valleylynn said:Hi orphansparrow. And a big to NGA and to the PNW. So glad you found your way here.
We would love to see photos of your garden/yard, and updates as you start making it your very own garden retreat.

Thank you! Yes - I'm looking forward to posting some pictures! Thank you for the welcome. ^___^

Bonehead said:Welcome Sparrow! Sounds like you have a challenge on your hands, and yes, before and after photos are always fun to follow. You may want to think about opening a thread specific to your renovation project in the PNW forum so we can all tag along with you. Regarding your Japanese maple, do not be afraid to prune it, they are quite forgiving, and often look better with less foliage rather than more. Meanwhile, ask away. Have you moved here from another part of the country, or are you already familiar with the northwest?

Hi, um...Bonehead (should I really call you that?)

Yes, it's going to be a welcome challenge, and I'll for sure post photos when I can.
I'm glad to hear your opinion about the maple, because not only does it look SO heavy and claustrophobic, it's also blocking the light to everything else in the front yard at the moment.
I used to live in Olympia, but several years ago moved to Texas with my husband, and it is only now that we are moving back - this time to Seattle where my family's at.

Hi Cara! Welcome back to Seattle!

>> There are also some well established rose bushes that are extremely long and spindly and need help ...

I'll be watching closely any advice you get about that. My rose is a classic PNW "Black Spot on a Stick" and yet it puts out as many blooms as leaves, it seems, each year. It looks like a long, dead stick that some prankster glued a few green leaves to, but it keeps giving a few big, gorgeous pink blooms every year.

I think they need more sun than I have, and would benefit from some pine trees being cut down (over my dead body!) or relocation. Some day I want to try to propagate it, and also a neighbor's rose that seems more resistant to shade, drizzle and low Sun angle.


Hmm, "Texas to Seattle"? Since both are "Zone 8", nothing changed, right? (I know how false that is!)

Hello Cara welcome! I live in Seattle right near Seattle U - I use the university as my private gardens, walking through there often!!
I live in an apartment but decided to ask the building manager about using space, and they were happy to have me do this, now I feel so lucky to have some garden space!
In terms of the roses, you can trim them back down to a 1.5 foot height anytime between now and the hot temps of summer! I have a row of roses that I cut way back each spring (from 5 feet down to 2) and they love it and are doing great!
Best to you in you new home!

Cara!! I'm over in Idaho, in a much different climate. Looking forward to your pictures, and seeing how things progress!

Welcome home Cara! We'll look forward to seeing your progress. You will love how easy it is to grow anything in the Puget Sound area.

RickCorey said:Hello neighbors!

I hope you don't mind the System Message inviting you to participate in the Pacific Northwest Gardening Forum based on the geographical location in your ATP public profile.

A few days ago, @Greene raised a question over in the Site Talk forum, about which forums correspond to which geographic areas.

The thread "Geographically challenged" in Site Talk forum

The PNW forum wishes to invite our neighbors to join our conversations and start threads relating to your local climates, soils and ingterests.

We came up with this updated "who we are" or "where we're from" description. "Coastal WA and OR" is just one part of the PNW, which sprawls from Alaska to northern California and as far east as anyone who wants to join us.

- - - - - - -

Alaska,
British Columbia,
Washington,
Oregon,
Idaho,
northern California

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest forum. We are bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and bisected by the Coast, Olympia, and Cascade mountain ranges. Our diverse region includes temperate rain forests, verdant river valleys, arid desert plateaus, and alpine mountains. Our discussions are lively, cordial, and at times wander off topic. Please join in.

- - - - - - -

Don't worry about any subject being "off-topic" for the PNW forum. If it interests you, it's on-topic!

Alaskans:

@Norm
@Oberon46
@chocolatemoose

British Columbians:

@adele
@Irislady
@laurabrunning5
@RCanada
@kathirudko
@DesertTreeLady
@shuennis
@Planetalker
@bsmith
@sherstewart
@Tophertuttle
@Pwinget
@Charlie
@girliebird
@mdakin65
@eweed
@TomPNW
@lmacmurchie
@Gwen
@Jewell
@neuba001
@kirbylougheed5
@missygs
@mcash70
@Mira
@Gilli

Idahoans:

@kc
@Grams
@Ponditis
@sandyglee7
@inezmeehan1
@scoob
@michelleruark1
@cherissefaulkne
@CHBM3
@mnjtripp
@debbiesalsbury1
@sherrywellsspea
@Natalie < - - Hi, Natalie!
@Paula


The Eastern Oregonians whose towns I recognized:

@MaryE
@roselvr
@zenahohman
@svanamburg0816


Northern Californians:

@lindahdavid
@chrisseekins
@carlondixon
@sarahbarclay14
@mnorberry
@paulettebeck
@wcgypsy
@lorimar196011
@Zanymuse
@Chickensonmars
@janwax
@FBTS
@MagicMaryMac
@tynabegley
@sweetstuff19574
@georginefitzger
@Otter
@Catydid
@soilsandup
@AllMixedUp
@HamiltonSquare
@zuzu
@chalyse
@DadofVlad
@tristinbeach
@wesleyfox165
@kimhadynski
@jennifershroyer
@LJA
@shelleynagle
@Calif_Sue
@stardehaven
@tammibaker7
@cyra
@UndertheSun
@Moiris
@bevykona
@Ecograndma
@wabatala
@sacvalley
@sherrydibenedet
@subhanaansari
@franconia123
@LindaCA
@PudgyMudpies
@GRAMANO1
@igrubb
@JeffreyD
@jessergirl
@jodiechristense
@lillyvranova
@dre
@macguyver
@putitupmike
@Liz
@Iochroma
@NealW
@DJShip
@tarev
@figara
@OakRaid
@Polymerous
@debbiebrowning
@kristiejarvis
@Cruddy

......................... a couple of years late but thank you

You're very welcome!

Wow, Marlena quoting your post Rick tagged every one of those members again, didn't realize the system would do that!

Sorry about that!

Hello again. I posted something here way back in the distant past, so distant that I am going to reintroduce myself.

I live in far eastern Oregon where we are very dry most of the time. This morning we woke up to an inch of snow which translates into about 1/10th of an inch of water content. We have a struggle to keep everything watered for the whole growing season and in about August the stress of it all gets to most of the garden plants and they start to go dormant. I have a big vegie garden and have been out collecting leaves from people in town who rake them up to throw away. When I go collecting bags of leaves some people are so glad they help me load them as if worried that I might change my mind. Now that Thanksgiving is over I need to go get another load.

Hi Mary-it's so much fun to hear about your climate-I love the dry side of Oregon and Washington.
p.s. I like your Avatar photo.

Hi Mary I agree with Pistil Love your avatar!

Thank you. It's an old picture but I still enjoy it. I went out in bathrobe and slippers on a 10 degree morning to capture it, so I am glad you like it. You can see the barbed wire in the upper right corner because I scrunched down so the horses wouldn't see me and move. I wanted them skylined. The one on the left did see me and thankfully didn't move until after I got the picture.

Eastern Oregon is a challenging place to garden for many of the reasons most of you west siders don't have. I seem to be watering something almost all the time from April until the last tomato gets killed by frost. By early August many of the flowers are going into summer dormancy. Blazing sun and dry winds pull moisture out of plants faster than they can take it in. I use drip lines and soaker hoses in the vegie garden for efficiency. The weeds in the pathways will survive just fine without any help from me. The mule deer are major pests so we deer fenced the vegie garden. I trap a lot of pocket gophers which eat the roots of just about everything. No root, no plant. It's funny to see a plant wiggling and disappear down a hole if you are watching a cartoon, but not when it is happening in the gardens. Frosts happen up to June 1 and start again in late September. I keep garden covers handy.

@MaryE
I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for your posts here and also the ones at your link the gathering place home. I especially love your message posted there on 1-20-2017 I so very much agree.
I hope you are keeping warm over on "the other side of Oregon"

RickCorey said:You're very welcome!

Rick~ You may add my name to the list, if you wish. We were going to move to Oregon, but those plans have stalled. I noticed that you are including northern California, and I am starting some seed sowing in a few days. Some wintersown and some indoors.

Evelyn

Deb ~ Your picture is beautiful! A couple of years ago we took a trip and drove from CA to Brookings to Astoria and back, mostly along the coast. So beautiful.

Welcome to everyone in or near the PNW. I often think the "Pacific" portion or our name might be off-putting to our east-of-the-mountain gardeners, but please know everyone is welcome to join in. I look at it as a very broad region, with lots of micro-climates. The coastal ranges create much different growing needs for the east and west sides. And, please, no offense to the Pacific Coast forum members -- I tried following that but found it so much warmer and drier, it just didn't mesh for me. I do lurk there and love the photos! My absolute favorite road trip route is down Hwy 101, Washington to California. What a wonderful change of scenery.

Bonehead said: My absolute favorite road trip route is down Hwy 101, Washington to California. What a wonderful change of scenery.

That is a stunningly beautiful stretch of scenery.

Beautiful photo Deb. Makes me want to jump in the car and take off on a journey.

Hi Everyone-
I am really getting spring fever and had to post some pics of my garlic and some onion and greens I started.