What's Become of My Edible Landscape - Part 1

It's been nearly four years since my last post, and there continues to be interest in this blog. An update on the edibles in my coastal landscape seems timely, given that spring is the time for planting and planning. I'll start with some of the hits in this post, then move on to misses in part 2.

As I wrote before, planting raspberries here (and most places in the Northwest) is a no-brainer. Given their high cost at the market and ease of planting-care-harvest, they are great bang for the buck. My 'Saanich' red raspberries continue to produce mightily from one little row, filling the freezer and our bellies in early summer.

We took a big risk in cutting down the long hedge of arborvitae that provided privacy from our very-close neighbor's house, and replacing it with a row of Asian pears 'Kosui' and 'Chojuro.'  I'm happy to report they are thriving. We created a support structure of cedar posts and stainless wire on which to train our pears in a style known as "pleaching." For a great guide on this and other pruning methods, check out my favorite book on the topic.

The 'Frost' peach that was planted on the south side of our garage, trained similarly, continues producing boxes of peaches every summer. I don't weigh the harvest, instead counting the fruits, and it's usually 300+ on this single tree. The 3-way espaliered apple on my garden fence produces lots of Liberty apples, and a smaller number of Akane and Melrose. Enough for daily lunches and some processing over a few months in the fall.

Blueberries and strawberries continue producing without much trouble, and the Seascape strawberries have yielded lots of starter plants for friends and neighbors. It was great fun when the little girls next door started their very own strawberry bed from the plants I was digging out of my paths. A female Seaberry has been producing small handfuls the last two seasons (a male plant is required too).

For the first time, my Cascade hops made their way into a batch of homebrew last fall... still a ways to go learning that craft but the plants are doing well over the backyard deck. Climbing right along side them in the deck planters are an ever-changing mix of vining tomatoes, scarlet runner beans and flowering annuals. I'll have to write a separate post on the subject of coastal grapes...

Among the less-vigorous, wait-and-see plantings are the 'Negronne' fig tree, 'Red Pearl' lingonberries, cranberries and a hardy kiwi vine 'Issai.' These have all survived and show some promise but have yet to yield any food. A potted pomegranate in my greenhouse surprised me with tiny fruits last season, though they never fully matured. And for the first time I saw tiny cranberries forming on my creeping plants in the garden. Some other creature got to enjoy them but it was fun to see them at last!

Winning Combinations

This is a short post, or rather boast, about some plant combinations I'm enjoying right now.

Lithodora diffusa is a popular groundcover on the coast, probably for its evergreen leaves and cheerful blue flowers.  Frequently it displays blackened, defoliated branches due to some unknown fungus.  The best cure is to cut it severely back, almost as if you are removing it.  The established roots respond with new fresh growth and profuse flowering as seen here.

Allow it to swarm around the base of taller plants, like this weeping Alberta Spruce (Picea abies var. pendula) and even visually striking edibles like the spiky artichoke above, a great vegetable for mild coastal summers.

Planting into the shadow of the spruce, and at the top (drier) edge of my small rain garden, I looked for a spot of shade-tolerant color year round.  Hence this 'Creme Brulee' Heuchera, also known as Coral Bells.  It's just getting ready to flower.

Providing a rosy, but much darker, backdrop for the Heuchera is one of my favorites for the wetter soils of a rain garden or bog area, Ninebark.  This particular selection was chosen for its burgundy foliage, in this case a horticultural variety of Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), 'Summer Wine.'  The plant will eventually mature much larger, but I plan to keep it restrained with annual pruning.

Finally, the basin of my rain garden sports a bronzy selection of wet-tolerant sedge, which I think is Carex buchanii.  Sometimes I pick up these plants on a whim of late-summer clearance sales or adopt them from the nursery's cull pile, hence I'm not always sure of the exact species or variety.

What combinations are emerging in your spring garden that delight the eye?

Coastal Rain Gardens

Spring bulbs in rain garden

A little over a year ago, I wrote about dealing with our heavy rainfall on the coast of Oregon and mentioned in that post the idea of "rain gardens."  Then last summer I had the opportunity to attend a workshop hosted by Oregon State University on this topic, and wanted to share this idea a little further with readers.

The basic idea of a rain garden addresses this problem: too much of our heavy rainfall comes all at once in a large "event," and rushes across impermeable surfaces like roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways, then flows directly into the storm sewers (or nearby water bodies) without any filtration.  When this happens, lots of pollutants including fertilizers and motor oil are swept along with the water, requiring treatment if they make it to the sewer system, or just polluting the water bodies if it flows there directly.

