This year, it feels like our plants are on steroids, everything is so lush and blooming.
Thor and I have been in our new home for exactly three years now, and it’s gratifying to see the changes since we started planting in what was almost an acre of rubble and weeds, after the previous leaseholder of the land had illegally clear-cut. We salvaged what native plants existed in the mandated Native Plant Protection Area (what we call our Wild Zone), since the county requires us to maintain this buffer along the high-bank shore after aforesaid clear-cutting. I try not to think about the two magnificent, huge maple trees the neighbors told us had towered over the bank, not to mention all the other trees cut on the property. Once we had the lease and permitting processes in hand, we started planting trees and bushes even before construction on the house began. Now we’re reaping the rewards of lush greenery, blooms, and thriving wildlife (along with a lot of work weeding and watering, of course). I’ve previously posted about our birds and other wildlife, so today it’s about our spring blooms.
Some of the first spring blooms are one of my favorites — the native wild currant bushes in the Wild Zone that bring a splash of color and a wonderful, astringent scent.
Wild roses have an even more delicious scent.
One of the native northwest rhododendrons I planted, from our local Plantas Nativas nursery:
One of my Grandma Sara’s favorites, and mine, is bleeding-heart.
This year, the wild honeysuckle vines twining along the Wild Zone fence are really taking off. The hummingbirds love them.
We also have a variety of cultivar rhodies, including this gem.
Our young lilac tree is flourishing, which pleases this butterfly.
Reo dog and Turtle cat love to monitor our bird and bunny visitors. The bunnies know the escape ports in the dog fence, so things stay mellow.
The back yard is a whole different story (for another day) of building and planting a berm and water feature next to the sauna that Thor built. Our young dogwood and the berm plantings are also having a lush season.
This year, I’m recovery from back surgery, so Thor has been the solo weed-whacker and bush trimmer, doing a hero’s job.
Just one morning’s haul of trimmings:
The native snowberry and thimbleberry bushes, not to mention evil buttercups and blackberry vines, would swallow the other wild zone denizens like salal and sword ferns if we didn’t keep them in check. And the trimming also preserves our view from the swinging cabana that Thor built. After weeding and watering, we love to soak up the afternoon Salish Seaside vibes as the tide rolls in below our feet, while bald eagles, gulls, and great blue herons glide by. We count our blessings!
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
