Meet Darcy Daniels, garden designer and creator of eGardenGo, a resource she created to help gardeners easily choose beautiful plant combinations to reflect their personal style.  Darcy gardens in NE Portland, USDA Zone 8b, and we are excited to feature her profile on the HPSO blog so we can all get to know her better!  How did I become involved in gardening professionally? I’d always loved plants when I was growing up, but it wasn’t until I bought a house in 1998 that things changed. The house is a small bungalow, and when I moved in, it had no garden… 

Meet Maurice Horn, soon-to-be-retired co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, Oregon. He gardens in Sauvie Island, USDA Zone 8 (7B) and has contributed articles to Horticulture, The International Clematis Journal, and the like. Maurice generously shared his knowledge and experience with HPSO in this profile. Enjoy! My favorite book or garden writer: Over the last ten years, I have not had much time to read garden books. Instead, I have concentrated on plant monographs and publications that keep me up to date on plant nomenclature and new introductions. I also subscribe to The Garden magazine which is published by the… 

ARTICLE BY: LAURA HELDRETH Laura Heldreth teaches beginning gardeners through her work as a garden coach and as an adjunct professor at Clark Community College where she teaches gardening courses through the community education program.  Laura volunteers through the Clark County WSU Master Gardeners organization and is recognized this year as its Master Gardener of the Year. Laura gardens in Vancouver, Washington. *** The question that I most frequently ask a nursery employee is, “What do you have that grows in dry shade under Douglas Fir trees and that can handle the pee from Barnaby, my 200-pound male Great Dane?”… 

Most every gardener thinks about things like the condition of their soil, whether/when to mulch and what to use, what kind of fertilizer is best for what they grow, and myriad other questions that have to do with supporting their gardens so that they flourish. Luckily we have lots of experts in our midst here in the Portland gardening community, and one of those folks is Heather Havens of Concentrates Inc. If you’re not familiar with them already, Concentrates is a supplier of agricultural products specializing in organic soil amendments, fertilizers, feeds, minerals, and salts. Concentrates’ staff members include organic… 

ARTICLE BY: AMY WHITWORTH Amy Whitworth is a garden designer and owner of Plan-it Earth Design in Portland, Oregon since 1998. She teaches Naturescaping & Rain Gardens for E. Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District. She is on the board of APLD Oregon as legislative advocate protecting the rights of landscape designers in Oregon for way too many years. *** You know that feeling when you walk through the forest? It surrounds you and activates all of your senses. It makes you feel good. The Japanese have a name for it: shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. In the Pacific Northwest, as… 

ARTICLE BY: SUSAN MASTA Susan Masta is a biology professor at Portland State University, and also curates the insect collection at PSU’s Natural History Museum. Her garden is very much a part of her teaching, as she integrates her observations in her garden into her courses and public outreach efforts. *** It’s 6 pm and still a sweltering 97 degrees F outside. Time to get out of the house shuttered against the heat and take a stroll through the shaded part of the garden. Stepping outside I can see the catmint, Nepeta ‘Walkers Low,’ is abuzz with Vosnesensky bumble bees. These… 

ARTICLE BY: BOB HYLAND Bob Hyland is a Portland-based garden designer and former HPSO board member. He sells an eclectic, contemporary assortment of outdoor garden pots at his shop Contained Exuberance next to Xera Plants in southeast Portland. Bob designs container displays and plant-driven gardens when not in his Shop. *** I love pairing pots and plants to boost a garden, outdoor patio, and business entrance in Portland’s summer-dry climate. Well-placed containers carrying artful plant combinations become focal points during the dog days of July and August. Granted, that’s easier for me to say and do with a shop full… 

ARTICLE BY: DARCY DANIELS Darcy Daniels is a longtime HPSO member, garden designer with Bloomtown® Gardens, and most recently the creator of eGardenGo, a website devoted to helping gardeners unlock the secrets of successful planting combinations. In this post, she dishes 8 tips garnered from 20 years of thinking about combining plants and garden-making. *** I’m quite practical and down-to-earth when it comes to choosing plants for the gardens I make, particularly those I do with clients. I tend to be quite a bit more experimental in my own space, but most of the time, my clients don’t want to… 

ARTICLE BY: BETH HANSEN-WINTER Beth Winter is a HPSO Board Member, Photographer, Book Designer, and Hortiholic *** After 20 years of collecting, my husband began to chide me for having “too much” garden art. I must confess that when there are no leaves on the deciduous trees and shrubs to block the direct views, the garden IS a little bit crowded, but honestly, I don’t think one can have too much garden art! There are two things a garden needs in the winter when trees are bare and perennials are nonexistent: structural plants and garden art. Hardscaping defines a garden,… 

The holiday season is nearly upon us, and while we are all loathe to admit it, it’s increasingly less inviting to spend time out in the garden.  The nights are drawing in, and we’re looking forward to celebrating the season with friends & family as a way of bringing more light into our lives.  If you count gardeners among your friends & family, you’re likely thinking about what gifts will delight them the most while they dream of spring.  We are lucky that Abigail Pierce, HPSO Member & Owner of Groundswell Garden Design, has done the legwork for us by curating…