Idea Hamster Tip #1

You know what an Idea Hamster is, don't you?  That throbbing little area of your brain that's always running, generating ideas?  Over the years, my husband has developed a kind of nervous tic—an involuntary cringe whenever he hears me utter the words, "I have an idea..."

(The scary thing is that it seems to be hereditary.  My granddaughter Abigail has one, although at age 6, her hamster mostly generates goofy jokes and riddles.  Here's the latest, and to get the answer, you have to try to think like a 6-year-old, or any boy: "What do you get when you combine a turtle and a bird?"  Hint: The answer is a word of one syllable.)

Anyway, getting back to the truly bright idea my hamster generated a couple of years ago:  We have a Trex deck, which, as advertised, is fairly low-maintenance.  But in spite of raising the pots up on feet, over the course of time it still gets stained where water drains onto it from the large containers in which we grow flowers, herbs, and (occasionally) edibles.  What was needed, I decided, was some kind of tray that would collect the water and channel it over the edge of the deck or into the spaces between the decking.

And lo!  The idea hamster came through with a simple, inexpensive, readily-available solution:  Black Rubbermaid dish-drainer trays.  They're perfect:  slightly angled with channels on the top to encourage water to drain away, with flanges on the underside to raise them above the counter (or deck) surface.  They're fairly unobtrusive—I barely notice them now.  (My Inner Martha sniffs disparagingly at this comment—she notices them, all right—but I seldom listen to her.)  They're large enough to accommodate the bases of most containers, and they've withstood two full seasons now without cracking or fading—our south-facing deck collects plenty of heat during the summer, and since it's at the bottom of a low hill, is a cold-sink in the winter.  (Bonus Tip:  Note that in the upper photo you can see the drip lines that provide regular irrigation to the containers ... because the idea hamster is usually so preoccupied with other things that she forgets about watering the pots on a regular basis.)

Take heart, web-footed and mossy-fingered Northwest gardeners!  May is just around the corner, and believe it or not, the start of our dry season is coming.  Next post:  The Middle-Aged Guys Tomato Club, meeting in secret at a garden center near you:  How to spot them, and how to achieve success (a little bit of success, anyway) growing tomatoes no matter what kind of summer we have!

Working-Class Plants

Probably because I come from a long line of blue-collar people, I've always valued what I call "working-class plants."  Think of them as Cal Ripkens with roots and leaves:  every day, they show up for work and contribute something worthwhile to the landscape, you don't have to coddle or bribe them, and generally they make the rest of their horticultural teammates look good.



Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream' showing winter color

Here's a very short list of a few of these plants that have never let me down.  All are broadleaf evergreens; GPP denotes Great Plant Picks selections (see link under "Things to Do"). 

In the interest of brevity—which, admittedly, is a problem for me—I'm going to keep comments to a minimum:

• Cistus x hybridus (rockrose)  GPP; many species and hybrids available
• Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper):  available in an array of variegated cultivars such as 'Emerald Gaiety', 'Emerald n' Gold', 'Harlequin', 'Moonshadow', 'Blondy', and a cute steppable  miniature called 'Kewensis'
• Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream' and 'Moon Bay' (Heavenly bamboo—don't let the common name fool you—these are woody shrubs, not true bamboo!)  GPP
• Viburnum davidii (David viburnum)  GPP
• Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet' (Spring Bouquet laurustinus) GPP

Pink rockrose on Main Street, Sumner

Where can you buy these?  Hmm...how to answer this honestly without getting myself in trouble with serious plant people?  (Deep breath...)

Let me put it this way:  like most people, when it comes to buying food and household supplies, Bob and I have to stretch our budget by shopping for the basics at Costco, Wal-Mart, Grocery Outlet, WinCo, and Fred Meyer.  We like to visit the Puyallup Farmer's Market and local farmstands for fresh produce in season, and maybe hit Tacoma Boys now and then.  (Our goal this year is to look more diligently for "Made in USA" on the products we buy...but that's another post!)

So why not apply the same principle to buying landscape plants?  The plants listed above are easy to find at the big box garden centers.  Don't get me wrong:  I love specialty nurseries and support them every chance I get.  But I used to work at one (which is no longer in business) and I always wondered why we were competing with the big garden centers on plants such as those mentioned here—there was no way we could meet, much less beat, the big boys' price.  And guess what:  customers aren't stupid—we had a hard time moving those plants. 

I also respect my clients' budgets too much to suggest that they ought to pay higher prices for exactly the same plant (and often it's exactly the same—from the same source) if they can get it cheaper elsewhere.  They wouldn't listen to me anyway!



Viburnum davidii, end of winter, no maintenance

 So this is what I tell them:  by all means, if you can afford it, buy from the specialty nurseries as much as you can.  But if budget is an issue for you, shop the big garden centers for your basics in the Spring, when plants are constantly cycling through and not sitting there suffering with the vagaries of the weather.  Go to the specialty nurseries for your investment and accent and OMG! plants—specimen trees (such as dogwoods and Japanese maples), dwarf conifers, peonies, ornamental grasses, ferns, hellebores. . .and on and on. 

(And don't forget to check out the Spring plant sales—see the Miller Library link under "Things To Do").



Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet' (with V. davidii at right)

By the way...finding myself in need of images of the two viburnums mentioned, I just moseyed outside and snapped the David viburnum next to the sidewalk in front of our house, and the 'Spring Bouquet' laurustinus a couple of doors down.  We had a brutal winter here, and this is how they looked today, with no pruning or maintenance to gussy them up for the camera.

Like I said:  working-class plants—they get the job done.





"I love your doorbell!"

Two polite people came to the door this morning and left some literature for us, and before they left, they told Bob they ring a lot of doorbells and ours is the coolest they've ever seen.  We've heard that compliment before, and I'm here to say the doorbell is not just cool—it combines clean, modern style with universal design. 



Spore Round Amber Doorbell


The doorbell was given to us as a housewarming gift by our former neighbors (good sports!—they didn't want us to move from the old neighborhood).  It was made in Seattle by Spore, which just happens to be owned by our ex-neighbors' son.  I'll add the company's blog to my "Friends With Blogs" list—and if you're looking for a great housewarming gift, or ready to replace your builder-cheap doorbell, check out Spore!  (Note:  The chime is separate.)

Website:  http://sporedoorbells.com/

Martha's Tulip Trick, the Sequel



First day, after conditioning

Here are the tulips (left), immediately after conditioning using Martha's pin-trick (see previous post), and then the same tulips two days later (below). 

A few were showing a slight inclination to flop at first, but now all are upright and perky.

Two days later