Clear Lake

Well, I missed a post last week.  It was the first one I've missed since I started this back in February.

To be honest, I'm not sure I can continue with the pace that I had set.  I had several years of hunting experience to draw from, and it is hard for me to get out in the woods often enough to keep coming up with a story a week- let alone a new discovery a week!

So here is what I think I will do- at least for a while.  I am going to cut back to once a month, probably just for the winter months.  Next spring, when I start looking again, I'll try to go back to once a week.

Consider this my post for November (even though it is a few days early).  My next one will be the first Wednesday in December.


Several years ago, my friends Janet and Diana and I went on a plant hunting trip east of Mt Hood.  On the way up to the place where we were to hike, Diana had me stop the car.  "That hemlock back there looked kind of yellow."  It should be noted that Diana is owner of Collector's Nursery, so she knows her plants.  Be sure to check out her new blog.

We were on a busy stretch of Highway 26.  I backed up until we saw it.

 It was indeed golden.  the following two winters, I tried to propagate it from cuttings and grafting.  I've had a hard time with this species-  Tsuga heterophylla-  even though it isn't supposed to be that difficult.


Each time I went up there, I had to wade through the snow in snowshoes.  Luckily, it is very close to the highway, so I didn't have to go far in.  Here is an actual picture of ME.

The third time (the time in the picture here), I was able to get one graft to take.  I've been growing it out for a couple of years now, and it is shaping up to be a very lovely plant.  I'm going to call it 'Clear Lake' because it is right next to the road to Clear Lake.  If anyone wants to see it, it is pretty obvious if you go up there.  Just be nice to it.  It is a beautiful tree, and I hope it lives a long life.

In the Garden

God damnn it.

I didn't get a post done before today.  I have started a new job, so I've been pretty busy and stressed out.

I don't have the energy to post something excellent, so I'll just share a picture or two.

Here is what Campanula rotundifolia 'Sky Diamonds' looks like after one year in my garden:

Remember Pinus contorta var latifolia 'No Trespassing'?  I got a number of seeds off the original broom.  I was able to get two to germinate, and one of them is dwarfed.  I think it has some serious potential.  Everyone who sees it thinks it is cute.  I think I'll try grafting it this winter.

Anyhow, I will do my best to have a post ready on time next week :)

I don't say it often, but I appreciate my readers.  Thanks for sharing in my wacky plant adventures!

Penstemons

Penstemons are a large genus of wildflowers that are native to most of North America.  Here in the Northwest, we have a number of shrubby species that grow on cliffs and gravelly areas.  One of these species is P. cardwellii.  My friend Janet and I spent some time poking around in the Cascade Mountains in Washington a couple of years ago.  In one area, there was quite a bit of variation in flower color.  The one above is a particularly purple form (most are pinkish purple.)  This is the plant that I grew from cuttings two years ago, happily blooming in my rock garden.  

The cool thing about most Penstemons is that they are incredibly easy to propagate.  Ones with woody stems like this one have adventitious roots at the base of every stem.  All you have to do is take some cuttings with those roots on them and you are up and running.  The main drawback of the wild species is that they have a pretty short window of blooming.  Some of the hybrids that you can find in garden centers now last a bit longer, however.

If you haven't grown penstemons- or seen them in the wild- you should definitely go out and look for some next spring.

Crazy Road Trip II

I must apologize for the last couple of posts- and this one as well.  I've been super busy, and my brain feels tired.  The school year has started again, and I've been oddly busy as a substitute.  This is good for the checking account, but somewhat bad for my spare time to write blog posts :)

Last weekend, I was able to talk my poor, unsuspecting friend David into a road trip to the Clearwater River in Idaho.  There, we shot pieces out of the broom in the picture below:

I had found the broom in the trip over there last summer, but I was unable to take pictures because my camera was busy being ruined in the rain at the time.  This time, David had a camera.

We had to wade across the south fork of the Clearwater, which wasn't really that large.  The trick was to get across with a shotgun in hand without falling in.  The bottom of the river was covered in rocks about as big as my head, so it was a little tricky.  We got several pieces fairly quickly, and made our way back across the river.  

At that point, I was seized by anxious thoughts, and was convinced that the pieces we had didn't actually come from the broom.  This is of particular concern when the broom isn't markedly different from the rest of the tree.  I shot some pieces out from the road, and then waded back across to retrieve them.  I got thoroughly soaked in the process.  I was sick with a cold that I'd already had for a week.  I still have it, and it is significantly worse.  Perhaps that will teach me to go wading in cold Idaho rivers with a cold.  

Anyhow, we got pieces that definitely came from the broom, and got back into the car to go to our campsite.  Unfortunately, I spotted another broom not far away that looked very similar.  Despite the fact that the branches did not look diseased, I am wondering if the broom we collected was caused by a pathogen or parasite.  It seems somewhat dubious, given the fact that a similar one was nearby.  I guess the truth will come out next year when the grafts take or fail.  

That evening, we enjoyed wine and hot dogs by the campfire.  (Quite a gourmet combination, I know.)  That was followed by an evening of slumber in the tent.  I awoke in the morning to find that I had farted and snored all night, keeping poor David awake.  I blame the cold.  

Anyhow,  I have a dozen or so grafts from this broom.  Hopefully something good will come out of it.  If nothing else, I had a good weekend with my friend- despite him having to listen to my snoring and smelling my farts.