Friday, November 21, 2014

Walken after the chill has lifted...

I know, it should be walkin', or walking, but see there's this barber shop I drive by that has a sandwich board sign out at the corner. It's got a face shot of Christopher Walken and the lettering says "Walkens Welcome" it makes me laugh every-time I see it, I know, but hey, it's the simple things...

So on Wednesday afternoon, more than a week after our cold and wind first arrived, things finally felt less fierce outside (meaning my skin no longer hurt as soon as I stepped out the door), So to celebrate I suited Lila up for the long haul and we went for a decent walk. This scene is just up the street at the corner...

Perhaps a fairy house? Fairies furnish with mushrooms right?

Another alternative dwelling further along our walk, this one for humans and up above my head. I've glimpsed it in the summertime and it looks so darn welcoming then. Now? Not so much, unless there's a space heater and warm sleeping bags.

The first time I noticed this tree it was was bare, but not this year. It had been so warm that most of the trees hadn't even realized it was autumn. Then all of a sudden it was winter. Leaves frozen in place.

Appears to be a good year for persimmons though.

This same house has one of my early loquat crushes...

It's grown quite a bit!

Just up the street is this. I like the somewhat unconventional street-side privacy hedge...

This is just one of the results of our windstorm. There were trees and branches down all over the neighborhood and this fence just sort of imploded on its own.

Long time readers will recognize this, the origin of many of my opuntia pads, and it's multiplying madly! All those leaves, that's not going to be fun.

I've planted so many blue fescue over the years, mine look like crap a year or two in. Brown bits overtaking the blue. These are in a garden that nobody has tended to for years, and yet they have that fabulous blue/green coloring I love. It's not fair!

We're back home now. The tetrapanax is sad, not quite done for the season, but not really up for much living.

The blooms I had such hope for have gone limp.

The foliage on the yellow-blooming edgeworthia is freeze-dried in place. At least the blooms look good, in fact there are more than ever before.

The orange-blooming edgeworthia looks even worse, it will be interesting to see how long it takes to let those leaves go.

The Salvia discolor has turned to the brown and white coloration which I love so much. Since the lowest temperature recorded in the garden thus far is only 27F I'm kind of surprised they've given up so quickly.

Thankfully the Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' isn't giving up quite so easily. If an abnormally warm winter were to follow who knows, maybe this one might make it!

My test Echeveria secunda still looks good after our quick freeze. I've got 3 more plants to plant out next spring, hopefully this test subject will demonstrate that's a smart idea.

This poor Opuntia polyacantha decided to flop over, perhaps in an attempt to protect that tiny agave pup?

The Euphorbia 'Blackbird' is looking quite lovely and dark...

Unlike the Pennisetum purpureum Vertigo®, which has lost most all of its color...

What used to be almost black is white or silver. It seemed to be the cold winds which sucked all the life out of the plant.

Not this one!

Grevillea x 'Neil Bell' is a cold weather work horse.

The stock tank pond has had a frozen top for a week now. The ice can be moved, the sides aren't frozen but the top layer is thick.

Thankfully my small Grevillea x gaudichaudii was unscathed by the chill.

The same can be said for the leaves an buds on the Stachyurus salicifolius.

This just might be the biggest surprise. Some parts of the Melianthus major 'Antonow's Blue' were frost-bit but for the most part not a sign of any damage. Crazy!

These are just a few of the Echium wildpretii from the rescue. There are others in containers elsewhere (that I forgot to photograph) but these 5 seem to be doing okay. The two in front were taken inside for the coldest spell, those on the back row stayed out for the entire event.

These two were planted out in September, They look bad but I think they'll snap back, as long as worse temps don't knock them down.

The one on the top left came from Cistus last sping and had all summer to grow strong. The others (there's a small one behind) are looking a little fried but alive. That's all I ask at this point...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

23 comments:

  1. Don't you love living in a place where you can still get some good color in late November? Great post, Loree, however, I felt it really needed more cowbell.

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    1. I had to look it up, the cowbell reference. Fun stuff!

