Archive for drought tolerant plantings

Olives on olive trees in Portland

Success with Olive Trees (and other Drought-Tolerant Plants) in Portland

Posted by Carol 
· March 10, 2025 
Olive trees in Portland passing the test of time.
Designers test tree.  This Olive tree stands the test of time. I drive by this tree often and have watched it handle 10 Portland winters.  In summer it gets hot south sun with reflected heat from paving in NW Industrial area of Portland (NW Pettygrove).

Why Olive Trees in Portland?

Welcome to a fresh take on Portland landscaping, where each client’s garden is crafted with care, precision, and a touch of the unexpected. As a dedicated landscape designer, I take great joy in transforming outdoor spaces using drought-tolerant and unique plants. Portland homeowners often seek a landscape that stands out, featuring plants that are not only resilient but also unusual and captivating. Enter using the unexpected: olive trees in Portland!

Embrace the Beauty of Unique, Drought-Tolerant Landscapes with Olive Trees in Portland

Olive trees, celebrated for their year long silvery leaves and calming presence, are becoming a favorite in Portland. They fit beautifully into small urban gardens, offering evergreen elegance throughout the winter. Not only are they drought-tolerant, but some varieties may even surprise you with fruit—olives, of course! Placing these trees requires a well educated and artistic touch to ensure they thrive, making your garden plantings resilient and attractive.  They are also a favorite for modern landscape design style in Portland.

Learning Through Decades of Keen Observation of Portland Landscapes

My passion for plant placement stems from years of observation. As I explore Portland’s streets, visit new and old client landscapes, and participate in local garden tours, I collect insights from each tree and unique plant. A notable lesson came when olive trees in Portland — on NW 19th and Pettygrove — faced our worst ever winter cold February of 2024 with an unusually frigid and powerful east wind. So many broadleaf evergreens in Portland were damaged beyond anything I’ve ever seen but these mature trees maintained their serene and glowing leaves with no damage at all. They’ve stood the test of time in a south-facing, east-protected location—a testament to thoughtful placement.

The Right Plant in the Right Place

From experience, I know that plant exposure is a key to the right location for a plant. My go-to rule for olive trees is a southern or southwest exposure, where city structures can shield them from harsh winds and cold east exposure. Such insights are enriched by conversations with experts like Sean Hogan at Cistus Designs and  Barbara Porter of Oregon Olive Trees in Dallas Oregon, alongside valuable reads like Pacific Horticulture…….. and talking with other landscape designers and of course Mike Darcy.  

Oregon Olive Tree sells olive trees in Portland and is trustworthy for advice on these beautiful Mediterranean plants.
Oregon Olive Tree grows  and sells this beautiful multi stem Mission Olive Tree for instant privacy and beauty. Olea europaea ‘Mission Olive’. Photo credit: Barbara Porter
Olive leaf on parking strip tree + my favorite nail polish, "Where Did My Mango" by OPI
Olive leaf on parking strip tree + my favorite nail polish, “Where Did My Mango” by OPI

Research: More Than a Popularity Contest

When researching plant care, I rely on trusted sources, avoiding the echo chamber of unreliable websites. By echo chamber I mean the tendency of people to simply copy information about a plant from a web site into their blog or their retail plant web site without checking its accuracy.  Finding the same information about a plant on ten web sites doesn’t make it accurate. Cross-referencing reliable information and consulting knowledgeable peers ensures that my recommendations are tailored to Portland’s unique climate, rather than simply following internet trends.

Planning for Success with Olive Trees in Portland, Oregon

Take, for instance, a client’s heart felt desire for an olive tree in an east exposure. My client was willing to gamble so despite breaking my rule, the olive tree is thriving, in part thanks to a strategically placed near by building providing some protection from harsh winds and early morning sun. This success story (so far so good) underscores the importance of customizing each landscape plan to the client and to the site.  However I will only call it a true success after this olive tree has made it 5 years.

Fruit and foliage of 'Mission' olive tree Olea europaea 'Mission Olive'. This variety was developed in California in the 1800's by Franciscan missionaries. Photo courtesy of Oregon Olive Tree Barbara Porter
Fruit and foliage of ‘Mission’ olive tree Olea europaea ‘Mission Olive’. This variety was developed in California in the 1800’s by Franciscan missionaries. Photo courtesy of Oregon Olive Tree Barbara Porter

Recently, (February 2025)  I stumbled upon mature olive trees thriving in an unexpected east-facing location, providing me with more opportunities to learn. These trees were only a mile away from the NW Pettygrove street trees.  My curiosity is aroused but until proven otherwise, I’ll continue recommending south or southwest exposure for optimal olive tree cold hardiness, resilience and growth.

