Welcome Spring.At last it is the start of gardening season in Portland, OR. It is still a bit nippy, but the garden stores are already full of annuals to buy. The early spring bulb,such as the daffodils, are in full bloom. We will have to wait another week or so until we see a pretty display of happy tulips although there are few here and there in bloom
Portland isn't called the "City of Roses" for nothing. Our climate is perfect for roses. Cool summers result in longer lasting blooms. May is the start of Rose Season in the city with lots of Rose events including the crowning of the Rose Princess and the famous Rose parade. Pictured is a pretty pink Rose that I need to transfer into a bed. I noticed that it has buds already and is ready to flower in the next few days. Yes, that is early even for here.
These Camilla trees are a common sight here. Especially this red variety. The tree usually flowers in December, but this year it has a late showing for some reason. It only flowers late winter. It is always a welcome shock to see tropical looking flowers in the middle of winter.
Time to start weeding the community garden raised beds. Community gardening is very
popular here, resulting in some people having to wait years to obtain one. A plot can be obtained from the city. There are also private Community gardens not organized by the city. I am part of a small private garden on my street. I love it!
There are lots of clean up projects that need to be done in our Community Garden. Our structure is very relaxed so we just come in when we can and work on what we want to work on. However, weeding is always a priority.
We have most of the raised beds weeded. About half of the garden is planted for the community. When a certain crop is ready we just take what we need. There is always more produce than we use so the rest get donated mostly to local food banks and programs to feed the homeless.
There is a gardener that is a tomato expert. She took over the task of growing the community tomatoes this past year. Our tomatoes were as high as these poles and produced super large tomatoes. Once she plants the tomatoes she makes a plastic tend and keeps them covered well into June even when it is hot. We all thought she was crazy when the plants were still covered when the temperatures increased to the 80's and the leaves of the plants were wilted. Imagine our surprise that the plants did not die and resulted in the same large bounty of large, beautiful looking tomatoes.
