January Garden

 Sunny, dry, cold. That is January in a nutshell this year. Unseasonably dry I might add. If we do not receive any precipitation by the 31st then it will be yet another record; this one for the most consecutive dry days in January. While the mountain snowpack has decreased a little this month, we had a precipitation surplus going into January and hopefully next month will make up for any losses. The sunshine has been welcome, however, a false spring of sorts save for the sub-freezing temperatures at night. We have been out nearly every day tackling chores such as pruning the orchard, sowing onion seeds in the greenhouse as well as giving the greenhouse a really good clean out. Blackberry removal is good in dry weather so that's been happening. All in all, rather lovely to be outside.

January is certainly not a glamorous month for the garden but there is some interest out there. With the sun at a low angle I'm squinting all the time and holding my arm across my eyes as I navigate the property and survey bird activity. There is plenty of that right now, and the birds seem to be enjoying the respite from typically very wet weather. That low light shining through dried plants, grasses and seeds can be kind of pretty. So this is what the garden looks like this January, all dressed down in muted colors, dried grasses and crazy intense sunshine. I suppose in a regular wet January much of this plant material would be flat on the ground; this is clearly not a regular wet January.

The main hang out of the birds, the meadow area where they forage on the ground and find shelter. I often see plants moving all on their own (paranormal grasses?) paired with the telltale "weeeep" of towhees or chirp of sparrows.

In the labyrinth garden looking towards the house. Lupinus albifrons getting larger every month. I might have underestimated its ultimate size. Behind it, Yucca rostrata, a rescue from years ago, is finally settling in and will too grow rather large. Hebes, Acca sellowiana and Olearia 'Dartonnii' complete the picture.

Lucy and Hobbes' graves tucked in under an oak tree. We say hello to them every day.

Muhlenbergia rigens in winter sunshine. It's surrounded by Festuca rubra 'Patrick's Point', a sloooowly spreading evergreen grass. It's a bit flattened this time of the year but will soon have new leaves reaching vertically through older leaves and it will take on more blue tones.

The top of the driveway with a few arctostaphylos, Ceanothus 'Sierra Blue' and Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'. Also some Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly', the red foliage, on the right side.

Some of the arctos are beginning to bloom, I see hummingbirds feeding on the open flowers. This is Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffiths', a favorite.

In the labyrinth garden looking south. There is a lot of evergreen material here but also deciduous grasses like Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' on the right which I leave standing until spring cleanup.

Hebes (Veronicas, technically) really carry this part of the garden through winter when the Erigeron karvinskianus gets a bit flat. I'm really loving the Luma apiculata, the tall-ish upright shrub with light bark, given to me by a dear friend. It replaced a hebe that I moved to the chicken garden.

A lot of long, dark shadows in this winter sun. Looking due east towards the areas we just saw, the labyrinth garden and those hebes.

Moving up to the north side, Drimys winteri and its tropical looking evergreen leaves makes me smile.

Looking past the top of the berm garden to the north side of the house.

A really good small hebe, Hebe (Veronica) 'Hinerua' is as good as the Xera Plants description states. Easy, small, super hardy.

There is some color out there and texture, too. A lot of birds enjoy this part of the garden as well, foraging on the ground and doing bird-y activities.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Cabaret' that we leave standing until March or so. For now birds use it to forage and hide in, another paranormal grass I witness moving seemingly on its own. I'm actually surprised they are still relatively intact as usually winter winds blow dried blades all over the place. It's been a mild winter so far. An interesting side note, the weeping salix (unknown species, was here already) is an absolute favorite of birds to perch on top of and just hang out. Sparrows, towhees, juncos, chickadees, so many just sit there. It's also a favorite the rest of the year, as is Salix eleagnos subsp. angustifolia. Indeed, salix are great for wildlife. 

Limnanthes douglasii, Douglas' meadowfoam, germinates in autumn and will withstand all kinds of winter weather before blooming in spring. A very useful wildflower that smothers the ground, keeping weed seeds from germinating.

Standing at the base of our deck looking southwest, evergreen plants fill the frame.

Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Theta', an evergreen jasmine that I've had for years. It takes on plum and reddish tones in winter. Its leaves are quite narrow and its flowers are said to be fragrant, but mine has never bloomed which is fine. I grow it for the foliage. Robust, hardy, easy.

Above the jasmine climbing on the top of our deck is Clematis cirrhosa 'Wisley Cream', a winter blooming, sort of evergreen clematis. It has a dormant period in summer and doesn't require water, rather leave it and it will be fine, rebounding in autumn. I think I've overwatered it in summer hoping to keep it from going dormant but it really didn't like that. It had a rough summer this year but is finally rebounding and starting to flower.

Standing on our deck I can now see over the top rail since we removed the dead Ceanothus 'Italian Skies' this autumn. The three Cupressus macrocarpa 'Donard Gold' (or 'Golden Pillar') have gotten quite large and really create a screen from the neighboring property (we love our neighbors, just kind of a garden thing). I love looking out and seeing those trees and feeling a sense of lushness.

Off in the distance is Mount Hood, only seen on especially clear days. On the left warm tones of Anemanthele lessoniana make it feel more like autumn than a cold late January day.

At the edge of the labyrinth garden in a whole lot of winter sunshine.

The reddish foliage is Penstemon cardwellii, the silver is another Lupinus albifrons and behind it is Diplacus aurantiacus 'Jeff's Tangerine'.

Phlomis russelliana pom poms.

Last year's Hylotelephium 'Matrona' stems and seed heads still standing upright and adding texture to the winter garden.

At the edge of the labyrinth, this is where Silphium perfoliatum lives. Also known as cup plant, its native habitat is the central plains of the US and Canada where it gets much more summer rain that it does here. In my dry garden it sulks in hot weather and also, it is a little weedy. I think I'll dig it up and replace it with this Arctostaphylos 'Monica' that's in this pot (barely visible), not planted yet. The area is full of herbaceous perennials and needs a little evergreen backdrop for winter interest.

Another area I'm reworking is this: FM removed a Stipa gigantea for me this autumn as it was getting too congested. I have two other Stipa gigantea in this area and it was feeling rather stuffed. Now open and room to breathe, I'm going to plant a few Monardella 'Russian River' and have already sown Eschscholzia californica in there. I hope it will look as I imagine it will, I know right now it's a winter mess but I can see it full of summer color in my head. Plus the Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' just visible on the right has some breathing room and will be the centerpiece as it deserves to be.

Closing this post out with a photo of my greenhouse that I've cleaned out, complete with all kinds of baby plants getting ready to go to our next plant sale which will be Saturday May 3rd, the address is 334 N Baldwin in Portland. Mark your calendars! I'll also donate bunches of plants to the House of Dreams Cat Shelter annual plant/vegan bake sale around the same time. Date of that one to be announced.

And a goodbye to January with this parting shot of a sweet pine siskin sitting atop a Phlomis russelliana pom pom. Is it comfortable, I wonder? 

While January doesn't win awards for being glamorous in the garden, it is still fun to be outside when the weather permits and I'll take whatever kindness the weather goddess gives me. There are other parts of the garden not represented here because the light was too harsh to get a good photo without intense shadows, but I will say the shade garden is holding up pretty well right now, to my delight. Soon those spring ephemerals will be popping up and I'll be out there crawling on my hands and knees with camera in hand.

Oh, and one more mention of my presentation for the Benton County Insights Into Gardening conference - it will be Saturday February 8 at 2:15. I hope some of you can attend and do say hello! Space is filling up but I think there's still plenty of time to register and a lot of very interesting topics covered with great speakers.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always, thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you all, and appreciate sticking together. Happy gardening!