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And I, like most Americans, can blame Antiques Roadshow for inflating the hope that somewhere out there, in a dusty garage sale on a Sunday morning, I will fall in love with some tchochke that turns out to be worth a fortune.

Thus it was that I found myself casually combing through the Free postings on Craig’s List this morning where I noted a number of ads for concrete chunks.  This is no great revelation –’tis the season for DIYers to rent the ol’ jackhammer and, in exchange for a few frosty cold ones, lure friends and relatives to help remove that cracked old concrete patio or walkway.

“Urbanite” is the name that industry hipsters have coined to make this material sound more metropolitan and cool.  I’ve had a number of opportunities to use urbanite for landscape projects and I must say, I’m a fan!

It’s a great material for patios, walls and stepping stones.  It may be left unaltered or stained a variety of colors, and aesthetically and functionally mixes beautifully with natural stone.  It is, of course, a 100% recycled material so you can feel warm and fuzzy about using it.  Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s available for FREE?!

Here are some photos of a couple of ways I’ve used it.

Urbanite and stone terraces in SW PDX

Urbanite patio w stone and groundcover

So it seemed like a good time to post about some cheerier things.  Despite the crummier-than-normal season overall, there have been some real show stopping nice days.  And some great day trip excursions to some of the really beautiful natural places right in Portland.

Oak’s Bottom Wildlife Refuge in SE PDX is all of ten minutes from my apartment but this was my first visit.  I’m not much of a birder but over the course of my wanderings I saw two bald eagles, a common yellowthroat, at least four great blue herons, gaggles of Canadian geese, mallard ducks, and a pair of nuthatches bathing in the dust, scrub jays, and on and on and on.  The pond algae in bloom was of either toxic lime green or brilliant turquoise and made fantastic swirling patterns in areas where they met on the surface.

blue-green algae

In the sunny open field areas, wildflowers and elderberries were on full display.

red elderberries

All in all it was a marvelous way to spend a sunny morning.  So invigorating and so accessible I could truly see myself incorporating a jaunt through Oaks Bottom as part of a normal morning routine.  Now I just need to convince the sun…

Irvington Four Square

I wanted to create a composition that was sufficiently sophisticated to grace the front entry of this grand home but still funky enough to be a visual point of interest.  For upright plants I used Schefflera elegantissima (False Aralia, sold as a house plant) to capture the warm chocolate-y tones of the house colors in a soft, feathery texture, punctuated by the bright chartreuse foliage of Abutilon pictum ‘Gold Dust’ (Flowering Maple) and yummy orange-leaved Coleus ‘Trusty Rusty‘.  Wax begonias add brightness and charm with white flowers and round, glossy brown leaves.  Muehlenbeckia axillaries, aka Creeping Wire Vine, lends bubbly, frothy fun to the mix as the trailing green element.

Freshly planted!

Color Close-Up

To that end, I thought I’d share a great little slide show from the maven of all things decor, Martha Stewart, to get you inspired: Creative Outdoor Spaces.  And, of course, if you need any help pulling it together, I know a great landscape designer who can help…

Here’s a project I did with fellow Dennis’ 7 Dees designer Jonah Bishop back in 2009:

Before

After

Before

After

Last year, I had a couple of really small yards which are actually some of my favorites.

After! Expanded paver patio with pea gravel and french drain along fence.

Before. Again, new construction with just a concrete patio and fence.

Aaand after! I love how the large grid of the architectural slabs makes the space feel much larger.

2010 also marked the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the amazing folks over at Root Pouch.  They are rocking biodegradable nursery pots, erosion control systems and these super awesome vertical gardening pouches made out of recycled plastic bottles.  Not only are their products top-notch but the people who run the company are smart, helpful, and passionate about what they do.  Here’s a shot of their corporate headquarters here in downtown Portland:

Before. To be fair, they'd planted a lot of annuals in those pouches the year before so it was expected that they wouldn't be making a repeat performance.

After!

