PLANTWISE

Hedgerows Nursery to Close

…last chance to pick up some of their fantastic plants at 50% off

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jun 20, 2010 at 04:21AM 0 Comments

From a visit in the autumn of 2007 – sweet fall colors at Hedgerows Nursery, McMinnville, OR

David Mason and Susie Grimm opened their small but beautifully curated retail nursery in the early 1990s. They traveled nearly every year to England in search of superb new plants that would thrive in Western Oregon – with a particular eye out for drought-tolerant plants. Their small nursery display gardens were a pleasure to explore, as David also practices garden design and has a magical way of creating structure with plants. I enjoyed the tall, semi-formal hedges of wild lilac (Ceanothus) between the garden and driveway, and the 15-foot tall rose hedgerow screening the nursery from the house – so English but with a good Pacific Northwest twist. Best of all, their plants were impeccably grown in deep pots with hefty root systems.

I’m sad we are losing this wonderful resource run by two unique and lovely souls, but wish them the best in their next foray in life and horticulture.

Hedgerows Nursery – no website but directions here – will be open for one final weekend:
Friday June 25 to Sunday June 27th from 10 to 4 both days. Plants will be for sale at 50% off.

To get to Hedgerows from Portland, Oregon, take I-5 to Highway 99 west exit. Take Hwy 99 to Hwy 18 (the signs say: Ocean Beaches). Go 16 miles to Belleview/Hopewell road (the sign points to Amity). Take the first right on Deer Creek Flats Road. Turn right on Christensen road (about a mile). Hedgerows is the first house on your left.

David Mason & Susie Grimm
Hedgerows Nursery
20165 SW Christensen Road
Mcminnville, OR 97128-8811
(503) 843-7522‎

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Tags: Gardening Events, Plant Sale, Drought-Tolerant Plants

Blanche Rock Rose

Cistus ‘Blanche’ (properly known as C. ×aguilarii)

Posted by: Kate Bryant on May 11, 2010 at 09:10AM 2 Comments

If you love fragrant plants, try Blanche rock rose (Cistus ‘Blanche’) in your garden. Interestingly, it’s not the flowers that are fragrant – it’s the gorgeous, resinous foliage that gives off this sweet, piney-spicy perfume, particularly when the sun hits the leaves. If you’ve ever traveled in the Mediterranean, the scent of this plant’s leaves will transport you to the region faster than a cold glass of fino sherry.

The long, slender leaves are dark green with crimped, ruffled margins. Plump, rusty rose-tinted buds appear in clusters at the end of the new growth. And the flowers themselves are gigantic – I just measured one at 4 inches across. The petals are pristine, almost translucent white and have a satiny, tissue-paper appearance, with yellow, orange-tipped stamens.

Flowers open in the morning and are cast off the plant and fall to the ground as the day wears on. It’s very romantic, the way the flowers cycle through birth and senescence daily through the month of May, until the last flowers of the season appear in early June.

After flowering, rock roses go into a summer rest, as do many plants from summer-dry regions. These are ideal for drought-tolerant garden schemes: once established, rock roses need little to no water in summer except in the driest spot.

They require good drainage, full sun, and a warm position (reflected heat is fine). Blanche is cold-hardy to around 10-15 F,. Mine sailed through last winter without a sign of damage but was a little frazzled after the previous winter, due to the cold winds.

Blanche rock rose reaches about 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide. It has a nice upright habit, although any rock rose will need a bit of pruning after flowering to keep it tidy unless its grown in very lean, dry soil.

For lots more information about rock roses, click here, where you will find the results of extensive testing by OSU researchers on this diverse group of plants.

Update:

For more information on rock roses, head over to a Hardy Plant Society of Oregon lecture on the subject by one of Oregon’s premier rock roses experts, David Mason of Hedgerows Nursery in McMinnville. David will speak about rock roses (Cistus and Halimium , plus x Halimiocistus and sunroses ( Helianthemum) at 7 pm tonight (Tuesday May 11) at the Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland 97219. It’s only $5 and members and non-members alike are welcome. Sign up here.

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Tags: Gardening Events, Flowers, Drought-Tolerant Plants

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus ‘Oregon Mist’

a star in the May garden and great for wildlife, too

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Apr 28, 2010 at 05:45AM 5 Comments

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus growing in the wild, Siskiyou County, OR – courtesy of Josh McCullough, Phytophoto.com

If you love blue flowers, look no further than Ceanothus – absolutely no shrub rivals it for vibrant blue color saturation. Also known as California wild lilac – but called Ceanothus (“see-ya-no-this”) by Oregonians in-the-know – these dramatic flowering shrubs are also drought-tolerant and wildlife-friendly.

There are some 50-60 species of Ceanothus, native from southwestern Canada down to Guatemala and in the Rockies but with the greatest concentration of species in California. Several are native to Oregon, although the most intensely blue-flowered species are from the region to our south.

Oregon Mist was selected by wholesale nurserymen Paul Bonine and Greg Shepherd of Xera Plants from a wild Ceanothus thyrsiflorus plant growing at the northernmost part of its range in Coos County, Oregon. I profiled Oregon Mist Ceanothus for Portland Monthly’s May issue here.

This selection produces showy sprays of tiny, honey-scented blue flowers in late April and May. It grows into a small tree to about 15 feet high if let go – or, with annual pruning, can be maintained at 8-10 feet tall. West Coast Ceanothus species are fast-growing but short-lived shrubs, maxing out at 10-15 years in the garden. Give them well-drained soil, avoid fertilizer and provide minimal (or no) summer water – they’re perfect for that hot, sunny corner, out of reach of the hose or sprinkler system. (Just remember to supply water during its first couple of years in the ground.)

I love the aromatics of Ceanothus – their flowers are honey-scented and some species’ foliage have a faintly resinous scent. (Or, in the case of one of our natives, Ceanothus velutinus, the foliage smells like vinyl car seats – a scent I’ve come to love, thanks to this shrub.)

Pollinating insects adore Ceanothus and hummingbirds are said to relish the nectar, although I personally haven’t seen it yet. A large Ceanothus shrub will hum with the sound of insect wings when in flower – it’s an incredible sight – and sound.

Oregon Mist is a low-maintenance but high reward plant that quickly fills in space and attracts myriad valuable native insects. It’s available wherever Xera Plants are sold including Cistus Design Nursery, Garden Fever, and Dennis’ Seven Dees. Also check with these retailers for availability.

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Tags: Flowers, Native Plants, Drought-Tolerant Plants