Monthly Archives: October 2017

Dividing Iris x pacifica and the Species of I. californicae

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This is a fortuitous cross that resulted from a planting I made a few years ago. I’d planted Iris douglasiana and Iris x pacifica ‘Big Money’ near each other and found this offspring in-between! I dug this plant and divided it into 7 one gallon pots, passing some on.
One of my favorites I. x pacificas, ‘Pacific Rim’, a smaller statured hybrid growing in a partly shaded portion of my parking strip.
One of Xera’s Iris tenax ‘Watercolor’ series, I believe, blooming above the marina near Riverplace.

Tis the season…. it’s Fall, the rains have begun and the species pacific coast Irises’ roots are growing. This is the time to divide. I dug about half of a clump leaving the remainder undisturbed. I cleaned the soil away from the other portion wiggling, teasing, pulling, even cutting a few of the rhizomes, to separate them out into nice size starts.  Continue reading →

Argyle Winery: A Look at a Landscape in Dundee as an Example for Those on the Trail to Xeric Design and Sustainability

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This strip planting dominated by a Carex and a taller, 7′ or better, spine of the feathery Rhodocoma capensis from South Africa, rated at zn 8b. Mine, in my home garden, survived two nights down to 15ºF this last January with very little damage.

I don’t usually do this, write about a particular landscape with which I have no history, so this is a bit of  a departure for me.  I’ve know Sean Hogan for quite a few years, consider him a friend and a highly influential mentor of sorts.  His encyclopedic knowledge of plants, his boundless enthusiasm, has been infectious and inspirational over much of my career as a horticulturist while I was working for Portland Parks and Recreation.  I’ve benefited from the existence of his nursery and his commitment to horticulture picking his brain for plant and design suggestions as I attempted to broaden my own repertoire. Continue reading →