The Power of Collaboration and Innovative Design

Nature occasionally challenges our expectations. While I have principles for placing olive trees, I remain open to learning from nature’s surprises and integrating these lessons into future projects.

Contact me

Ultimately, creating a garden with a diverse, low water to drought-tolerant palette is our passion. Whether you dream of a pollinator plant paradise, more traditional plants, or unique Mediterranean plants like olive trees, our success is measured by how well we fulfill your needs and wants.  By combining our expertise with your known desired wish list or vision, we can craft a landscape that is unique and enduring. 

I enjoy talking with prospective Portland clients so contact me and let’s talk.  Stay tuned for our next blog, where I will share more practical advice for enhancing cold hardiness in your plants, including olive trees. 

Categories : Drought Tolerant Garden, Garden Tips, Gardening Green, New Improved Plants, Parking Strips, Plants I Recommend, Tree Selection
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Flower arrangement with Black-eyed Susan.

The Beauty of Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) in Flower Arrangements

Posted by Carol 
· March 3, 2025 
Rudbeckia 'Herbstonne' w Gold Band Miscanthus grass in Portland summer garden
Rudbeckia lacinata Herbstonne’ with  Gold Band Miscanthus grass in Portland summer garden. It’s still flowering in October.

My clients (in Portland, Oregon) often want a garden design with lots of flowers for making flower arrangements.  I’m happy to create plantings in the landscape that can do double duty, plants that solve a problem.  This tall black-eyed Susan plant, Rudbeckia l. ‘Herbstonne’ works well to screen a fence and use the flowers in the vase from mid summer to frost. They are dramatic all on their own or paired with a more dainty flower.  They are easy to grow and are very useful to pollinators.

Types of Black-Eyed Susan for Your Cutting Garden

If you want to use Rudbeckia for summer  to fall flower arrangements, your choices are abundant. Some varieties start flowering in June, others start in mid July and may continue til frost. Deadhead or remove spent flowers on your plants to encourage new blooms.

Short Lived Perennial Rudbeckia have an Abundance of Flowers

Rudbeckia hirta: A native that hosts some butterflies. Grow the species if you want to be serious about providing for native insects or buy a few and allow it to reseed. The species is tall ( 4’ ) so expect some leaning here and there.  It is called a short lived perennial but can behave like an annual or a biennial in Portland gardens some years.  It will wear itself out flowering profusely in a year or two, so be sure to let some seedlings remain.

Popular varieties of Rudbeckia h. like ‘Denver Daisy’ and ‘Irish Eyes’ offer attractive bright green seed heads. Their progeny (seedlings) will not necessarily look the same as what you bought but there is a lot of fun seeing what they look like over the years.  Bees and other pollinators will like them too but unless it is the species some of our native pollinators won’t be able to feed or host on the cultivated varieties.  This is a very easy plant to grow.

Long Lasting Perennial Rudbeckia

My favorite is Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Little Henry’, with an unusual spoon shape at the end of each petal and it is about 24 to 30” tall so a dwarf version of ‘Henry Eilers’ which is closer to 4’ tall. It starts flowering in late summer to frost.

Obviously, (because I write about this one so often), Rudbeckia lacinata ‘Herbstonne’ or ‘Autumn Sun’, reaching up to 7 feet tall, offers a vibrant clean yellow flower with a large and bright green cone in the center.

Low maintenance long flowering Rudbeckia f. (probably Goldstrum) in SE Portland garden.

Rudbeckia fulgida, the species at 4′ plus can be too tall for some of my gardens. Varieties like ‘Goldstrum‘ are tall enough for longer stems but much shorter than the species. Little Gold Star is a great plant but at 18” tall, don’t expect long stems. It’s compact and with a neat sort of uniform shape it looks good enough for use in a  front yard planting plan.

Rudbeckia triloba variety has shorter slightly rounded petals versus other black-eyed Susan with spiky petals.

Rudbeckia triloba: Also called brown-eyed Susan, this species has an airy, billowing shape to the plant and requires more summer water than hirta or most perennial forms of Rudbeckia.  I love this flower in the vase because it is a smaller more delicate flower than other black-eyed Susans.  Cultivated varieties of Rudbeckia triloba can include shades of oranges and dark reds, as well as the more typical goldenrod color. It seeds about intensely, is tall and will lean into other plants which can be charming. If you like order in your garden pass this one by. Here is one from our local Portland nursery Xera called ‘Prairie Glow’.

