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Surprises and lessons from another climate

Visiting gardens in central Oregon for fun and education

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED JUL 8, 2022

California poppies put on a show in this Sisters, Ore., garden. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

The house was not far from the local airstrip, but with a stunning view of mountains still wearing a white cap of snow. The walls and fences for this special event were hung with intricate quilts, most of modern design. Garden decor include many freestanding pieces by the owner, a metal sculptor. The whole site appealed to my collective creative delights.

But I was surprised — and then amused to be surprised — when I turned a corner into the garden and saw the huge bank of blooming California poppies ( Eschscholzia californica ). Wait, part of my brain said, why are homeowners in central Oregon growing California’s state flower?

Because, of course, they can.

It was a good reminder that the West Coast states are linked botanically. (Most of my poppies are long dead, pulled out about a month ago.) The gardens we visited around Sisters, Ore., this week proved more intriguing to me than the quilts hung there — though the quilts were indeed lovely.

The fundraising self-guided tour was presented by the Sisters Garden Club, the first time since 2019 the gardeners have been able to schedule it.

Western columbine in bloom.

The theme this year was “Living With Pollinators,” and I enjoyed watching bees burying themselves in purple penstemon flowers that would have a hard time surviving the heat in my yard. Of course there were plants too tender for Sacramento, but many, many others that grow at home, just peaking later in this Oregon climate. Cornflowers were still evident, and I spotted tall purple poppies, fluffy Shasta daisies, orange-yellow Western columbine and many clumps of yellow-flowered yarrow. Native plants were common: Oregon grape, anyone?

Very few tomatoes were evident in the vegetable gardens, and the one basil I spotted was in a pot, protected from deer by chicken wire.

We also were able to visit the local community garden, another quilt display site. I zeroed in on the plots, which were about 4-by-12-feet. Many had small fences or even cages over the soil, and I asked one of the gardener hosts why.

“Sage rats,” she said with a tone of disgust. “And mice. We were hit really bad last year. This year’s better so far, but …” She looked out over the garden. “Last year my garden was eaten to the ground, like someone took a lawnmower to it.”

The Sisters community garden, with quilts.

Sage rat, I found out, is the common term in the high-desert regions of central and eastern Oregon for the animal officially known as the Belding ground squirrel. It’s an eating machine, and apparently so common in the region that packs of them are the focus of organized target-shooting events.

And here I was envying the Sisters weather. (It rained here twice this week.) Sacramento gardeners do complain about the scorching heat, but at least we’re not battling sage rats!

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gardens Sacramento pests climate community garden garden tour gardening rodents bees native flowers. pollinators perennials flowers

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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