My Pond was a Mucky Mess

Happy 2019 to everyone. 

As weather and time permit, I've been able to putter in the garden, tackling the few winter projects that really need doing. For instance, the outer pond in early January needs an overhaul now because soon the newt and frogs will be laying their eggs and I don't want to disturb them.  

For reference, here are a few summer photos of this pond. As you can see it is swallowed up in plants which means I'll need to do some thinning out as well as refresh the stagnant water.

The water is completely covered with waterlily pads.

I was so pleased with the flowers on my pitcher plant.

Parrot's Feather, shiny Water lily leaves, and a ridiculously large and expanding clump of Juncus patens.

What is the point of growing Water lily plants if you can barely see the flowers when they bloom?

The pond is to the left of the Japanese Blood Grass.

Finally, my clump of Pickerel Weed was happily blooming last summer. (Pontaderia dilatata)

Now for the muddy winter mess. This was yesterday after I had already gotten rid of the Juncus, cut many of the edging plants back and scooped about half of the water out.

Mud and roots must be a foot deep!

On the right is my scooping bucket. I've gotten most of the gunk out and I'm refilling it with fresh water.

I wanted to leave some muck in there so it will remain a wildlife habitat. Such a fine balance.

I used this net to gather up the free floating leaves and such.

Here, the water is full. I purposefully left some of the green Juncus blades because the frogs attach their egg sacks to them.

So much better!

In other news, here's a few highlights of the rest of the garden. 

'Sunshine Blue' Blueberry plant.

Geranium palmatum foliage, looking lovely despite several light frosts.

Arbutus enedo flowers, hummingbird food!

Dwarf Nandina looks so lush and vibrant, a stalwart winter interest plant.

A Gardenia flower ready for spring.

Clematis cirhossa var. purpurescens 'Freckles' still going strong

Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn'

Melianthus is looking so good this year.

Pelargonium 'Filbert' is still blooming. I've covered it with a blanket three times so far during cold nights.

Fuchsia 'Neon Tricolor' also covered during the brief cold snaps.

One of my favorite new containers.

Look at all the little flowers on my Chimonanthus praecox!

So fragrant!

Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance'

Daphne odora

Helleborus getting ready to bloom.

Oxalis crassipes 'Rosea' fixing to bloom.

And there you have it. It's winter but so far it's mild. Let's hope it stays that way.

Nursery Jaunt: Little Prince of Oregon

Finally, I was able to make it to what has become the annual  Little Prince of Oregon Garden Bloggers' Plant Sale! It was nice to see old friends and meet new ones. Because I was so busy chatting and hunting for plants I didn't get many photos. 

Little Prince of Oregon is a wholesale plant nursery located here in Oregon. They deliver their fine wares in this pretty green truck to retail nurseries from Portland down to Eugene. Their website lists them specifically. 

In fact, last year when I was at one of the participating nurseries, guess what I spied. Their telltale green frog tag, with a green frog hiding in the pot!  

How cute is that?

These containers with sedge and ferns were really eye catching, a clever, year-round-interest container ensemble.

The place is HUGE. We traversed the seventy-some hoop houses, delighting in row after row of interesting plants.

Here are the plants I purchased.

Check out the leaves on this hellebore. I don't care if it ever blooms.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Janet Starnes'

One of my current fascinations is the genus Erodium.

Erodium reichardii 'Flore Pleno'

Check out this cool Sedum.

Sedum 'Lime Twister'

Another Sedum.

Sedum anacampseros

I was really smitten with the burgundy midrib on this fern. 

Athyrium otophorum

A fuzzy little Sempervivum.

Happy trees are making for increased shade in my garden. I knew I needed this Toad Lily to add to the mix of woodland wonders.

Toad Lily, Tricyrtis hirta 'Blue Wonder'

Here is a Little Prince photo of its fall-blooming flowers.

Tricytris hirta 'Blue Wonder' flowers (Little Prince of Oregon photo)

This tiny Crassula was too cute to pass up.

Crassula socialis

After we finished plant shopping, Heather, Laura drove over to nearby Aurora. We had just enough time to visit one antiques store. Because it requires millionaire status to do any shopping here and I am no where near qualifying, I was a little more free with the camera.

Sedum in rusty things always appeals to me.

Clever use of an old bathroom sink.

There were two of them.

I really wanted this metal chair but can you see the price tag?

I'm not a huge fan of blue but I love old mailboxes.

Lots of cute ideas here.

So, are you shopping for new plants? It is spring now, after all.