Vase Preparation Tips-Making your flower arrangement last

On line you will find all kinds of advice for treating the stems to help them uptake water and therefore make the flower last longer.   I’m a big fan of super simple Simon and I swear some people want to make things more difficult. So I never treat the stems of rudbeckia with flame or hot water or pounding them, before putting them in the vase. I place all the flowers in cool water as soon as possible, remove any leaves below water level, and then recut the stems at an angle. Once that is done they go in the vase.

I don’t use preservative packets and I won’t judge if you do but my flowers last a long time because I change the water every few days. If I have time… and only if I love love love the arrangement… I make fresh cuts on the bottom of the stems every few days and change the water. Wow does that ever make my cut flowers last a lot longer!

Stripping petals from some black-eyed Susan flowers to use just the naked seed head on the stem adds texture and drama to my arrangement. Many seed heads of Rudbeckia are a zippy lime or olive green, offering a wonderful color contrast too. They dry to a dark brown and remain useful in the vase for at least a month or two.

Considerations for Wildlife and Pollinators

How to manage the taller species plants that are so great for wildlife (and your vase)?  4’ or taller can be difficult for small gardens.  The true natives, species versus cultivated varieties, are much better for native bees and pollinators because the  varieties don’t look right to the bee or pollinator and they don’t visit them. We have hundreds of native bees and pollinators and they struggle to find food or a host plant.

You can employ what my gramma called “pinching back’. Cut your plant to ½ its height in mid  to late May.  I use my by pass hand pruner for the job not my fingers.  The stems are too tough for fingers.  Your plant will still flower lots but the stem will be shorter and sturdier for the rest of the growing season and still long enough for flower arranging.

Feed Winter Finches with Rudbeckia Seed Heads

I stop deadheading in early fall to allow the plant to focus its energy for seed production. The seeds become food for finches and black cap chickadees and the dried cones look good in my winter garden.  Solitary native bees will use the hollow stems for nests so I leave the old stems as long as I can.

My Favorite Fall Flower Arrangement

My favorite fall flower arrangement uses Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ with variegated Miscanthus grass blades and large, lacy white cones of Hydrangea paniculata for an elegant late-summer arrangement.  The rudbeckia flowers dry losing their petals and leaving behind the seed head along with the dry hydrangea flower head.  This bouquet can be maintained as a dried flower arrangement for months.

Contact Me

Are you looking for a thoughtful planting plan focused on color, visual satisfaction, or feeding pollinators and birds? Do you want a designer who knows more than just trees and shrubs? Perhaps you want a low-maintenance backyard that still supports cutting flowers and feeds bees? You can have beauty, low maintenance, and pollinator-friendly plantings. Just ask us to create it for you. I return phone calls and respond quickly to contact forms.

My fall bouquet finally falling apart after over 2 months. Rudbeckia seed heads, panicle hydrangea cones are still going strong.
Categories : Dramatic Flowers, Drought Tolerant Garden, Garden Tips, Native Plants, Plants I Recommend, pollinator plants
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Low Maintenance Ornamental Grasses for Your Portland Garden: Part 3 of 3

Posted by Landscape Design in a Day 
· November 10, 2024 

 

Switch Grass is a Native, Low Maintenance Addition to Your Portland Garden Design

Panicum virgatum American Switch Grass glowing red in mid summer in Portland Oregon

Panicum virgatum American Switch Grass ‘Ruby Ribbons’ glowing red in mid summer in Portland Oregon

Switch Grass: Colorful grass blades with drought tolerance too

Switch grass is a native American grass that offers dramatic color and form, making it a standout in any garden:

  • Mass Planting: This grass looks fantastic when massed or used as a focal point. It’s particularly effective in modern landscapes but fits well into naturalistic gardens too.
  • Seasonal Interest: With its vibrant mid-summer and fall colors, switch grass provides interest when many other plants are fading. I have noticed many of the newer varieties of switch grass blades color up even by mid June depending on how hot it has been.
  • Water Needs: Once established, switch grass is very low water. However, it’s crucial to plant it in well-drained soil. Avoid areas where water can puddle, as this will cause the roots to rot. If you still have powerful overhead sprinkler spray be aware the water spray can cause these grasses to fall over.  Drip irrigation is better for this reason and that it is easier to water deeply and infrequently which is a perfect fit for this grass.
  • Height Considerations:
  • Stick with grasses under 4′ tall for low maintenance.  I always use shorter cultivars 36 to 44 inches tall to avoid my clients having to add supports.  But, taller varieties (such as 6 or 7′ tall switch grass) can be so stunning if you’re willing to put a ring or other support around the plant in spring.  Piet Ouldalf, a famous garden designer uses heavy metal rings with feet (the ring was about 14” to 18”) around his 6′ tall ornamental grasses.  I found this video link on the web for a grass ring but wow these grasses in the video are huge and much wider than any of the tall grasses that I use.   I was in Piet’s garden back in 2001 and saw the supports he uses.  It made me laugh because I had thought when my tall grasses flopped that I was overwatering or doing something wrong but even the master uses supports for tall grasses.  If you are an adventurous gardener, willing to use supports, go for some of the tall varieties like 8′ foot tall Thundercloud Switch Grass.