If instead we create a mechanism to slow down the water flow, and cause it to slowly drain through layers of soil, plants and rock, it is much cleaner by the time it gets to its final destination and reduces our need for storm sewer treatment capacity.

Flagstone set into a permeable rock/sand base
provides additional area for infiltration

So the rain garden is simply a designed area which intentionally collects water that might otherwise flow from your downspouts to the storm drain, or across a large paved area, and directs it to an attractive planted feature which can contain the likely amount of water from a single "event" and let it filter through slowly.

"Stream" catches water from center
downspout & sidewalk

Benefits of the rain garden obviously include improved water quality and a reduction in the need/cost of storm water treatment.  Other less obvious benefits to the homeowner might include a very attractive landscape feature including grasses, shrubs and flowering perennials; wildlife habitat when using carefully chosen native species; turning a difficult area of the yard into a useful landscape feature; and preserving your structures from additional erosion or mud-splash by directing the flow elsewhere.

Commercial rain garden installation

A terrific guide is available from Oregon State University (free) to help homeowners, builders and landscapers  design rain gardens into their ecologically-friendly landscapes.  This guide is very thorough including design specifications and plant lists, so I'm providing here some photos of local examples.  The tiny residential rain garden is in my front yard, installed last fall.  The larger, commercial project is located at our new fire station and the garden is about 3 years old.

Note the curb cuts which allow parking
lot to drain into rain garden

Looking north: varied planting includes
Oregon grape, purple-osier willow, vine maple and rushes

Further reading--

March Preparations

Raspberry foliage emerging

As the days get longer and the buds begin to swell, we gardeners start to get a little itchy.  Time to get to work on something... anything... in the garden.  But when the weather is not cooperating, what to do?

First I will point out a few things to avoid in the wet and windy weather we are having this week, as March comes storming in.  One of the first things we are tempted to do is mow the lawn.  Especially when it starts to look a little shaggy.  While it's best to catch the growth before it gets too long and you end up mowing several inches at once, one of the worst things you can do for a lawn is plop your 200 lbs of mower on those little skinny wheels onto sodden soil.

Soil compaction is one of the enemies of growing healthy plants, and this includes grass plants.  The more you run around on that saturated ground with a heavy mower, you are compacting the soil particles-- which in more exact terms, means you are removing all-important "pore space."  Pore space is comprised of thousands of tiny voids which allow for passage of air, water and nutrients, and penetration of roots.  Aerating your lawn doesn't even cure this problem; it remains compacted between the new holes.  Let the lawn dry out before you mow, and it will respond with better absorption of nutrients, water and therefore healthy growth.

Another thing to avoid, for the same reason, is tilling wet soil.  While it's tempting to haul out the rototiller on the one dry day, the soil around here usually stays wet for a while.  Additionally if you receive heavy rainfall in the days following your handiwork, it will merely turn to mud.  And more compaction.  Get the idea?

Moving on to what we should do in preparation for what will surely be a banner year (one can dream), here's a few ideas from the list that I've been doing in my own and others' landscapes and veg garden:

Empty out the composter or dig out the bottom of the old pile to remove the beautiful finished material.  Be sure to protect it from heavy rain while you work, and store it somewhere dry like in a trash barrel with lid.  Then it will be ready to use in your garden beds and containers as needed, and the composter will be ready for the next season of trimmings.


Start seedlings for cole crops, also known as brassicas, such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower.  They germinate well in cool temps and will thrive when you transplant them in a few weeks to their outside bed.  Also any salad greens, or Asian greens, will happily germinate in the cooler spring weather.  Start warm-weather plants like tomatoes and peppers, on bottom heat.  All of these are ideally started under lights or a sunny window, then raised to the stage of transplanting. Seed catalogs are great resources for more exact timing and procedures.

Cut back any of last year's growth on most herbaceous perennials if you haven't already done so.  If you cut back ornamental grasses, watch for any early growth that's emerging.  Ferns cut all the way back in early March will allow the new fiddleheads to emerge untouched, for beautiful fresh foliage after a couple weeks.

Plant peas outside in a spot that can support a trellis for climbers; otherwise you can try your hand at 'bush-type' peas.  I always have more luck with climbers, and higher yield.  These include sugar-pod and shelling types. Other than tomatoes, I think garden peas are one of the best reasons for growing your own veg.
It's a little late for dormant sprays on fruit trees, these should have been completed in February.  If you wish to enjoy indoor blooms, now is a good time to trim a few small branches to bring inside.

If you haven't already finished ordering seeds, do it now.  There are still many deals available for early ordering in March.  Also check your local garden center for seed potatoes and onion sets, if you didn't order them by mail.  Onion sets will give you a big head-start on growing onions rather than starting from seed, and your local nursery will order the appropriate varieties for your area.  For mail order, my favorite seed catalogs are Johnny's, Territorial and Seeds of Change.

