Vertical Garden

About a month ago I was approached by Joe Hess of Osmose Design to design and install a vertical garden on the balcony of a penthouse in the 937 Condos in the Pearl District. His firm had designed the interior of the condo and they included a nine foot tall, four-sided column on the balcony. He needed a plantsman (plantswoman?) to select the plants for it, and through a mutual colleague, we were introduced. The selection criteria were the following: 1.) The plants had to grow no taller than 24". (the balcony is pretty tight, so there had to be plenty of room to move around). 2.) The homeowners wanted to be able to utilize some of the plants for cooking and eating. 3.) The plants had to sustain high winds and each side of the column needed plants with specific light requirements. Asthetically, we decided that it should be wild and whimsical. (If you are not familiar with the genius of Osmose Design, check out their work immediately - mindblowing! They are pushing the envelope of interior design like nothing else I have seen.) About a month after the installation, I went back to check on it, and it really is a sight to see. The photos were not doing it justice, so I made a little video of it here.

Crafty Containers

I have never grown tomatoes in containers - usually I just plant them throughout the ornamental beds, filling in bare spots. I don't have a ton of room for edibles, and just a little raised bed in the front yard that would be overwhelmed with plants as large as tomatoes. This year I decided to experiment with growing tomatoes (and a yellow squash) in containers.
One day while working, my assistant, Ben and I were scheming about types of materials to make containers from and we really wanted to use old steel pipes but the pricing was out of my personal budget. (I'd love to do it in a client's yard, though.) Ben used to work at Stumptown Coffee before I stole him back and he was talking about all of the burlap bags that they cycle through and we thought it would be cool to use the bags as containers. So, I got my very sought after 'Black Krim' and 'Sun Gold' tomato starts, added organic potting soil, fish meal and steer manure to the bags, and planted the starts. There are now 2 containers in a sunny spot against the garage between the 'Karl Forester' reed grass. Kind of charming, no?


Speaking of containers, my Agave attenuata is out of the greenhouse and back in the garden. I like being able to add a colorful container anywhere, and it makes it possible to have non-hardy plants in the garden. I love this plant!

Eye Candy

Okay so this isn't an interior design blog, and I am an outspoken critic of the tendency of bloggers to write about other people's blogs, but please let me indulge both of these urges now and publicly freak out over this home: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/03/sneak-peek-nancy-neil.html

At heart, I am a country girl - I grew up in rural Florida, and explored my neighborhood by foot and horseback. I lived in agricultural country, across the street from tomato fields and avocado groves. And most of our trees produced some sort of delicious tropical fruit like mangoes, tangerines, loquats (my absolute favorite) and starfruit. If I could live on a farm in Santa Barbara with my adorable family I would be as happy as a lark.

Treeeeeeebate!

What's better than planting a tree?...Getting paid to plant a tree!

The city of Portland is giving a $40 rebate if you plant a 6' or taller tree by May 1st. $50 if it's a native tree. If you want to plant a tree on your property, Superwonderful can help you select and plant the right one.

More info HERE on the treebate

I love garden trees. To me, they are the most important part of the landscape, anchoring all of the shrubs and perennials. They actually even resemble an anchor come to think of it. I have dreams of sitting beneath shady trees in the summertime. Remember the cherry tree we lost last April? Well, a new 'Rubra' dogwood is going in it's place. And, you better believe I'm gonna get my treebate.

(photo courtesy of New York Botanical Garden)

PS - I just realized the blossoms of the dogwood are the exact same color as the Superwonderful logo! I guess I picked the right tree!

Right Around the Corner...

On my walk today (in 58 degree weather!) I noticed a few plants in bloom. Do you know what that means ya'll? S-P-R-I-N-G is coming! Are you ready?

New Dawn Viburnum


Edgeworthia


Rhododendron (In Peninsula Park)


Witch Hazel


And, lilac buds!

2009

In honor of all the 'best of' and 'year end' lists, I'd like to wrap up this amazing year with a month by month look at the year that was the least productive work-wise, and pretty low on the social events and traveling due to a swelling belly, but most life-changing year in my personal and married life.

If 2007 was the year of bike racing, and 2008 was the year of weddings, 2009 was the year of the baby.

JANUARY


Sorry about starting out with a photo of me with a gun in my hand, but January in Portland is pretty uneventful, and shooting guns is very exciting.

FEBRUARY


In February, I had a booth at the Yard Garden and Patio Show and talked to visitors for what seemed like 3 days straight.

MARCH


I turned 34 in March.

...and celebrated by visiting Los Angeles and the Huntington Gardens.

...and a weekend at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.


APRIL


Our most beautiful cherry tree fell over in a freak wind storm and our back yard will never be the same (at least not for another 15 years when the new tree is mature).

MAY


The garden in May is lovely. We spend most of our afternoons and evenings in the back yard with friends BBQing and sitting around a fire.
*Note: This month's photo should be of me shredding on my mt bike, but at this point I am 6 months pregnant and leading a less 'extreme' lifestyle.

JUNE


Although I was doing lots of designs for clients this year, I only got to install one large project with the help of some able-bodied sub contractors.

JULY


I posed for some silly maternity photos with my friend Heidi Swift.

AUGUST

I was supposed to have a baby in August, but she wasn't interested in vacating my uterus yet, so I decided to remodel the bathroom 2 weeks before my due date.

The final product was well worth it!

SEPTEMBER

Miss Sunday Joyce Cardinal graced us with her presence on September 6th, and our lives are forever changed.

OCTOBER

I go on my first 'real' bike ride in about 10 months. A lovely day I will not soon forget.

NOVEMBER

I go back to work part time but spend most of my time starring at and photographing the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.

DECEMBER

Every Sunday, we go to cyclocross races, and I miss not racing and look forward to racing again next year. We visit family and have our own little family and we're thankful for our health and happiness and creative careers and amazing friendships.

Finally, wedding bouquets

I am just now getting around to posting pictures of the bridal bouquets I did this summer for my friend's wedding. See the table arrangements here. It was a fun project and looking at the photos again in November already makes me long for summer.

Also, here are a few more photos of the table arrangements and boutonnières. (Photos by Heidi Swift)