Mike lives and gardens in a suburb of Portland, Oregon where he has resided since 1969.
He grew in up Tucson, Arizona where he worked at a small retail nursery during his high school and college years. He received his formal education at the University of Arizona where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Horticulture, and though he values his formal education, he values his field-experience more. It is hard to beat the ‘hands on’ experience of actually gardening, visiting gardens, and sharing information with other gardeners.
Mike has been involved with gardening communications throughout his adult life. In addition to garden writing, he has done television gardening shows in Portland, and for over 30 years he hosted a Saturday radio talk show in Portland. Now he writes, speaks, gardens and continues to share his love of gardening.
To be connected to the gardening industry is a bonus in life for Mike. He has found gardeners to be among the friendliest and most caring, generous people. Consequently, many of his friends he has met through gardening.
Tangerine orange flowers grace Agastache ‘Kudos Mandarin’ through the hottest summer months. (photo care of Terra Nova Nurseries)
I do not believe I have ever met a gardener that isn’t always looking for something new to plant in the garden. I am certainly no exception. Each year is like a ‘hunt’ to search and find new plants for my garden. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve had some record low temperatures in December, with some areas dipping down to single digits. Needless to say, many plants have suffered and those that are marginally winter hardy may not have survived. On the optimistic side, it creates an opportunity to plant something new!
Oxydendrum arboreum (sourwood) is often overlooked but deserves to be seen in more gardens. (photo by Jessie Keith)
Warm and sunny fall days have continued here in the Pacific Northwest through mid November. They have given gardeners time to trim summer perennials, transplant all those plants that were planted in the wrong location, plant bulbs, dig and protect tender plants and finish general garden cleanup. The mild weather has also allowed us to enjoy plants that provide fall color, whether via flower, fruit, berry, bark, foliage or a combination of these. I still have dahlias blooming in my garden, and while the plants are not at their best, they are still providing enough flowers for bouquets.
Burning bush is truly fiery in fall, but be sure it is not an ecological menace in your area.
Last week when I saw my neighbor Janet working in her garden, she wanted me to see her blooming autumn crocus (Colchicumautumnale). While not actually a crocus, it resembles one and many gardeners know it by that name. Janet told me that whenever she sees the light pink flowers appear, she knows that fall is here. Continue reading “Brugmansia, Burning Bush, Bulbs and Cleome in the Fall Garden”
What a glorious time of year! Summer is over and autumn is here. The garden is still looking good with lots of color from summer annuals that are still going strong, and at the same time there are late fall flowers emerging. Continue reading “Fall Flowers: Crape Myrtle, Dahlias, Salvia & Lespedeza”
A hummingbird cools its feet on the edge of Mike’s favorite garden water feature.
In the Pacific Northwest, weather continues to be warm to hot with little or no rain. We have had a few sprinkles, but not enough to give plants the moisture they need. Even with adequate moisture, some plants look stressed on hot days as they cannot absorb as much water through their roots as they are losing through their leaves. I have found that a temporary ‘fix’ is to spray the foliage with water as this seems to help reduce leaf wilt.
The brilliant white flowers of Snow Queen oakleaf hydrangea will brighten any summer garden, day or night. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
It has been a busy summer with many exciting activities! Aside from my normal radio, writing and garden work, there have been garden tours, talks and even contests to take part in. On June 29, my garden was one of five private gardens open for Garden Conservancy Open Garden Days in the Metro Portland Area. The Garden Conservancy is a national organization dedicated to preserving and helping to maintain both public and private gardens throughout the United States. (For example, one of their current ambitious goals is to restore the gardens on Alcatraz Island.) The admission fees collected for their Open Garden Days, $5 per garden entry, go to support their cause. Continue reading “Summer Hydrangeas in the Garden and More”
Hartlage Wine sweetshrub of one of several resilient early summer bloomers in Mike’s garden.
Unseasonably warm weather continues here in the Pacific Northwest, and the plants are responding to it. In many cases they need supplemental watering earlier than what would be the norm. And while my lawn has remained green with no extra water, many plants are showing signs of stress with the heat. This is especially true for those grown in containers and newly planted color spots. I am very glad that I used Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix in all my pots this spring because it has done an excellent job of holding moisture for my summer flowers. Continue reading “Tried-and-True Early Summer Flowers”
The herbaceous peony ‘Madame de Verneville’ is a fine old French cultivar. (image by Carol Adelman)
As I mentioned in my April article, the spring season in the Pacific Northwest has been phenomenal but warm. The winter was mild and many marginally winter-hardy plants survived. Earlier this month we had weather in the 80’s, which is almost unheard of in this part of the world. Not only in my own garden but in others I’ve visited, many plants are blooming earlier than normal. This has been most noticeable in common seasonal bloomers like iris and peonies. Weather is certainly one of the things happening in our garden that we cannot control; all we can do is make the best of it.
