Author Topic: A Visit with LeeAnne (Read 3245 times)

Johns · « **on:** July 04, 2007, 02:53:44 PM »

A week ago yesterday, while on a trip to see our son, John, Karen, John
and I pulled into LeeAnne's driveway. As we were getting out of the car,
the lady came out and greeted us. She graciously led us into her
garden/flower/water garden realm where we got to see up close and
personal many of the fine horticultural treasures she has collected,
especially her Clematis collection. Oh, and then there were her heathers
and heaths, her water lilies, her cut leaf maples and lots of other goodies.
This is one of two pools in LeeAnnes front yard. I think the lilies are Perry's Baby Red (Correct me LeeAnne if I'm wrong) and the blue groundcover is Blue Star Creeper.

I think this is Hebe 'Blue Gem'

LeeAnnes lattice with three different Cematis.

The lady hereself! followed by my son, John.

One of LeeAnnes back yard pools. Notice the maple to the right of the waterfall.

LeeAnne then took us to the Internationa Rose Test Garden. That is my wife, Karen, strolling down one of the many paths. Acres and acres of roses and not one speck of black spot. LeeAnne suspects they spray them. LOL.

Afterwards, LeeAnne went with us through the Japanese Garden:

Nice waterfall, Huh?

Nice koi, too!

Next the four of us toured the Pittock Mansion. This view is from the yard of Portland below and Mt. Hood in the distance.

We then went to a local growers outlet to get some Washington strawberries because LeeAnne says they are the best. I can't argue with her. After spending a day with her, we all had the same opinion: LeeAnne is a sweetie!

Later in the week, Karen, John and I toured the Columbia River Highway. Here is a shot of Multnomah falls about twenty miles out of the city.

Shep · « **Reply #1 on:** July 04, 2007, 03:36:45 PM »

Nice Shots and thanks for sharing them.

Kat · « **Reply #2 on:** July 04, 2007, 04:22:47 PM »

Looks like y'all had a great time, stunning things to look at, & great company.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #3 on:** July 04, 2007, 04:26:23 PM »

Spectacular photos! I don't think I've seen many pics of LeeAnne's gardens, and WOW! I need to talk with her about clematis,,,I ordered one that won't be shipped until fall shipping -- I need pointers on this thing, I've killed every one I've ever tried to grow. Like Tinkster, mine turn black: what am I doing wrong?

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, thanks for posting pics!

Mikey · « **Reply #4 on:** July 04, 2007, 04:44:22 PM »

Looks like you had great weather. The ponds are looking great LeeAnne. The Japanese garden is really something. I've not heard of the Pittock Mansion and I'll have to Google that.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 04, 2007, 05:48:31 PM »

It was a really fun day. Portland does have many garden/pond destinations to tour. I'm grateful that you ignored all the dang weeds when mentioning my garden. Picture those Clematis with twice as many flowers today. They just exploded. All the dead bracts are gone from the dogwood too. I should have uploaded the photos already but I haven't gotten around to it. I'm so glad you sent me a PM and we got to spend the day together. I'm glad the weather cooperated too. I had a friend in from Arizona earlier and it was cloudy and rainy for his tour of Multnomah Falls.

Did you try Burgerville?

The Hebe is 'Eddington'

Mikey, I think you and Bev would love the Pittock Mansion. I'd been on the outside but never had been inside. The lady giving a tour was great. Glad we went.

Kittyzee, they get a condition called wilt. It is a PITA, but usually not fatal. Plant them 3-4" deeper in the ground than they are in the pot, on an angle towards the trellis/support. Cut back the top growth when you plant and in early spring. Cut them back hard (12-18" tall) the first two or three early springs no matter what pruning group they belong to.
This gets their root systems off to the best start and encourages multiple stems. Otherwise they tend to send up one or two really long vines with a few flowers.

The type III's generally don't wilt but some get powdery mildew. The type II's often wilt but don't get mildew. The Integrifolias don't cling and can be grown in the mixed border and are virtually trouble free.

jclements · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2007, 06:44:41 PM »

Johns, this is a perfect travel advertisement. I'm ready to book my next vacation at LeeAnne's house!!!

Ky Kim · « **Reply #7 on:** July 04, 2007, 07:54:10 PM »

WOW...Your yard and ponds are so pretty. It looks like you all had a great time/visit. That pic of the falls is amazing.

Kim

Jerry · « **Reply #8 on:** July 04, 2007, 07:56:38 PM »

We too were the beneficiaries of LeeAnn's hospitality. She took us to a unique restaurant called "Chicken Dump" Lots of fun!

Portland is one fine place!

Hey LuAnn . Nice avatar!

karen J · « **Reply #9 on:** July 04, 2007, 08:03:48 PM »

LeeAnne, your gardens are gorgeous! I love that Hebe... never heard of it until now.

Your advice on Clematis is amazing. I wish I had known all that years ago. Since I got BIL a type 2 ('Ramona') for his Bday, I am forwarding your advice to him. Thanks.

Johns, I'm glad you had a good time. Thanks for the super pics!

Sandye · « **Reply #10 on:** July 04, 2007, 11:03:41 PM »

LeeAnne, your ponds and gardens look gorgeous, as usual.

Johns, thank you so much for posting the great pictures.

LeeAnne, does that Blue Star Creeper bloom all summer? It's really pretty!

happyoutsidegirl · « **Reply #11 on:** July 05, 2007, 04:59:04 AM »

What a great time, and LeeAnn can I book a vacation at your house?

Desertponder · « **Reply #12 on:** July 05, 2007, 08:42:52 AM »

Beautiful!!

