Dahlia jackpot

Art Redfern tending his dahlias in Corvallis
Originally uploaded by Gardening in a Minute

After the Garden Writers Association conference, I stayed a few extra days in Oregon visiting with my friend Jenny. We walked to the grocery store one night and discovered the mother lode of dahlias, right there in her suburban neighborhood. Needless to say I was intrigued. I even tweeted about it on Twitter.

Emily, Tom and Erin all know how smitten I am with dahlias. I mean, how can you not love flowers that are so richly colored and so beautifully formed? They also feature prominently in the bold gardens of Christoper Lloyd, Sarah Raven and others--the gardens I'd love to emulate.

I admired the yard each time Jenny and I walked to the store, but it wasn't until my last day in Corvallis that I stopped by with my camera. Lo and behold, the gardener himself was out in the yard.

I found out that his name is Art Redfern and that he has been growing dahlias for more than 20 years. He got started with dahlias because his wife's father had grown them. Art now grows more than 250 different dahlia varieties. Wow.

I had a feeling he was growing lots of different types since they're all arranged in gridded beds with plant ID tags.

The East Bed



The West Bed



ID Tag



It was quite an impressive operation for someone who does this as a hobby. And of course, the dahlias themselves were equally impressive.

After I'd chatted with Art for awhile and said that I really ought to be getting back, he asked if I'd like a bouquet to take with me. Well yeah... of course! Like I'm going to turn that offer down!

Jenny came around the corner at this time, no doubt wondering where I had disappeared to. By the time Art was done cutting, Jenny and I both had our arms full of dahlias. You can see all of the ones he gave us in this photo. And yes, they really are that big.



In fact, the large pink one in the center was bigger than my head! Art told us that it's called 'Elsie Huston' and that it's a repeat prize winner at dahlia shows. No surprise there.

It would be a lot of work, but I just might have to see if I could grow some dahlias at home. I know they need a good, rich soil and lots of moisture. Our native soil wouldn't work, but maybe I could amend the soil with bags of composted cow manure or try growing the dahlias in containers. Who knows--maybe I could become the dahlia queen of Florida!

If you're interested in learning more about dahlias, Art recommends the Colorado Dahlia Society.

Now that's my kind of Zone 8!

The garden tours that we've been going on with GWA2008 have been amazing, save a few logistical snafus. Yesterday we visited Terra Nova Nurseries, which even had cannas and bananas. Can you guess how excited I was?

Apparently they don't sell much of these -- their bread and butter are plants like echinacea, heuchera, and tiarella--most of which won't do well back home). But I was ecstatic to see Zone 8 plants that would work in my Zone 8 garden. So excited, in fact, that I made Emily take my picture in front of said plants.

I've taken hundreds of photos since I got here, but uploading them has been a tedious process. I promise that I'll blog more about all of the fabulous things I've seen once I get home and have a faster internet connection.

And yes, for you punctuation police out there, I am aware that I continue to use exclamation points in my blog post titles. Can I help it that I'm excited about all these cool plants I'm seeing? Did I mention that I have the coolest job ever?

The other Zone 8

We spent yesterday afternoon touring gardens in Northeast Portland. Our Florida gang really enjoyed seeing the gardens and marveled about all of the plants that grow here but don't grow at home, even though both Gainesville and Portland are in Zone 8. 

I was drooling over all of the gorgeous dahlias that we saw in every garden we visited. If only I could grow these! Every time I've bought dahlias at home they've died before I could even get them in the ground.

I've got oodles more photos, so I'll be posting more later. Stay tuned.

Greetings from Portland!

Landscape bed in front of conference hotel
Originally uploaded by Gardening in a Minute

After a looooong day of travel, our group arrived safely in Portland for the Garden Writers Association annual conference. The air here is decidedly cooler and very refreshing, which I find especially helpful given my post-travel grogginess.

This picture is from the planting bed in front of our hotel. The plant palette here is very different from what we have back home in Florida and wonderful to look at. I'll no doubt have more pictures to share after I come back from this afternoon's garden tours.

The educational sessions also start today, and the trade show will wrap up this evening. Here's a shot of Tom Wichman talking to a conference attendee at the FNGLA booth.

The best job ever!

Deck at McMayhill & Baker home
Originally uploaded by Gardening in a Minute

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job? I get to do such cool things, like attend the annual Garden Writers Association conference next week. Woo-hoo!

Last year's conference was chock full of sessions that offered great information on garden writing. Plus, I got to attend some absolutely fabulous garden tours. Here's a sampling of the photos I took on the garden tours during last year's conference. If my garden looked like these then I'd be set! You can view the whole set on Flickr.

This year's conference is being held in Portland and promises to be equally great. I'll do my best to blog from the conference so that you can see the great gardens too.

Is anyone else out there planning to attend the conference?

Final Fay update

Injured crinum
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

The south winds from Tropical Storm Fay snapped a few leaves on the 'Queen Emma' crinum in the front yard. It should be fine, but it doesn't look quite as pretty now. I'm hoping this one will bloom again soon.

And before Fay left Florida, it dumped some additional rain on us. Some of the final feeder bands were more intense than the main storm was. Emily blogged about the flooding in her yard. I also got a bit of flooding, but it cleared up within a day.

Low spot in backyard:



Outside my front door:

The Trouble with Water Oaks

Fallen Water Oak Limb
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

The big problem with water oaks is that they don't hold up well in storms. Case in point--Tropical Storm Fay just knocked this large limb out of a water oak in my yard.

Even more exciting was the giant water oak that cracked open in my neighbor's backyard, snapping the power pole as it went down. Needless to say, the other side of the street doesn't have power right now.

Indeed, the experts at UF/IFAS agree that water oaks have their drawbacks: "The tree often begins to break apart just as it grows to a desirable size."

These trees, known botanically as Quercus nigra, are fairly common here in North Florida. They're fine in natural areas, but they aren't as suited for neighborhood settings because they pose a hazard during serious storms.

I'm pretty sure that the one in my yard was a volunteer since it's growing straight out of an azalea bush along my property line. I've thought of cutting it down but just hadn't wanted to spend the money. We'll see. Maybe I'll have a certified arborist come give me an opinion about removing the tree.