Native plants!
Today I bought Oregon native plants at the Native Plant Sale of the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and then planted them!
We have 10 Evergreen huckleberry plants (Vaccinium ovatum), 4 Nootka Rose (Rosanutlana varnutkana), 3 Oregon Oxalis (Oxalis oregana) and 10 other plants which are said to be Salal but are all marked Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, also known as Bearberry.
We already planted some Salal last fall and the 10 new plants definitely are not the same.
The Oregon Oxalis was planted between the Oregon Grape and the Red Flowering Currant so I could keep my eye on it. I put the huckleberry somewhere near the Oregon Grape. The Nootka rose needs more sun than the rest so I will put that out in front by the retaining wall within the U.
The EMSWCD is headquartered in a renovated 1907 era home at 5211 N. Williams Ave. and the grounds and the structure itself is a model for water conservation with eco roofs, a bike parking structure and graduated roof drainage (water drains into a plant pot with the excess draining into a pot below it, etc.). The bike structure has an eco roof with drainage piped to plants on the walls, rows of potted plants in the back and a pane of moss on the sides.
I stood in line for a while that was not appropriate for me: the lines were divided by letters of the last name. The A-F line was shorter and more appropriate so I got in that line with my wheelbarrow and cardboard box from the Oregon Nursery. Two of the people in front of me could not be found in the alpha list but were in another list, so they had to wait. Apparently there were many of such SNAFU's. When I got to the front of the line I just gave them my name, she found it (and she was very glad it wasn't another SNAFU!), I paid the bill, she gave me change, then I just waited a bit for my plants to be gathered. I stood behind another wheelbarrow barer who had hers with the handles pointed to the sky, making a smaller footprint. Good idea: I emulated her! Eventually they called my name and I got the plants: Bearberries in little plastic pots, the rest with just stems and roots. I filled the rest of the wheelbarrow with some free black mulch they offered...from a big steaming pile.
The neighborhood was interesting, with some distressed homes, schools and churches. The headquarters building is a shining beacon of possibilities for the area.
I drove back past the El Rancho Deluxe store, now for lease. I liked that place, sad to see it closed.
The route to and from home was via Rosa Parks. Driving back, at Rosa Parks and Interstate, people did crazy stuff to get back on the road from whatever parking lot they were in, driving the wrong way on Rosa for a short jog to get past the vehicles waiting for a light!
Nice day: a bit overcast but warm and no sign of rain.
When I planted all of them the only ones which gave me pause were the Oregon Oxalis. Each plant was in a plastic bag with wet organic material buffeting a small root system and a little purpleish green bit which I identified as the sprouting above ground part of the plant. So I tenderly laid it onto the side of a hole, supported it with dirt and went on to the next, did that the same way, and did one more in the identical manner. I hope it comes to life after planting!
Also I saw more bulb plants sprouting where they shouldn't, so dug and transplanted them. Some of them had bulbs much deeper than anticipated so I ended up chopping the stalk and leaving the bulb in the ground. Oh well.
The previous transplants still seem to be alive although haven't done much. We will see about their new neighbors.
The Oregon Grape I planted last fall looks sickly. Meanwhile the Red Flowering Currant from the same planting is starting to advance its leaves from out of their buds! Hard to know how the Heuchera and Salal are doing: they look alive but have done nothing interesting yet this year.
Anyway, we are starting to get some interesting plants in the area around our front tree. We could probably add double what we already have without issue, but I am trying to be cautious and make sure the plants I do get survive and thrive before moving on.
Watering from the rain barrel was interesting. The first quart or so was filled with strands of algae. Would love to see the cells in a microscope!
Near the rain barrel was the sprout of an evergreen tree! I will see if I can transplant it to a place where we can actually grow a new evergreen tree.
The Friends of Trees, true to its word, put some mulch out around our new Purple Catalpa street tree this week. It has been raining enough that I won't need to water it just yet, but if it stops raining for a while I need to be diligent about watering it well (3 quarts) at least once a week.