Rhododendron ‘Sir Charles Lemon’ is a striking spring beauty with trusses of white flowers decorated with dark anthers.
Here in the Pacific Northwest our spring season has been phenomenal. Of course we have had rainy cool spring days, but we have also had unbelievably warm and sunny days occurring over several weekends in March. Garden centers reported record sales during these times, and one salesperson told me it was like a sunny weekend in May because they were operating at capacity! That is certainly good news after last year’s spring when it seemed to rain every day. There’s no better time to share my spring garden picks.
April is a very special month for gardeners as we watch the miracle of nature’s emerging buds with flowers and foliage. The perennials have appeared after their winter dormant period, and it is a joy to see them popping up through the soil. I am making a concerted effort this year to be better about taking garden pictures when plants are at peak. Too often have I been guilty of letting the flowers fade and missing a photo opportunity. Whenever I give talks to garden clubs, one of the common questions asked is, “What is blooming or looking good in your garden now?” With a garden talk scheduled on April 15, I wanted address this question by sharing some of my favorite colorful spring garden plants, so I thought I’d share them with Black Gold readers, too. All of the photographs shown were taken during the week of April 8th.
The contorted branches of ‘Black Dragon’ filbert offer brazen burgundy leaves up until midsummer.
Red-Leaf Contorted Filbert
The twisted branches of red-leaf contorted filbert (Corylus avellana ‘Red Dragon’) look good even without leaves, but with new red leaves emerging they put on quite a show. I have this plant in a large container, so it has room to spread and is an attention getter year-round. ‘Red Dragon’ is extremely easy to grow and requires little care once established. It will grow in full sun or partial shade, though the red leaves turn darker in full sun. The early season leaves keep their red color until late July, and contrast wonderfully with a background of green foliage, but then slowly turn dark green. With my ‘Red Dragon’ being a permanent container plant, I wanted to be certain I chose the best soil mix and fertilizer, so at the time of planting I used Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil and added some organic fertilizer, which is approved for organic gardening and releases nutrients over an extended period of time.
Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’
When flowers appear on deciduous tree branches that are still barren of leaves, they provide quite a show. Many of the deciduous magnolias bloom in this manner, but Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ is one of the most spectacular. This is my third year to have this tree, and this year is the first time it has multiple flowers. Each tulip shaped flower has among the deepest burgundy coloring that I have seen in a Magnolia. It is very easy to grow with and requires little care once established. It is a medium size tree, perhaps reaching 20 feet.
The deepest burgundy color of Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ flowers is striking.
Rhododendron
Most gardens in the Pacific NW have at least one Rhododendron. Their splash of spring color is hard to dislike. Generally they are easy-care plants that enjoy mulch around their roots. I yearly add Black Gold Garden Compost Blend around the base of my rhododendrons as it tends to hold moisture and keep roots cool. Recently I have tried to select rhododendrons that provide some interest year round, even when they are not blooming. One of my favorites is Rhododendron ‘Sir Charles Lemon’ which is worth growing for the foliage alone. The leaves have glossy dark green tops and beautiful rusty indumentum (fine coating of hairs that gives a soft velvet-like feel to the touch) on the undersides. Currently my plant is in full bloom bearing white flowers with contrasting dark anthers.
Trillium
An outstanding native to Southwest Oregon and Northern California is Trillium kurabayashii or giant purple wakerobin.It has adapted very well to my garden. The substantial clump shown started as three small plants about seven years. Each year it gets bigger with the mottled leaves and complimentary the dark purple flowers that make
The western native Trillium kurabayashii or giant purple wakerobin makes a bold statement in the spring shade garden.
this a garden show stopper. My plants are shaded by a tree, and the soil is mulched yearly. This Trillium is a hard plant to find, but well worth the search. Once established, it can be left alone for many years.
This is just a small sample of beautiful, more unique plants blooming in my early spring garden. I tried to pick colorful favorites that would be less familiar to readers, in the hopes they will search out and plant something new and exciting.
Container Garden with Pots Not Visible. (Photo by Rich Baer)
Of all the many gardens I have visited with plants in containers, the most unique one that stands out in my mind is a garden in NE Portland. In this garden, the front of the house overlooks the roof of a garage. However, this did not stop the owner from creating a space completely filled with plants in containers. There are all sizes and colors of containers and by mid-summer the foliage and flowers have almost completely covered the pots they are planted in. Without prior knowledge, a visitor would never believe this is the roof top of a garage and that every single plant is in a container.
