. It is a Cast Iron Plant, Aspidistra elatior. Known as a houseplant, these broad-leaf beauties grow all over Florida where I grew up as well as Hawaii and other tropical climates. It is called cast iron because it is tough as nails and can thrive in complete shade. It is considered a groundcover as it spreads, but not aggressively. When I saw them for sale at a wholesale nursery in Hillsboro, I couldn't believe it. I have it planted in the "tropical" garden area in the back yard. Check out the completely soggified Canna Lily behind it! (It will come back in the Spring!) I did more research and found out it is hardy to 10 degrees F and even grows in the Himalayas. And, look, it even survived Arctic Blast '08.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Love,
Superwonderful

Updated Website and Portfolio

Just got the new website up and running! The Projects page has lots of new photos.

Check it out! www.superwonderful.org

Thanks to Brian Twilley for all the programming work.

The snow is finally melting here, and tomorrow I will take a look around the garden and assess the (possible) frost damage.

Snow in Portland

I've been sitting in the office starring out the window at the snow falling on the garden. It's nice to have a different perspective.

I've been hearing some concern about PNW ornamental plants not being able to survive this cold weather, but the hardy plants will be fine. Plants have been around for billions of years and have figured out how to survive quite well, thank you.

If you do have bananas or palms or tropical plants like that, hopefully you have mulched them properly - they like it hot. Snow and ice, not so much. When I lived in the midwest, we even had to dig up canna bulbs and put them in the basement, but here I leave mine in the ground over winter. One questionable bulb is the colocasia or elephant ear plant. I have 'Black Magic' in my backyard which was totally impressive this year, and rocked my garden world all summer. It is not super hardy, but I left it in the ground to overwinter as I did last year, so we'll see how it performs next year. I did cut the leaves off before the storm hit and have them in a vase on my desk.



Stay warm and safe out there!

Amen

Seen on my run today.

Superwonderful Website Update

Stay tuned for a ton of new photos from this year's projects. We are changing the format of the website to allow for better viewing of the portfolio. Should be up in a week or so!

Design Sample

I finished a CAD drawing today for a client. No more hand-drafted designs - I'm a terrible drawer. I'd like to add some color to these designs in the future.

The Darkness

Not the band, just the moniker for the Pacific Northwest for the next 5 or so months. I am working a couple days a week again at Life + Limb, and I watch Burnside Street through the big window all day. At exactly 4.30 pm, the light begins to fade and the traffic and noise begins to rise. As I ride my bike home, I realize that the rain makes the black asphalt much blacker. The wet, soggy piles of leaves on the sides of the streets? They are just covering up the treacherous potholes that might lay underneath, adding to the "darkness". My senses are left to the memory of the streets that I have ridden on so many times, and to that sixth sense that comes only with Jedi Training that goes something like, "Don't think,...feel". (My mantra when mountain biking too.)

I also feel the need to go to bed at 7.30 pm because it has been dark for 3 hours and that must mean that it is about 11pm.

In landscaping news, I am completing a design for a contemporary remodel of a front yard in Lake Oswego. The concrete was poured this week for the front walkway (did you know you can make concrete underwater?), and the new front deck is going to be built soon. The plan is to get the plants in the ground before Winter. Maybe I'll have something to show in a few weeks.

Rapha Roller Racing- Portland, Or (Feb 2008)

It's Been Way Too Long

I spend more time reading other people's blogs and websites than I do managing mine, so I'm going to try to be better at keeping ya'll up to date!

It is my favorite kind of day today. Fall, blue sky, beautiful leaves, damp air...It seems like a lot of people I know are getting that antsy, uncomfortable fall lock-down feeling. For me, the season is winding down (not without a ton of "fall clean-ups" and hopefully a couple nice installations), and the onset of long, dark, cold days is upon Superwonderful. If you don't live in Portland, it is hard to comprehend the lack of light for 5 months but it happens and along with the disappearance of the light goes my motivation. It truly is like hibernation. So, Superwonderful is going into it's chrysalis and it will emerge a bigger, more vibrant being. Once inside this dark chamber of transformation (the office), it will work diligently to make a new being that will be unrecognizable from it's previous state.

For now, I am working on some really cool designs, one for a 1905 farmhouse in SE Portland and one contemporary design in Lake Oswego. I am working with a CAD program instead of hand drafting which I am really having fun with. I am also getting as much bike riding in as possible before the rains come. Semi-serious cyclocross races, and even goofing off at the Rapha Roller Race.

Jenna and Evert's Back Yard

My friends Jenna and Evert got married on Saturday evening in their backyard in NE Portland. The months leading up to the event were spent hectically remodeling the living room and kitchen and getting their enormous back yard ready.

They bought a super cool ranch house last Fall on a lot and a half complete with pool, water fall, and gazebo, but it was lacking that Jenna Campbell style,and she asked me to help with a redesign.