Side-dress hungry plants with complete fertilizer or compost (I prefer well composted chicken manure); this includes plants like raspberries, asparagus, rhubarb, artichokes.  Also consider top-dressing your lawn with a thin layer of compost instead of high-nitrogen fertilizer.  It should be very fine with no woody pieces.

Clean up storm debris from winter/spring wind events.  There are inevitably plenty of needles, small branches and leaves that should be raked up and composted.  Raking also just makes things look tidy and gives the gardener a warm feeling of satisfaction.

Finish planning and/or construction of any cold frames, raised beds, cloches or other structures you are planning to use this spring. Once your starts get going you will be surprised how soon these are needed!

Locate sources for potting and garden soil, compost, fertilizer that meets your needs and sensibility.  I prefer and recommend organic materials, which can be harder to find and expensive.  Spend a little time now talking to others who use similar methods to yours, call the extension office, and find the best places to buy.  In NW Oregon, I like the deals at Concentrates Inc.

Tune, clean and sharpen garden tools, including power equipment. Frustrating beyond measure when you need a tool to work and it doesn't... trust me, when you need it to work, the small-engine shop will have a backlog. Do it now!

Control weeds (I mostly use a sharp hoe at this point) before they get too large, and set seed. You will save a lot of work later. Our favorite tool for this is a De Van Koek (Dutch) diamond hoe, which is now the DeWit diamond hoe. To this same end, refresh any mulched or bark areas toward the middle of March so you don't lose it all to heavy rain and wind. The rock yard should have new supplies by then.

Control moles as you see fit; some folks use sound-devices, some use poison or traps. My experience and that of my organic farmer friends is that traps are most effective, but require daily monitoring and a strong stomach.  I don't care to use poison for many reasons, not the least of which is non-target animals getting hold of it.  Sound devices (I have used many kinds) don't often work. You may have a different outcome. My best luck has been with the non-toxic, castor-oil based repellent products, especially those in a liquid hose-end application which soaks the soil. Be aware they don't kill, but move the critters somewhere else.

Slugs and deer are a challenge in most western Oregon gardens; now is the time to bait (I use the less-toxic iron phosphate kind) for slugs or use some form of control. I used to try beer traps, copper bands, etc. It just depends on your site and how many there are!

If you have a large defined garden to protect from deer, get some fencing up-- not the cheap kind but the 7' tall, strong-as-metal kind. This stuff lasts for years-- ours is over 10 (like new). We had deer knock down our posts one time running into it, the fencing held. If you want to keep out deer it has to be at least 7' tall, they jump. For repellents, I've had good reports of this one and I started using another last year that worked great and smelled a lot better, made from rosemary & mint oil. Might try making it myself. Repellents are helpful where you can't install a fence, or don't like the look of one, like an ornamental landscape.

Finally, if you are wanting a handy guide for western Oregon, check the website of Oregon State University extension, where they provide a handy month-by-month garden calendar. You can click on a printer-friendly PDF for each month and insert that into your garden calendar as a guide throughout the year.

Top 10 Mistakes by Coastal Gardeners

I love plants-- and truly enjoy working with my clients to fully appreciate the plants in their gardens.

Frequently, I am asked by concerned homeowners the same questions about their landscapes.  So I figured it might be useful to make a list of what this professional landscape gardener would advise clients NOT to do in their coastal gardens, and avoid common pitfalls.

10.  Planting shrubs or trees because they are cheap or familiar, without any research on coastal conditions.  A common mistake: new coastal residents may think, well it's still Oregon, still the same zone, and I like this or that plant.  Why not grow it here?  The Willamette Valley, where most new residents come from, provides ideal growing conditions for a vast array of nursery plants-- the coast has a much smaller palette from which to draw.  Wind, salt, sandy soil, heavy winter rainfall and a much milder growing season (insufficient heat for many plants) are among the reasons.  Please visit with a quality coastal nursery and spend a little time talking with the knowledgeable staff, before you design and plant your garden.

9.  Failing to provide for torrential rain (drainage) in winter.  This might seem obvious but it really gets overlooked when people design the new house and yard, or purchase an existing one.  Really take the time to figure out where the water from your downspouts will end up, and where it comes rushing down your street, and talk to neighbors about any problems with storm drains, etc.  Many times when we see a tree or shrub mysteriously die in someone's landscape, we dig it up and lo, the hole is filled with water.  Drainage!