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  2. Fried but alive sounds like a Cheech and Chong movie or maybe steak cooked really rare. Love the Walkens Welcome sign! Things don't look to bad after this freeze. Interesting how plants respond to the weather. The cold wind was so drying but it would have probably been worse if the soil hadn't been so moist before the freeze.

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    1. I never would have picked you as a Cheech and Chong fan! How cold was it at your place?

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  3. In spite of the damage, there is a lot to celebrate. Keeping my fingers crossed you'll weather will stay above freezing for a good long while. P.S. How many Echium wildpretii do you have?

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    1. Let's see...there were two in the ground here before Patricia and I did the rescue. I planted out 4 rescues in the front garden in September for a total of 6 in the ground. I then potted up the others for wintering over in various places/methods. Current could of potted ones is 10. So GT = 16.

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  4. The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map says that in Ashland we are zone 8a and last winter was so harsh i lost zone 7 plants. i am always surprised that Portland gardeners grow more tender plants than i can. Maybe you can't. my blue fescue never look good. have you cut yours down to nothing in early spring?

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    1. I think it's the heat island effect that allows Portlanders to get away with less hardy things, most of the time. I don't currently have any blue fescue, I got tired of it looking bad and so I got rid of it all. Never did cut it all the way back.

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  5. Christopher popped immediately into my mind before even reading further. Who knew that such a prickly Opuntia would have the mothering instinct to bend over and shelter an Agave pup? The Melianthus in our town garden looks good as new, while the one out here is freeze-dried: further proof of the temperature differential.

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    1. The warmer weather yesterday afternoon showed just how toasted the tetrapanax leaves were, all the dead black bits showing up. I need to go take a look at the melianthus and see if it still looks as good as in the photo.

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  6. Overall not too bad thank goodness! And lots of pleasant surprises like the Star of Madeira and Antonows Blue (which probably indicates what you have is a good clone). Btw, I like that opuntia that fell over the agave, not because of its seemingly protective act but because I find it striking :)

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    1. Hopefully it will see hit to stand up straight again someday.

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  7. It´s not looking that bad after all. Let´s hope you don´t lose many things this winter. I love the fairies furniture :)

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    1. I should have mentioned two young girls live in that house, no doubt their handiwork.

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  8. I'm sorry to hear that your Tetrapanax blooms are unlikely this year but the 2 Grevilleas and the Melianthus look great! For what it's worth, my blue fescue tends to turn brownish after 2 years too (or sooner when the raccoons dig it up repeatedly) - I wonder if it can be "groomed" to eliminate the dead growth? (I haven't tried.)

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    1. I looked closer at the tetrapanax in the back garden and it looks like they might actually still stand a chance of blooming!

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  9. Great walking tour, and I like how your gardens and plants look even with the cold winds sucking their lives out. Not bad! Some is frozen in place here, but then there's still nice color, too. But we always have spikes galore, and they look good no matter.

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    1. Spikes do always look good! Well, as long as they haven't turned to mush.

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  10. Wow - I can't believe that fence.... Hopefully nobody got hit as the pieces flew about! I can't keep blue fescue looking good either - life definitely isn't fair. Your Star of Madeira looks better than mine. Now I'm wondering whether I should have left it uncovered instead...

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    1. You might have gotten colder than I did, I know Paul (Xera) who's over your way got down to 19. The Star of Madeira is pretty sensitive, Patricia's at her old house would look great after a cold night and mine toasted.

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  11. Sheesh, that has come on quickly. I was thinking hmm, those plants must really feel the cold to react like that already, then I saw the stock tank and realised just how freezing it must be. I was so hoping to see Lila in her cold weather walking gear!

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    1. And I realized after I wrote "suited Lila up for the long haul" all that meant was I gave her a pep-talk and grabbed an extra bag, in case the "need" arose. Poor girl doesn't have any winter dog clothes. Last year when it was uncharacteristically cold (12F / -11C) I did take her out for a walk in her Halloween costume, a cozy bumble bee outfit.

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  12. Wow you must have had it cold ! I don't know how we have escaped so far, here in the uk, but we have barely had a frost yet. I just know I am tempting fate by saying that ... there will be blizzard conditions tomorrow!!
    Lots of interesting things still looking lovely in your garden. Euphorbis Blackbird is a beautiful beast of a plant!

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