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\u201cGardening is not a straight line.\u00a0 There are many detours along the way, and thankfully, you never actually arrive at the finish.\u201d\u00a0 This is a motto of Loree Bohl, a Portland gardener and author of \u201cFearless Gardening.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Bohl\u2019s garden typifies this thinking with many, quite non-traditional plants for a Pacific Northwest garden.\u00a0 She is not afraid to try new things and regards the failures as lessons to be learned, and perhaps to be tried again.\u00a0 It might work this time!<\/p>\n
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Among her favorite plants are Agave<\/em>, Yucca<\/em>, and Opuntia<\/em>.\u00a0 She is another big advocate for using pots: on the ground, amongst the garden plantings, and hanging off walls or the rafters of a covered, outdoor seating area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She credits her inspiration in part to two noteworthy and innovative West Coast, women gardeners of the past: Ruth Bancroft, who lived to be 109, and Ganna Walska, who lived to be 96.\u00a0 Each crafted gardens very unlike their neighbors, starting at an age when many would be beyond new projects.\u00a0 They are models of how the creative energy of gardening can lead to a long and happy life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bohl also profiles several Washington and Oregon gardens that have stretched the plant palette.\u00a0 These include the McMenamins Anderson School garden in Bothell, the Point Defiance Zoo garden in Tacoma, and the Amazon Spheres in Seattle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Her own garden is another fine example.\u00a0 I was part of a tour led by the Northwest Horticultural Society in 2017 to Portland area gardens that included hers.\u00a0 In an essay titled \u201cSuccessful Gardeners Kill Plants and So Will You,\u201d she describes how the day before we arrived, despite it being late July, a large, established Grevillea victoriae<\/em> \u2018Murray Queen\u2019 suddenly died.\u00a0 She was horrified, but what could she do.\u00a0 For us visitors, committed gardeners all, it was an excellent lesson and opportunity to commiserate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excerpted from the Spring 2021 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cGardening is not a straight line.\u00a0 There are many detours along the way, and thankfully, you never actually arrive at the finish.\u201d\u00a0 This is a motto of Loree Bohl, a Portland gardener and author of \u201cFearless Gardening.\u201d Bohl\u2019s garden typifies this thinking with many, quite non-traditional plants for a Pacific Northwest garden.\u00a0 She is not afraid to try new things and regards the failures as lessons to be learned, and perhaps to be tried again.\u00a0 It might work this…<\/p>\n