8.  Failing to provide wind shelter (from the north and west) in summer.  Coastal homeowners often realize there are strong winds in winter with the dramatic storms, but fail to account for the persistent dry winds that occur in summer.  These are mostly from the north, more often than directly from the ocean (west), and usually the cause of brown leaves and dieback on the north side of plants.  Often the solution is a simple windscreen (made from shadecloth) for the first couple years until plants are established. Related to this problem is inadequate summer water.  If you want to grow a good-looking lawn, it will unfortunately require lots of summer water.  Shrubs are less needy but need water if they are exposed to ocean winds.

7.  Choosing to grow mostly lawn on the lakefront or oceanfront.  Following on the last item... lawns are cheap and easy to install, but we all know they cost plenty to maintain.  If you are willing to do all the mowing, there are still the costs of water, fertilizer, weed control, lime, moss killer, and repair/fuel for the mower.  While you ponder those costs, allow me to point out the cost to our watersheds.  Runoff from fertilizers and the destruction of useful habitat for wildlife are just two of many reasons that lawns are bad for lakes and oceans.  If you are lucky enough to own waterfront property, please consider reducing your lawn.

6.  Using "quick-green-up" fertilizer, or that containing phosporus, on any waterfront property.  If you are still set on the necessity of that waterfront lawn, choose your fertilizer carefully.  Common lawn fertilizers contain very high percentages of nitrogen that is immediately released when wet.  The fast "green-up" results from that sudden injection of nitrogen to the grass plants.  But grass like any plant, can only use so much nitrogen at any one time, and the excess is leached into the soil and our watersheds.  Excess nitrogen levels, along with phosphorus, contribute to problems like growth of algae and "dead zones" in the ocean.  Instead, choose fertilizer (preferably organic) with low nitrogen percentages, and check the label to see that part of it is slow-release.  This means it's not all flushed into the soil at once.  Phosphorus is unnecessary to grow a healthy lawn and detrimental to lakes; it's already been banned in Minnesota in lawn fertilizer.

5.  Shearing every last shrub into geometric shapes instead of skillful pruning.  Take the time to learn about your trees and shrubs, how they bloom and grow naturally.  Or hire someone who knows, not just how to wield a hedge trimmer.  A few plants sheared is fine-- but really, do we have to torture them all?

4.  Resorting to repeated heavy use of herbicides or pre-emergents to control weeds.  If we are weeding then we aren't doing our job very well.  Weeds can almost always be prevented with careful attention and light maintenance, or caught at a very early stage.  Simply patrolling your landscape with a good sharp hoe once or twice a month will catch them small.  Mulch will prevent most of them if it's refreshed on a regular (annual) basis.  Planting close together will reduce large areas for weeds to get started. Cutting your lawn at a taller height will shade out many new weeds. By the time you get out the herbicides or pre-emergent chemicals, you are just treating a symptom.

3.  Excavating valuable topsoil during construction and failing to replace it before planting.  It's a common practice for builders to remove topsoil when building a new home.  This gets the structure onto more stable mineral-based subsoil instead of the topsoil that is filled with organic matter.  But subsoil is lousy for plants!  A responsible builder will stockpile the topsoil and bring back a decent planting depth so you can start your landscape.  In my opinion at least 6" should be expected, and more is better.  If you are stuck with a final grade that is done with mostly subsoil, you have work to do.  Amending large areas before planting a shrub, amending several inches before growing a lawn, adding compost and mulch over many years.  It's a big job to try and re-create what nature did over hundreds of years.

2.  Cutting down trees or foliage on the ocean bluff.  When development was going like crazy on the coast, those oceanfront lots became wildly expensive.  As a result, homes built on the bluffs were going to maximize every legal square foot they could build on, and creating "open views."  Unfortunately many folks have learned the hard way that vegetation is the only thing holding that bluff together, and protecting the soil from wind/rain erosion in winter storms.  Trees and shrubs on the ocean bluff will also provide helpful wind screening from strong ocean storms, and make your yard and deck more habitable.

1.  Topping any tree to provide for better ocean views.  Lately there has been some debate in our town about a local tree ordinance designed to protect and preserve our city's trees.  One of the original requirements was a ban on topping trees.  Unfortunately our city leaders received a lot of negative feedback to the effect that they were preventing "pruning."  Folks, topping is not pruning.  Topping is cutting off the leader of a large-maturing tree.  It causes decay to enter through that cut (which does not heal) and creates unstable, new "tops" out of side branches that try to fill the leader void.  These branches are weakly attached and become hazards, and the tree is never the same.  Instead, thin out some interior branches to allow for a view through the trees, or as a last resort, replace the tree with one that doesn't grow as tall.  There are many options of tall shrubs and small trees to choose from, ask your power company for a list.

