The Garden of Amy Campion

Fellow garden blogger Amy Campion has the World's Best Garden Blog. Yes, she does, and she lives here in Portland; lucky for us! She and her husband and three cats just bought a new home, too - with something of a blank slate of a garden to transform into whatever she can imagine. 

Amy comes to us after working at a large retail/wholesale nursery in the Cincinnati area for 16 years and brings a great deal of experience to Portland. Recently, she invited me over to have a look at her newly planted garden and to meet George the cat. How could I resist?

Her garden is definitely bountiful. It's the agrarian paradise I would love to have myself some day. So many great veggies in colorful rows surrounded by a variety of perennials. Plus, she has the know-how to propagate almost anything. Did I mention she's also a damned fine garden writer? From her website:

"I like to write about phenology (bloom times and other seasonal events in the garden), and I also delve into such topics as garden photography, fall color, underappreciated plants, plants with winter interest, and vegetable gardening. Sometimes my excursions around the neighborhood lead me to write about the good, the bad, and the ugly examples of pruning that abound! I have also been known to wax poetic on baby oak leaves".

We all know who really runs the show, though: George the cat. This guy is a superstar, after all. When Amy and Jeremiah moved from the St. John's neighborhood of Portland to their current home, George vanished. Turns out the big guy walked back to his old home, some twelve miles away. Silly boy! He was famous around these parts, you can read about him here. I think he's happy to be at home with his mom and dad now, though, with no plans to travel any time soon.

Not only is Amy a great cat momma, she's a great propagator. Here is just a sampling of her talents. She does this for fun, mind you. Here's a link to a blog post she wrote about five seed-starting myths. Very good information, something I really need to learn.

So I actually visited her lovely garden twice. The first visit was in the spring, when the sweet peas were just coming up.

She had just planted the veggie garden which I have to admit, I am in total love with. To have this much sunshine, great soil and know-how, wow. Things were just getting started and looking great.

Broccoli, lettuces, peas, tomatoes and more. Amy really has a bounty growing at George's farm.

With lots of pretty fleurs sprinkled in, too.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, George was ready to show me around again. Plants had been added and plants had grown significantly. When Amy and Jeremiah moved in, the backyard was a bit overgrown with blackberry and ivy. It looked nothing like it does today. You can see some great before and after shots from a post she recently wrote here.

Remember the sweet pea starts? They were coming along nicely.

Gaillardia pulchella or Indian blanket flower, a favorite of pollinators and native to large portions of the U.S.

Borage, which Amy found out is a host plant for painted lady butterflies. You can read about her experience here on her blog! That's great news for pollinators, a plant that plays host for another butterfly is always a great thing to know about.

More propagation magic.

Some pea magic. Quite beautiful, too.

Stachys or lamb's ears, so soft and fuzzy.

A Ceanothus recently planted on the eastern edge of her garden, a great evergreen shrub that will grow quickly and provide pollen for bees.

Cerinthe major, a sweet annual, a start of which Amy gifted me.

A look at one of her perennial beds with sedum, Imperata cylidrica or Japanese blood grass and euphorbia.

Cephalaria gigantea. Gigantea is right, wow.

Phygelius 'Moonraker' on the left (which I had at one time, a cool plant), and I believe Amy told me the iris-looking foliage is candy lily.

Poppies, poppies, poppies!

I wish I could get poppies to grow in my garden. My cat sits on the seedlings so I have no chance.
I'll have to admire Amy's from afar. George should teach Hobbes about proper cat garden etiquette.

Like this. See? George isn't sitting on the poppies.

Tapestry of color and texture. This has grown in so much since my last visit. This gardener has the magic touch and great soil, too, apparently. Sandy loam is the phrase I believe I heard. Something of a rarity in these clay-infested parts.

Mahonia I think Amy said Charity. Euphorbia rigida on the right.

Country garden snapdragons, so charming and colorful. I love them.

Closeup of Phygelius.

Veggie goodness.

Daylilies, veggies, and borage.

A big fat bumbler having a go at the borage. Wow, he's happy.

To repeat myself, what an agrarian paradise! Beyond that, though, Amy has great perennials, annuals, sedums and has added several evergreen shrubs. Amy is a gardener who knows her plants and, frankly, I am humbled in her presence. Plus she's so fun and I so enjoy spending time together, so I don't mind feeling a little bit like the student when it comes to propagating and many other gardening topics that she's mastered. She's also been writing for gardening books recently, so be watching out for her talents not only on her blog but in the larger world of horticulture.

Stay tuned as Amy's garden continues to settle in and progress. She has some great plans ahead. We are all happy that she and Jeremiah have chosen to call Portland home, and I for one am happy to call her my gardening friend. I'll certainly bring you updates to this sweet garden as time passes.  Welcome to Portland, Campion family - and sincere thanks for the delicious veggies and colorful flower seedlings, mighty generous of you!

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