We have 10 Evergreen huckleberry plants (Vaccinium ovatum), 4 Nootka Rose (Rosanutlana varnutkana), 3 Oregon Oxalis (Oxalis oregana) and 10 other plants which are said to be Salal but are all marked Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, also known as Bearberry.
We already planted some Salal last fall and the 10 new plants definitely are not the same.
The Oregon Oxalis was planted between the Oregon Grape and the Red Flowering Currant so I could keep my eye on it. I put the huckleberry somewhere near the Oregon Grape. The Nootka rose needs more sun than the rest so I will put that out in front by the retaining wall within the U.
The EMSWCD is headquartered in a renovated 1907 era home at 5211 N. Williams Ave. and the grounds and the structure itself is a model for water conservation with eco roofs, a bike parking structure and graduated roof drainage (water drains into a plant pot with the excess draining into a pot below it, etc.). The bike structure has an eco roof with drainage piped to plants on the walls, rows of potted plants in the back and a pane of moss on the sides.
I stood in line for a while that was not appropriate for me: the lines were divided by letters of the last name. The A-F line was shorter and more appropriate so I got in that line with my wheelbarrow and cardboard box from the Oregon Nursery. Two of the people in front of me could not be found in the alpha list but were in another list, so they had to wait. Apparently there were many of such SNAFU's. When I got to the front of the line I just gave them my name, she found it (and she was very glad it wasn't another SNAFU!), I paid the bill, she gave me change, then I just waited a bit for my plants to be gathered. I stood behind another wheelbarrow barer who had hers with the handles pointed to the sky, making a smaller footprint. Good idea: I emulated her! Eventually they called my name and I got the plants: Bearberries in little plastic pots, the rest with just stems and roots. I filled the rest of the wheelbarrow with some free black mulch they offered...from a big steaming pile.
The neighborhood was interesting, with some distressed homes, schools and churches. The headquarters building is a shining beacon of possibilities for the area.
I drove back past the El Rancho Deluxe store, now for lease. I liked that place, sad to see it closed.
The route to and from home was via Rosa Parks. Driving back, at Rosa Parks and Interstate, people did crazy stuff to get back on the road from whatever parking lot they were in, driving the wrong way on Rosa for a short jog to get past the vehicles waiting for a light!
Nice day: a bit overcast but warm and no sign of rain.
When I planted all of them the only ones which gave me pause were the Oregon Oxalis. Each plant was in a plastic bag with wet organic material buffeting a small root system and a little purpleish green bit which I identified as the sprouting above ground part of the plant. So I tenderly laid it onto the side of a hole, supported it with dirt and went on to the next, did that the same way, and did one more in the identical manner. I hope it comes to life after planting!
Also I saw more bulb plants sprouting where they shouldn't, so dug and transplanted them. Some of them had bulbs much deeper than anticipated so I ended up chopping the stalk and leaving the bulb in the ground. Oh well.
The previous transplants still seem to be alive although haven't done much. We will see about their new neighbors.
The Oregon Grape I planted last fall looks sickly. Meanwhile the Red Flowering Currant from the same planting is starting to advance its leaves from out of their buds! Hard to know how the Heuchera and Salal are doing: they look alive but have done nothing interesting yet this year.
Anyway, we are starting to get some interesting plants in the area around our front tree. We could probably add double what we already have without issue, but I am trying to be cautious and make sure the plants I do get survive and thrive before moving on.
Watering from the rain barrel was interesting. The first quart or so was filled with strands of algae. Would love to see the cells in a microscope!
Near the rain barrel was the sprout of an evergreen tree! I will see if I can transplant it to a place where we can actually grow a new evergreen tree.
The Friends of Trees, true to its word, put some mulch out around our new Purple Catalpa street tree this week. It has been raining enough that I won't need to water it just yet, but if it stops raining for a while I need to be diligent about watering it well (3 quarts) at least once a week.