Switch grass used as a colorful entry walk plant in S.W. Portland in a drought tolerant garden of grasses, herbs, and succulents.

Switch grass is a versatile and resilient choice, offering beauty and adaptability to various garden styles.  It doesn’t provide well for Willamette Valley native insects but it pairs beautifully with pollinator friendly plants like Blanket Flower, Salvias, Penstemons and more. It makes an orderly but loose effect with native pollinator friendly shrubs like Coyote Bush.

Bringing It All Together

Sedum Autumn Joy contrasts beautifully with Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum background) in Portland garden.

Creating a custom landscape design requires a deep understanding of plant behavior. As a landscape designer, my goal is to select plants that not only look beautiful but also thrive in your specific environment with minimal maintenance. Here’s how I can help:

  • Custom Designs: I tailor designs to fit your space and lifestyle and your eco consciousness.  I won’t proselytize but am happy to create plantings that feed our native insects.  Birds gotta eat too and what they eat are insects.  Or maybe we will only use a few native plants and use more non native plants that help bees and use less water all without cramping your style.  Whether you want a low-maintenance garden or are more interested in plants that require learning how to care for them… I’ll create a plan that works for you.
  • Knowledge and Experience: I understand how different plants grow and perform and what it takes to care for them.    Lets create a thriving and vibrant planting plan for your new landscape.
  • Personalized Advice: We’ll discuss what “low maintenance” actually means to you and design a garden that meets your expectations and provides the stunning visual appeal you expect from a landscape designer.

Get in Touch

Creating a custom landscape design is more than just picking plants – it’s about understanding how they will perform in your unique environment and how much care they will need.  If you’re ready to transform your garden, contact me for a phone consultation. Let’s create a stunning, low-maintenance landscape tailored to your needs and preferences.

Categories : Design Basics, Drought Tolerant Garden, Garden Tips, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, Native Plants, Plants I Recommend
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Low Maintenance Ornamental Grasses for Your Portland Garden: Part 1 of 3

Posted by Carol 
· November 2, 2024 

Creating Stunning Landscapes with Ornamental Grasses: Expert Tips from a Landscape Designer

Low maintenance ornamental grass, Fescue Elijah Blue in Portland front yard with colorful low water sedum groundcovers.

Drought tolerant and colorful N.E. Portland front yard boasts ornamental grasses like Blue Fescue.

As a landscape designer, one of my favorite elements to incorporate into a garden is ornamental grasses. Not only do they provide year-round interest, but they are also incredibly low maintenance and many are drought-tolerant. Grasses visually tie the plants in the garden together and add a calming influence.

I’m excited to share some insights and tips on using grasses in Portland landscapes and how to keep them looking their best.  The grasses I am talking about today are available at most garden nurseries and are perfect for creating a striking, low-maintenance landscape.

Fescue Grass: Elegance in Blue

Festuca glauca – Blue fescue is a stunning choice for any landscape. It’s soft blue hued blades add a touch of elegance and contrast, especially when paired with vibrant perennials like sedums. (They work with so many low water plantings.)  Here are some important tips you need to keep your fescue looking its best:

  • Planting: Space them further apart than you might think – at least 24 to 30 inches. This allows them to grow and shine without overcrowding.  Low ground cover plants (under 5 inches) can be planted close by and creep right up to the grass.
  • Maintenance: Mostly, you’ll just need to comb out the dead foliage in the spring with the occasional spruce up as needed.  When they get too big or start getting floppy, split them (very few people do this anymore), or just replace them entirely. They typically look great for about 3 -5 years assuming you didn’t overwater or over fertilize them which can cause rapid growth. I’ve never fertilized mine.
  • Water Needs: Once established, fescue has low water needs.  Figure out how you will water this area much less than other areas of your landscape.  If you can’t cut back the water using your irrigation system without damaging other plantings, try re configuring your overhead spray irrigation or close off the section of drip tube by replacing it with tube that has no holes in it.  (The term ‘established’ means the plant has been in one place for a full year or two.)
  • How to Kill this Plant:  Water it every day in the summer, over fertilize it, or plant it in a low place where winter water will puddle which will cause root rot.
  • Companion Plants: In this garden I used sedums, hens and chicks, and lower water perennials like Rudbeckia (black eyed susan) which are excellent companions.  The low sedums and succulents fill in around the grasses and add bursts of color. Other low water perennials such as colorful salvias, penstemons and blanket flower (Gaillardia) work well as do dwarf pines or other low water dwarf conifers.

