Just a Girl With a Hammer: A Portland Garden

Fellow garden blogger and friend Heather Tucker of Just a Girl With a Hammer has an amazing garden. And house. And she did it all herself. She made all of the D.I.Y. mistakes so you don't have to.

Heather was also an organizer of the 2014 Garden Blogger's Fling--plainly, a woman of many talents. So when she asked for my take on her back garden, I was a little surprised because she's got it down. So if there's any chance to see a fellow gardener's garden, I'm there! Did I also mention she's certified gold with the Backyard Habitat Certification Program? Oh, yeah. This woman rocks.

While I jumped at the chance to make a post-Fling visit last July, we decided that since her back yard was in a state of transition that I would present this post only on her super gorgeous low-water front yard, especially as it seems the West Coast is in for another dry year in 2015. Here are some design ideas and a few gorgeous native plants sprinkled in for some ideas if you are looking to xeriscape this year as now is the time to visit your local nurseries and do some spring plant shopping.

 Here's her rain garden (here's a link to a pdf of how to build one). In the foreground is California fuchsia or Zauschneria californica. It dies back in the winter but comes back with little to no water and spreads. Hummingbirds love it, too. Upper-right corner is Juncus effusus or common rush, another native. This grass can handle the wet clay of a Portland winter or the hot dry of a July dry river bed. Sedum 'Angelina' is spread throughout.

 A wide shot of her lovely home. Here's a link to a post of her "before and after" when she bought the house when it was in foreclosure. Did I mention it was in an episode or two of the t.v. show "Portlandia"? That's right, this place is a landmark. Famous. Heather is sought after by the important ones. Yup. The "Adult Babysitter" episode of Portlandia can be seen here.

Closer view of the front walk. The Yucca recurvifolia now lives with Danger Garden. These things happen.

Agave agave. Is that like pizza pizza? Lovely agaves in the hot dry south-facing sun. Some companions seem to be Lewisia cotelydon, another Pacific Northwest native that loves the gravel. Heather's got them planted in here.

Dasylirion wheeleri, or spoon yucca, not a native to Oregon but to the American Southwest. At this rate Oregon will become the American Southwest soon! Kidding aside, they are hardy here! I have two and I love them. Carex grasses in the background are also great for xeriscaping.

 Agastache rupestris 'Navajo Sunset'. A great plant for hummingbirds and pollinators, also native to the American Southwest and Mexico.

Heather planted the garden with the idea to water only twice a month, as she admittedly hates watering.

Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple' (I think).

Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' foreground left, thrives in poor, dry soils, attracts butterflies.

Verbascum 'Arctic Summer' front and center, Mahonia x media 'Arthur Menzies' behind.

How gorgeous! I love love love this garden.

Aaaah, one of my favorites, silvery buns of goodness. Cotula hispida, Heather's did not die! Heather's has great drainage and a perfect environment.

 Heather has a new mason bee home! She reports many new residents! Great news!

Physocarpus, 'Coppertina'. Physocarpus capitatus or Pacific Ninebark is the native Pacific Northwest version that I have that does not have this gorgeous dark foliage. Both have clusters of white blooms in the spring.

 Miscanthus sinensis zebrinus or zebra grass.

Bouteloua gracilis 'Blond Ambition' grass seed heads float like eyebrows.

Pennisetum macrorum 'White Lancer.'

See what a dry creek bed can look like? Very cool. Would you ever have imagined it in Portland? Yes, it does get this hot and dry here for half the year. This is a very appropriately planted garden with little maintenance for Heather.

One of my personal favorites, Sedum 'Matrona'. Always great for sunny hot locations and for pollinators. Its late-summer blooms seem to go on into autumn, too.

A final look back at a very lovely garden. I am excited to see her back garden later this summer. I will be sure and share it with you!

Heather's plant choices all fit so well for this beautiful xeriscaped front garden. They attract pollinators and are low maintenance and as mentioned earlier, she only waters twice a month even during the hottest months of the year. These photos are from last July and you can clearly see it looks amazing and I'm sure it continued to do so throughout summer into fall.

These are considerations I myself am making when planting anything new. Even though I live in the wet Pacific Northwest, it's clear that weather patterns are changing. Even without obvious changes, this region is hot and dry for a good portion of the year so this kind of planting makes sense no matter what the immediate future holds. Whether or not you enjoy watering, conserving water is something those of us in the West need to think about. And if it's this gorgeous, then, hey! I'm with you, Heather!

Thank you, Heather - a.k.a. Just a Girl With A Hammer!

That's it for this week at Chickadee Gardens. Thank you for reading and until next time, happy gardening!