And that concludes the quick snapshot of a few things that have kept me busy and not blogging.  Stay tuned for more in the coming months!  Ciao for now…

Here at Dennis’ 7 Dees, we put a lot of effort into our presence at the YGP Show.  2010 marked our second year as presenting sponsor and we had the exclusive privilege of offering discounted show tickets at our garden centers.  I understand that attendance this year–a year that almost didn’t see a YGP Show due to strained resources at the presenting OAN–was the best ever!

We had a great time too taking a new, modern design approach to our display garden and turning it into a very functional series of outdoor living elements.  In partnership with stone artisan Peter Attila Andrusko, we created a custom grill, fire pit, and water feature, as well as a series of industrial steel columns planted with gorgeous edibles and ornamentals.  Planting design was headed up by the inimitable Mulysa Melco who, when not rocking out as garden designer at D7D, is also an accomplished fine artist.

So, without further ado, here are some photos of our efforts this year.  I look forward to sharing lots more pictures of 2010 projects as they continue to roll in and 2009 projects as they grow in.  Cheers!

However, even if you’re not lusting over a reason to pull out the shovel, I would like to offer up three very good reasons why you can and should be planting a tree.  Right now.

1. As mentioned in my last post, the winter is an excellent time to examine your garden and make plans for structural reinforcements. In planting design, that fancy talk means “trees.” If you haven’t done it already, go outside and look at your yard.  Don’t you need a tree? (Of course you do!)

2. The Willamette Valley’s mild and wet winters are great for planting trees. The risk of death from a hard freeze spell is about on par with the risk posed by a dry, hot spell in the middle of the summer –especially when us Portlanders are waaay too busy to water what with street fairs, block parties, soapbox derbies, and bike events taking up all of our time. And though no one can predict when we’ll have another Snowpocalypse, there are some additional safety precautions you can take to help get your young ‘un through a cold snap if need be.  Your local OSU Extension Master Gardener office can provide specialized advice for all sorts of specific situations.

3. If you’re a hardcore budget watcher, perhaps the best reason I can offer you to plant a tree now, is the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services’ Treebate Program. Available to all Portland residents ’til May 2010, for each and every tree you plant, get a utility bill credit worth up to $40! (Bonus points if you plant a native tree, the maximum rebate amount goes up to $50!) Caliper and height restrictions apply as well as bans on tree species currently classified by the city as “nuisance plants.” You can find out all of the details and submission instructions here: http://portlandonline.com/bes/trees.

So pour that cocoa into a to-go cup and head over to the nursery!  And stay tuned here for lots more reasons (crackpot and otherwise) why you should be gardening in the middle of winter.

In response, my teacher, Wendy Booth, shared two pieces of indispensible wisdom.  First, “good weather” is anytime there isn’t something actively coming out of the sky.  (Now that I live in Oregon, my definition of “good weather” has had to be even further broadened.)  And second, winter is the best time to look at a landscape with a designer’s eye.  Pull your head out of your aster and start seeing the garden for more than the plants!

Now is when the structure of your space is laid bare and you can no longer cover up inadequacies with flowery frosting.  Because a good landscape should look great even in the winter, be brave, get out there and really see what’s happening.  Have your paths completely lost their shape without plants to define their boundaries?  Are they adequate?  Practical?  Comfortable?

What about vertical elements?  Does your house look like a lonely behemoth rising out of a flat piece of dirt?  You may realize you need some supporting characters to visually frame the house, connect it to its surroundings, and create a less abrupt image than “box on prairie.”

Step back and put on your macro lens.  Is there a sense of adequate proportion, scale, harmony that ties all of the individual elements together to create a complete whole?  Is it bland?  Are you lost and lacking an adequate focal point now that the Knock Out Rose is knocked out?

Look for areas where you can incorporate more advanced design elements like rhythm, repetition, layering, and contrast.  Add a piece of garden sculpture.  Examine the presence of winter interest plants (or lack thereof).  Are they creating as beautiful and balanced a picture as your warm weather performers do?

Consider your slumbering yard as a clean slate and use this opportunity to dream up new possibilities.  Not only will you gain a valuable new perspective on the cycles and structures of your garden, but you’ll emerge in spring with a plan to focus any improvements in the areas where they’ll make the most impact.

You don’t get to stop paying your mortgage or rent at the first sign of frost so why should your yard get to take the winter off?