Planning Your Coastal Landscape

So you have moved to the Oregon coast or bought a summer house here-- by this I mean the real coast, by the ocean. Folks in the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon frequently refer to anything west of the Cascade mountains as "the coast." But conditions are radically different in the Willamette Valley than here on the actual coast-- and here is where guidance is lacking for the aspiring gardener.

Before you run to the local nursery, or worse yet, bring plants with you from the valley, you will want to spend some time assessing your site.  I like to think of our neighborhoods in "zones," albeit not the USDA-type temperature zones.  This has more to do with exposure to the ocean.

In the winter, we receive very strong winds mostly from the southwest, often extremely cold and pouring rain at the same time.  Sure the whole northwest is rainy, but we receive more water than most other locations, especially near the headlands or by the foothills of the Coast range.  The winter storms hit these barriers first, and dump a ton of moisture all at once.  Wind is frequently in the 50+ mph range, and bad storms have brought us 80-100 mph winds.   And yes, it does freeze here.  Not as often as inland, but we get snow and freezing temps on occasion.

Summer is mostly comprised of dry weather (believe it or not) for months, with strong persistent winds from the north and fog laden with saltwater when the valley gets hot.  Hence you might start the day with clear weather, and by noon the "marine layer" (fog) will have covered your coastal neighborhood.  The deposit of salt on plants along with little moisture to wash it off or flush it through the soil, combined with drying winds, can be lethal for plants.

A new coastal gardener might then just want to throw up their hands in dismay.  What will possibly survive all these challenges?  Many plants grow exceptionally well here, but it's important to figure out what coastal-zone you are in.  

If you are oceanfront, subject to the full force of winds and receiving plenty of salt-spray, your choices are pretty narrow.  If you are a block or two back from the ocean, your choices widen considerably but realistically you should exclude some plants you might wish for.  If you are some distance away, like "no way can I see the ocean from my house"-- you may be able to grow all kinds of climate-adapted plants, even vegetables.

Some good tactics to begin: go on walks of your neighborhood, and take notes or pictures.  I like digital pictures, that way I can remember the plant I liked and also the setting in which it can grow.  One almost-oceanfront place we cared for included a mature fig tree-- which likely would not have survived were it not for the shelter and warmth of 5-foot stucco walls on three sides of the tree (west-facing).  Not only did it survive but produced a bounty of figs every year.  

After you have toured the neighborhood, seek out a quality local nursery and bring your pictures or notes.  The whole point of going to a good nursery, as opposed to a supermarket that sells plants in the spring,  is to utilize the knowledge of the great people who work there.  In a coastal nursery, the first question you will be asked is "how close are you to the ocean?"  They don't want to sell you something that dies in a month, and they have plenty of experience with trial and error of all different plants in varied locations.

If you are close to the ocean, make note of any windscreens that might have been planted or built by the smart people who sold you the house, or the lack thereof.  A nice big shore-pine on the southwest corner might obstruct a little of your view, but will provide needed shelter from winter winds if you are planting nearby.  If you need to add wind shelter to your yard, consider that a permeable screen that allows wind to pass through somewhat will do a much better job than a solid one-- if the wind can't get through, it will swirl around the barrier and the result is more increased velocity when it gets to the plants.  Yikes.

Be honest with yourself-- especially if this home is not your primary one.  How often will you be here to visit?  What time of year?  Do you really want to pull weeds and prune things when you are on vacation?  How will the plants get watered in the dry season?  If you want a lush landscape and don't plan on doing the work, consider hiring a year-round garden service.  They can also let you know when a tree has fallen after a windstorm and you might want to fix that roof.  If you want to plant in summer, there must be a way to provide water to new plants.  Just because it rains here in winter, don't assume things will be fine without water in summer.  Drip on a timer system, or hire it out, but if you don't plan for this you can say goodbye to new plants.

Time of year that you visit might give you clues: if in spring/early summer, you might enjoy lots of rhodies and azaleas, with spring bulbs.  If in mid-summer, hydrangeas, daylilies and beach roses will be in bloom along with many perennials and annual flowers.  Fall will see the ornamental grasses send up their lovely seed-stalks and the tall sedums like 'Autumn Joy' display soft-pink flowers, to grace the few deciduous plants like vine maple whose leaves turn.

Finally, take some time to visit a mature public garden like the Connie Hansen Garden in Lincoln City.  A place like this, carefully tended by volunteers and developed by an expert botanist, will provide you with equal parts information and inspiration.  If you visit at different times of year you may discover new plants that never came to mind, and make new gardening friends in the bargain.  

Next up:  preparing your coastal garden for spring