Today we’re in Portland, Oregon, visiting Jim Rondone’s beautiful garden:
White western redbud, (Cercis occidentalis ‘Alba’, Zone 6 – 9). While the more widely planted eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis, Zone 5 – 9) is native to the eastern half of North America, the western redbud is a similar species native to Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.
Arisaema taiwanense (Zone 6 – 9) is a beautiful species from, as the name suggests, Taiwan. Jim finds it needs regular watering during the summer to thrive in Portland’s summer-dry climate.
Camellia ‘Yuletide’ (Zone 7 – 10), which blooms for him starting in November and continuing until March. Jim encourages heavy blooming by pruning it ruthlessly in April, which encourages new growth in plenty of time to develop new flower buds for the next flower display.
A gorgeous clump of Cyclamen hederifolium (Ivy-leaved cyclamen, Zone 4 – 9). This hardy species grows a little backwards, being completely dormant in the summer, then bursting into bloom in the fall. The laves you can see just beginning to emerge here will look beautiful all winter and into spring before going dormant again.
Bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii (Zone 3 – 7). Flowers remain closed, whick saves the pollen and nectar for the plants preferred pollinators, bumblebees, which are strong enough to pull the petals apart to access the nectar inside. This species is native to usually moist areas in the eastern half of North America.
High summer in the garden. The Pacific Northwest, including Portland, is often thought of as stereotypically cold and rainy, but that is actually only seasonally true. During the summers, it is very dry, with the steady rains returning in the fall.
Lagerstroemia subcostata var. fauriei ‘Fantasy’ (Zone 6 – 9) is a beautiful crepe myrtle. It has clusters of pretty white flowers in the summer, but the real show is this incredible bark which gets more beautiful with each passing year.
If you are only familiar with the typical hybrid large-flowered hyrid clematis, you are missing out on some of the most beautiful flowers in this genus. This is Clematis crispa (Zone 6 – 9), a vine native to central and southeastern United States, and has these magically shaped flowers. Here, is shows off extra beautifully with a backdrop of the soft pink Ceanothus x pallidus ‘Marie Simon’ (Zone 6 – 9). This caenothus is a hybrid of species native to the east and west coasts of North America, giving it extra adaptability and vigor, along with those romantic flowers.
The rear garden in May.
The lush green of April in the garden
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