It appears that you got to visit some great places. The gardens are all beautiful.

Johns · « **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2007, 09:28:35 AM »

Jerry,

i think you may have been to "Tad's" for chicken n dumplins in troutville ( http://www.tadschicdump.com/index.htm ). BIG dumplins, don't you think?

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 05, 2007, 09:56:12 AM »

Did you go? You must have. It is my favorite restaurant. My grandmother even worked there before my time. I grew up eating there.

Yes, that is where I took Jerry and Krista. Jerry isn't wrong, the neon sign out front is burnt out and it says "Chic Dump" instead of Chicken and Dumplins. They keep it that way on purpose. Been that way for years.

We took Mikey and the fetching Mrs. Mikey there too.

I uploaded some pictures finally. Here is John, Karen and John at the rose garden.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2007, 10:00:51 AM »

Yup, everybody to LeeAnne's for their vacations!!

I bet that put the fear of God into her!!

Thanks for the compliments on my new avatar: I never realized so many people thought that Alanis was me!

I ain't complaining....

LeeAnn I just put in some blue star creeper this spring. It has started to take off, I hope mine fills in as good as yours has. It's a neat plant, but I'm sure the winters here will be harder on mine than yours is. I hope I can keep it going.

About the clematis: I didn't know there was a difference in clematis meaning types I, II, III!! And do they need full sun all the time, or can they take some shade during the day? This will make a difference where I plant my new one when I get it, since I had planned on putting it where it got a lot of afternoon shade. I can make alterations to that, if it won't work. Thanks for your expertise, I hope to be a clematis guru someday too!

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2007, 10:04:21 AM »

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #17 on:** July 05, 2007, 10:11:16 AM »

I knew that was Alanis and not you but I never saw your name LuAnn before and thought your name was Kitty. LOL

Yes, they can take some afternoon shade. Many of the big flowered ones will fade if they don't get it. Especially pink ones like Nelly Moser.

Clematis are classed in different pruning groups. I is no prune or very light prune. II is light prune and III is hard prune every year. However, pruning them wrong won't hurt them and all of them benefit from hard pruning for the first few years and whenever they get too scraggly or leggy or huge or tangled.

Sean · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2007, 10:32:02 AM »

LeeAnne is the best, Glad you enjoyed your visit with her.

Cheers,
Sean

Kittyzee · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2007, 10:35:24 AM »

Thanks LeeAnne for the advice. I looked up the name of the one I ordered: Clematis Cassis. It has plum rosettes and is a "stacked" bloom. It is also an evergreen which is the main reason I picked that one as I have a trellis that I would like to see green all year 'round. It is prune group II. Maybe I have picked a clematis that I won't be able to grow, but I'm going to try.

on the name Kitty, although that's why I picked the screen name because of all the kitties I have on the farm! I get called LeeAnn a lot also, since when writing LuAnn, people think it's an E and not a U! My GD#1 has the middle name of LeeAnn, an offshoot of my name also

Gorgeous roses, the red one looks like velvet and I think I can "smell" the second photo for sure!

barb · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2007, 11:37:28 AM »

What absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous pictures!! TFS!!!!

Desertponder · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2007, 11:59:00 AM »

Those roses are awesome. The first one does look like velvet.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2007, 12:28:28 PM »

It is a miniature that strongly resembles 'Black Magic' who isn't mini but I forgot the name.

LuAnn, I get called LuAnn all the time. LOL 'Cassis' is semi evergreen and most likely won't be in your climate. I'm not sure if it will be hardy there or not. I think it is one of the more tender ones. I have one but it is potted and was tiny and it hasn't done much.

I put a link to my album of photos from the rose garden on the terrestrial gardening section. Some of the photos are from previous visits.

Albums from a couple other local gardens are there too.

Japanese garden and Columbia River Gorge photo albums to follow.

Portland does have great scenery and many garden themed things to do. The entire Pacific Northwest does. There are tons of gardens in BC and in WA too. Just come when it isn't raining.

barb · « **Reply #23 on:** July 05, 2007, 12:29:47 PM »

Well, all these pictures made me go to the nursery to buy more plants, I'll have you know. LOL!

thepitclub · « **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2007, 01:19:50 PM »

LeeAnne, your place is simply beautiful. So tastefully done and well groomed!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #25 on:** July 05, 2007, 05:06:42 PM »

I have the knack for picking out the most difficult plants to grow...even though it said it was hardy zones 6 thru 9. Well, we'll see, I've killed more than ONE plant in my time!

tinkster · « **Reply #26 on:** July 05, 2007, 06:26:12 PM »

leeanne your pond and garden is beautiful! Dont think I have ever seen one of yours before. Wish you would post a bunch to look at!

tinkster

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #27 on:** July 05, 2007, 06:44:59 PM »

Kittyzee, I am wrong, Cassis is not tender, should be fine, I was thinking of a different Clematis.
It is a group III which means hard prune every year.

http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=2977

Tink, I'll post on the terrestrial gardening section if I can find some good shots. Most of my pics are close ups of the flowers.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #28 on:** July 05, 2007, 08:25:21 PM »

Oh thanks LeeAnn!! Is it usual for a gardening co. to wait and ship until fall? I'm new to the web purchasing flowers and such. I figured they would ship it if I paid for it and it would be up to me to plant it and kill it anytime I wanted....

No, seriously, it must be ok in zone 6 to plant in late Aug?

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #29 on:** July 06, 2007, 09:28:59 AM »

I've never lived where it is that cold so I don't know but if it arrives as a tiny start or bare root you should pot it into a gallon pot for a year before putting it in the ground. The pot would need protection over the winter.