Helleborus x hybridus – double One of the main foundation plants in our garden is Helleborus x hybridus, the Lenten Rose. We probably have close to 200 because we use them in almost every bed. What I like is the fact that they are evergreen and the foliage looks good year-round. The foliage is also quite bold so it stands out in the garden. When we moved from Seattle we brought a full truck load of just hellebores from our old garden. They were looking good in the garden in J

Grasses at OGF nursery Get ready, get set, PLANT. I know you have heard it a hundred times but here in the Pacific Northwest fall is the best time for planting. There are a lot of good reasons to plant now. The soil is still warm so roots will still grow giving you a much larger plant next spring. The soil doesn’t get too cold until about late November. The fall rains have started so you don’t have to water or worry about the new plants getting too dried out or burned. Actual

Botanical Print When I think back to my childhood in North Dakota and remember flowers the first ones to come to mind are the Peonies. Both of my grandmothers grew them but I remember the ones in my Grandma Jenny’s garden as being particularly beautiful. I stayed there overnight frequently and she baked every Saturday morning. In-between batches of what ever was baking we would weed and I remember the smell of theses blooms being particularly sweet. I’m sure there is a connec

Epimedium Botanical Print Epimedium is another genus that we became avid collectors of several years ago. While working at the Miller Garden we were constantly running across new introductions that we just had to have. Most proved to be very garden worthy and today are some great performers in the garden just about now. Although I’m not on the search for new ones I still have to check them out when I see them at a plant sale and have had to pick up a few here and there. It is

Primula pulverulenta in the landscape Primula is a large genus of about 425 species and an untold number of cultivars. Most are herbaceous perennials and can be found in a variety of conditions from boggy areas to alpine meadow. Most can be divided into 5 basic type, Auricula, Acaulis, Candelabra, Polyanthus and Juliana. I have tried growing a number from all these different types and find some easier than others. I tend to have trouble with the Auricula type. I think these j

Layers One of the big lessons I have learned in the garden is how to create layers. It is important not only because it makes the garden more interesting but also because it encourages a more natural habitat for birds, insects and animals in the garden. Here in my Northwest garden I have about 6 different layers, the tall trees, understory trees, large shrubs, small shrubs, perennials and ground covers. Old Apple Trees The layer I liked to concentrate on when I was building m

Iris ‘Latin Lover’ The Iris is a staple in many gardens. There are many different kinds requiring a number of different conditions. In the wild they grow from the dry mountains of Turkey to the wetlands of Louisiana. They are divided into two basic groups, bulbous and rhizomatous. The rhizomatous is then divided into bearded, beardless and crested. There are many other divisions and classifications but these are the basic divisions for what we grow. Iris ‘High Master’ In the

It’s that time of year to revisit ‘Great Plant Picks’. While I was working at the Miller Botanical Garden the ‘Great Plant Picks’ program was developed as an outreach program so I had the opportunity to work on it from the beginning and still do. I am now a member of the perennial committee. I reference the program often when I do the daily Facebook posts if the plant happens to be a ‘Great Plant Pick’. I thought it may be useful to make people not familiar with the program a

Old Yellow House Color is always an important attribute to the garden. The one unifying color at Old Goat Farm is yellow. It helps that the house is yellow so that the plants have a truly big anchor. We both are fond of yellow (and Green) so we tend to gravitate towards plants that are yellow or bloom yellow. yellow new growth on Epimedium and yellow blooms on lady’s mantle In a plant collectors garden, repetition of color is one way to tie the other plants together whether i

Arisaema griffithii dark form For me, one of the exciting things about traveling is seeing plants that I grow in my garden grown in the wild. Recently I had the opportunity to travel to the Sikkim region of India with 20 like minded individuals. Sikkim is an area of legend. Plant explorers have been traveling there for over a hundred years. At first these exotic plants were taken to prestigious gardens such as Kew in England but in more recent years plant hunters have taken t