Low Maintenance Reality

Even though you may need to replace fescue every 3-4 years, I still consider them low maintenance.  Sometimes I use fescue as a temporary planting, removing them once long term plantings such as dwarf evergreen shrubs have filled in and reached a more mature size.   Other times I deliberately use fescue for the long term vision with the client knowing they will be planning to replace them as needed.

Additionally,

Continue reading about Portland low maintenance ornamental grasses in the garden in our upcoming Part 2.

Contact us

Hilary and I love plants.  We love making planting combinations that work well together both from a cultural needs and visual spice point of view.    Our knowledge can integrate your landscape plantings and take them to a new level of attractiveness and durability.

 

 

Categories : Design Basics, Drought Tolerant Garden, Garden Tips, Landscape Styles, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, No Lawn Front Yards, Plants I Recommend
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Low Maintenance Ornamental Grasses for Your Portland Garden: Part 2 of 3

Posted by Landscape Design in a Day 
· October 25, 2024 

Low Maintenance Fountain Grass: The Steady Eddie of Ornamental Grasses In Your Portland Garden Design

Portland area residential landscape designer.

Fountain grasses planted with late flowering Italian lavender create great textural contrast and cascade down this dry hot slope showing early fall color.

Fountain Grasses: Versatile, Vibrant and Low Water

Fountain grasses are popular for a reason – their graceful, often arching foliage and feathery plumes add movement and texture to any garden. They work beautifully in both formal and informal settings and look great with a variety of plants:

  • Commercial Appeal: Fountain grasses are often seen in commercial plantings, but don’t let that deter you. In residential gardens, they pair wonderfully with pollinator friendly naturalistic garden plants like heather, lavender, shrubs and many more pollinator friendly perennials that are stunning with fountain grasses.
  • Crowded Beds: When your planting composition starts to look crowded, it’s time to split or thin out some of the grasses. Many grasses including fountain grass need to be split every 5 years minimum.  If you overwater they may flop and they will need splitting sooner.  Splitting or thinning out some grass plants keeps the planting composition looking the way we designed it and avoids having the plantings grow into each other.  Crowding spoils the beauty of the different plants shapes and how their distinct shapes contrast with each other. I praise the faster growth of grasses over shrubs.  Using grasses means we don’t have to wait 5 years or more for the planting scheme to come together.
  • Versatility: Fountain grasses can fit into various garden styles, from modern to cottage. They’re also a great choice for adding height and interest. Last of all they can be used as temporary plantings while waiting for trees and shrubs to mature.

  • modern front walk with grasses heathers and lavanders in low water landscape design for front yard in SE Portland

    Modern front walk with grasses, heathers and lavanders in low water landscape.

    Drought Tolerant Planting:  This plant handles lots of sun, and heat in Portland.  Once established most fountain grasses will take plenty of heat with a minimal amount of water.  These past two summers we have had high temps for longer periods than usual so the grasses next to concrete may need occasional deep watering to prevent scorched leaves.

Low maintenance Fountain grass in dry Portland garden.

Dry garden in N.E. Portland with Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alocuroides)

Remember, even commonly used plants can create stunning effects when thoughtfully paired and integrated into your landscape.  Commercial plantings typically use one kind of plant en masse which is often kind of boring and doesn’t provide the diversity our pollinators need.  Pairing fountain grass with dark red hens and chicks and drought tolerant heather (like Calluna vulgaris ‘Mrs Ron Gray’)  is an eye catching combination.

Problems with Fountain grass are similar to fescue, overwater, fertilize, or plant in a heavy clay soil that is soaking wet in winter.  Dog pee can brown out sections of fountain grass.  This urine damaged section often dies out and it doesn’t recover.  I never set them close to the public sidewalk in city front yards with lots of dog walkers.  Some neighborhoods have a lot more dog traffic than others.

Continue reading about Portland low maintenance ornamental grasses in the garden in our upcoming Part 3.

Contact me today for a custom landscape design that brings your vision to life. Together, we can create a beautiful, sustainable garden that you’ll enjoy for years to come.

 

Categories : Design Basics, Drought Tolerant Garden, Garden Tips, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, Plants I Recommend
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