As you enter the yard from the house, there are 2 massive Douglas Fir trees framing the pool area and waterfall behind. There was just bark mulch covering the ground between the trees. Since there will be lots of bare feet running from the pool to the house, I decided to add grass from the patio to the pool, and to connect the existing lawn. We then added the 2x2' concrete pavers to create a walkway to the pool. Most of the other trees and features were there, I just cleaned up the lines, and defined the areas better.

There is a vegetable garden off to the side of the gazebo that I helped Jenna plant with seeds and starts this Spring (she was really excited as she had never planted her own garden). It is now producing enough produce for a family of four. And her husband Evert is building dirt jumps for BMX bikes in the extra lot next to the pool. I know their wedding was a success and a great party (Portland drum corps, fireworks, 2 bands, homemade German doughnuts...) and I'm glad I got to help them create a backyard that fits their style. And, I think I earned my free pass to their pool!

Ideas from Chicago Botanic Garden

Last week I was in Chicago (shout out to the midwest!), and finally got to go to the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was beautiful - really vast with an amazing Japanese Garden (not as good as ours here though) and excellent greenhouse collections. I saw the largest Century Plant (cactus) I have ever seen.

The one thing that I want to implement that I saw at the garden is this vertical herb garden. Designed for a small garden area, or even a condo wall it is essentially a wooden bed turned on it's side and hung to a wall. I love it! I want to build these for clients (and my house).

Neander Games PDX

This is the cyclocross racing of the landscaping trade. It's competitive, it's fun, you have to train for it, and there's lots of beer.

Last year there were no female contenders, so I'm thinking about entering this year. Sam will be here visiting from Hawaii, and I'm going to have to get her as a team mate.

JULY 19th! ROCKY BUTTE! If we enter it, you have to come support us!

To Make Something Beautiful....

You must first start with something ugly. That is a quote from someone famous whom I can't remember. On Friday, Ben, Matt Hall and I busted up an old concrete patio with a jackhammer. It was 97 degrees and the electric breaker that I had reserved for rental was somehow rented to someone else. So, we were stuck with using a two-stroke engine breaker. Ben was nothing shy of wrestling the beast for 4 hours while Matt and I sucked oil and gas fumes all morning. The inside of my nose was burning horribly. It was epic. Ben is hard core. We left the job site with a mound of broken concrete to be disposed of on Monday. The transformation into a formal patio lined with a cedar raised bed will begin on Tuesday. On Friday, the homeowners should have a beautiful new outdoor living area.

My outdoor living space just got more beautiful. No matter how much work I did in the backyard, the cyclone fencing made it look depressing. So, a couple weeks ago, I hired Ben to build a new cedar fence. I finally decided to go with a horizontal design based on a building I saw on N Greeley Ave. The slats are 1/2" apart to allow for air flow and light but to also give a good amount of privacy. It has transformed the backyard into a lively yet calming area, and the neighbors love it too. Last night, Matt took some time lapse photos of the yard in the glow of the circus lights. Check it out, then come over and hang out with us this summer.

Palm Springs In PDX

This is our most recent installation. The client, who lives in the St. Johns neighborhood, told me she wanted a "Palm Springs in PDX" landscape for her front yard.

Working with a ranch house filled with everything retro she wanted to get rid of the boring front lawn and chain link fence. She had a very specific idea in her head of what she wanted, and working with magazine photos and plant ideas from Cistus Nursery, we created the unique landscape.

First, she hired a contractor to build the cedar fence. Then, we removed the existing grass and started with a blank canvas. 7 yds of river rock were brought in, and a concrete contractor was hired to pour the 4x8' concrete slabs on site. After battling on-and-off rain showers all day, we finally got the concrete fisnish just perfect. (smooth finish, not brushed). We used 2x2' pre-cast concrete pavers along the side of the house for access to the back yard, and installed a new tiny lawn just big enough for a lawn chair and a little jack russel terrier.

The plants were hand selected by the client. They include a prickly pear cactus from Rare Plant Research(yes, they are hardy in our area), small barrel cacti from Cistus, a blue variety of yucca, a deep purple cortyline and phormium, and other small accent plants such as succulents and grasses with a blue hue that looks great against the grays and purples.

The house now stands out in the neighborhood, and the entry into the mid-century styled house is just as dramatic.

DIY Flagstone Patio

A re-found this article recently and wanted to share it because I am currently working with 3 clients who are planning on doing the landscaping work themselves after I come up with a master plan for them.

The article is from Northwest Renovation Magazine, and it features me in what I think was my first year in business. It's a step by step guide to laying a stone patio. It's one of my favorite parts of the labor side of the work. Very zen....

It works the same for using concrete pavers.

So here you go...http://www.nwrenovation.com/20livingpatio.html

Also, Ben and I just finished a very unique job today. I'll post the photos soon...

Welcome Back, Winter!

COVER UP YOUR VEGGIE STARTS AND NEW PLANTINGS! - it's going to freeze again this weekend. Saturday morning temps are forecasted at 31 degrees.

I won't even go into how bad this news upsets me. We deserve at least 8 months of 80 and sunny this year!

Best Tip Ever!

One of my clients gave me this tandem bicycle as a tip! It even came with that case of beer!!! We were pretty stoked after work that day.

Also, check out how awesome my assistants Ben and Sam are.....Superwonderful has it goin on!

C'mon, get modern!

This is a sweet, little store on E. Burnside called Life + Limb. It is just what we need to get through this never-ending, grey, cold Spring. How about a sunny southern California style cactus in your living room?

The owner, Molly is bringing hot-climate plants and mod containers to us PNWesters. I've been doing a lot of work lately with clients that own mid-century/modern or ranch homes, and I am going to be offering a lot of Molly's products in my designs. I would love to use these bird houses as usable garden art (of which, I am not normally a fan of.) And, the large agave and aloes can be brought outdoors and planted in containers in the summer.

Stop in and say hi to Molly. 1716 E Burnside.

Where My Inspiration Comes From

There are lots of things and ideas that inspire me, and it when it comes to starting and running a business, inspiration is essential. Of course, I spend endless hours looking at garden design books, and nature and architecture are ongoing sources of creative inspiration for me. But, there are times when I have to dig deeper to find courage to continue. (Matt's encouragement, and my dad's advice only go so far).

Sometimes I look to other small business owners for encouragement, and that definitely helps. - "If they can do it, I can do it!" Sometimes I find inspiration in surprising places. The images of the old women in Mexico carrying supplies on their heads and in their arms (sometimes with a baby wrapped up in their too) have stuck with me, and I think about their strength and perseverance a lot. Also good to remember the importance of weight-bearing exercise for strong bones....

Anyway....my new inspiration is this woman - Aunt Mary. She is over 50 years old and riding her bike across North America. - California to Florida. Not only am I inspired, but am also extremely jealous. And, as many of you know, I am an avid cyclist, and I think about her on her bike for 58 days. I wonder how many times she wants to quit, how many of her muscles ache, and how many times she gets angry at passing motorists that drive too close. All of these things can make you feel defeated really quickly. And it takes will-power, determination, belief in yourself and your abilities, and a little bit of insanity to keep going. That's exactly what I need some days when I doubt my ability to run a successful business.

So, Mary - thanks! You are inspiring me everyday. Hopefully that gives you some strength to turn the cranks on those tough miles.

Walk the Talk

I have been shopping for new trucks this week because I brought on another full-time employee for the season in hopes of having a crew at the work site, and me being able to go off running around to appointments, getting supplies, making nursery runs, and picking up coffee on the way back to the site. I really want to get a diesel truck and convert it to biodiesel but I'm finding this to be very difficult. (cheap ones are hard to find).

I drive alot for work. Alot. And, I hate it. It might be the worst part of my job. So, I'm considering my options for lessening the impact I make by driving around all day. Someone suggested that I pay into a carbon offsets fund like carbonfund.org. I think this is a noble idea, and I gave it some thought. Essentially, the organization takes money from the person donating and gives it to organizations that help with renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation, and the donor then feels justified about driving everywhere. (Hey - at least I cycle commute when I'm not working). Then I thought about the work that I do at the job sites and wondered how much carbon I'm offsetting by planting trees and shrubs all day everyday. So, I did a little search through my '07 records and counted how many trees Superwonderful planted last year - 39! (And, I would guess at least 500 shrubs and perennials.) Do I feel better as I'm driving my truck(s) everywhere? No Way. But, I am proud of little accomplishments like this that I make in my own little way.

My Spring Fever Started Early

As it usually goes for me in the winter months, I get in a quick (and much needed) vacation, then come back to Portland and wait for Spring. and wait. the phone rings, I get a few small jobs in, and I wait for Spring. This winter, one of the most spontaneous, and fulfilling adventures presented itself to me, and I jumped on it. My friend took a 3-month long position as a gardener at Starseed Ranch - a 26 acre ranch on the big island of Hawaii. I tagged along with her to help her jump start the gardens which had been neglected for a few months. I was only there for 10 days, but the beauty and fertility of Hawaii stuck with me throughout February. Hawaii's growing season is year-round, so I felt like I was smack in the middle of summer. I grew up in Florida and have a soft spot for tropical plants (dare I say they are my favorite?) Orchids, palms, banyan trees, avocados, loquats!) Color was everywhere (my eyes were unaccustomed to this), and signs of life were overwhelming. We were planting vegetable seeds and sowing established crops, all the while taking tangerine and papaya breaks in the orchard on the property. The day after I got back to Portland, I started some vegetable and herb seeds on a sunny window in the house and remembered how good the sun felt on my skin. Signs of life have begun in Portland now too. The cherries are blooming (pink trees - yes!), and bulbs are adding color in the sparse beds. Oh, and the phone won't stop ringing.

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