I'm in Ocosta, between Aberdeen and Westport. We've just been here a little more than 2 years, so I don't yet have a ton of stuff to share yet either--but a few things. I do some trading with neighbors who are really excellent gardeners, and I just took the Master Gardener class (talk about finding out what you don't know!). I glanced at your trade list and I'll study it a bit more later, but I wanted to respond to let you know I'm out here.

georgia

good morning Ocosta! I know where that is, I think. (grin) Georgia, I hope we can trade plants and seeds and swap stories too. Don't ya love small town life? How is your soil out there? You are likely at a higher elevation than I am.

I am jealous you get to have chickens, that was added to my mortgage contract at some point that I 'cannot keep fowl', bewildering me. But - they did not think of rabbits, which would also improve my soil.

I had intended to add fruit trees (as you did) but simply haven't the money right now. I want to put in sweet cherry trees if you know of a good source, whips are fine they don't need to be two-year old's.

Well, great to meet you... don't be a stranger,
GH

We love the area, and the change from city life is great. Our soil is mostly clay, but it could be worse. The chickens have been fun so far, but I hear that when you do the math it ends up costing you $4 a dozen to produce eggs for which the going rate is $1 a dozen. If I keep the whole flock, I'll have plenty of eggs, so you are welcome to take advantage of the value pricing. LOL!

I'd like to have bunnies, but I haven't worked out how to enjoy them without keeping them in little hutches--which doesn't seem satisfactory to me or likely to them.

I got my fruit trees from Top Foods market for $11 or $12 a piece in the early spring. They all seem to have taken, so far. I've got a crabapple, 4 apples, 2 plums, and 3 cherries. I know that I need to buy a pollinator for my plums, and I've ordered one from a local nursery that will arrive in the spring. My favorite local nursery is Cedar Falls in Hoquiam. It's a little ways out of town. Nice people with a good selection.

My big problem right now (besides mud) is that we just invested in a ton of asphalt (actually 125 tons to be exact). We added a kind of circular drive so there wouldn't be so much jockeying around getting in and out of here. It goes around where I had my big bed that is supposed to some day be my cottage garden. Admittedly it was already pretty weedy and still quite sparse, but there needed to be a change in grade along one end so I had to pull out everything into pots. I anticipated putting everything back within 48 hours and hoping for the best, but they didn't put enough top soil in and we have drainage problems now. I'm chomping at the bit to get these plants back in the ground (it's going to freeze tonight..yikes) but I need to find another source for soil.

You are welcome to come have a look. I'm always interested in opinions on what I should do where. I used to never have enough space. Now I have space but no money. There's never enough time, but that's a universal problem. I'm right on 105--the highway to Westport. I'm 2 miles past the Ocean Spray cannery on the right. Look for a tiny green sign that says 1814. You can't see the house from the street. Probably best if you call first (DH is a night owl and not up very early) 648-2432.

Hello friends and future neighbors-
I'm moving from Savannah GA to Aberdeen in a couple of weeks, so looking at the sites for my new gardening home. Since the move is so far, I won't be able to take plants with me. But I've gifted many of my much-enjoyed plants to friends, and may see some starts from them down the road.

I'd love to meet local gardeners once I arrive too. It's a great way to plant oneself in one's new home.

girlsaylor

Welcome! It's quite different here than in the South (I have good friends in Peachtree City), but it's just as lovely and has its own unique charms. That we can grow just about anything here says it all.

I'm not quite sure how well you know the area. I have a lot of links I could send you for information about the area (with lots of pictures)--the kinds of things we enjoyed looking at while we were in California waiting for escrow to close up here. Let me know.

georgia

good morning Georgia and girlsaylor, now we're really having some cold nights! My daylilies have a few buds I hope to see open before frost.

The emails I received from you do not allow a reply, so please email me with your email address, thanks! Or, you can go to your GardenWeb account and alter that selection on your email.
GH-

Hey there GH!
Just checking in. Maybe we should be called the newbies? Lol

I recently cut down all my brugs and mailed a cord of wood to friends in the North to make new bruggers for next year. There were tons, and if they grow well, I'll get a selection back for my Aberdeen garden. :-) Been getting teased about mailing a cord of wood to each of them!

girlsaylor

Hi GH,
I changed my profile to activate the e-mail link. I didn't like that cold snap, and I'm glad we've had a reprieve. Did I understand correctly that you are looking for spring bulbs? I have a bunch I haven't planted yet and am afraid I won't get the grading done in time to get them in the ground so that they get a good chilling. They are a mix of daffs and tulips, for the most part. It sounds like you have plenty from your list, but if you are interested in these, let me know what specifically you might have too much of and would like to share. You mentioned liatrus--do you have excess? My neighbor had a gorgeous display, and I'd like to try them. I also have excess daisies--dozens of them, although they are not all in the best shape. I'd be happy to just donate some if you'd like to give a shot at nursing them back to health. They remained in flats way too long as I had no where to put them.

Girlsaylor, what are brugs? I'll be trying to guess this all night. :)

Hi Friends!

Sorry to be offline so long, but there's been much life going on, with selling one house and buying another at the opposite corner of the country. I am finally here, and finally online, tho printer and scanner cables were part of the 25 or so boxes of stuff the moving company lost/stole, so I have minimal comforts and necessities right now.

We are in Aberdeen, and DH jokes about us being 'Townies' now. Yep, it's true. I went from growing up as a Townie to living in the country, then island living in GA, and back to being a Townie. But we love it here. So beautiful, and wonderful people.

I'm having gardening withdrawal right now, especially with looking at a dusting of snow this morning. I could only bring a couple of plants with great sentimental value with me, til I loaded up my china and crystal and 3 parrots in carriers, ha. But the trip was good and we're busy unpacking and settling in. Big old house needing lots of love (read: work and money!).

Coreopsis, brugs are brugmansias. I am so sorry for keeping you up all night a month ago. Hopefully you've had some sleep in the last month tho.

girlsaylor

Hi girlsaylor,

Welcome to you & your DH...sure a big change in locales! There are great aspects to both & I suppose a few negatives as well (you don't mind trading hurricanes for earthquakes & volcanos, do you?!). Your first year here, you may feel it's damp & chilly. But your blood will thicken and you'll find it's pretty comfortable. Then when you go back to the South for a visit you'll find you don't handle the heat as well as you used to. At least that was my experience after I moved back here from Texas.

Have fun with all the plant material that flourishes here in such variety; especially those that fare so poorly in hot climates (fuchsias, hydrangeas, tuberous begonias, many ferns, rhododendrons, etc.).

Again, welcome to the PNW.

Patrick

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Oh Patrick, thank you for the warm welcome! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous! We can grow peonies here?!!! My all-time favorite flower is the peony. I had many very old ones when I lived in Ohio, some that were starts from great grandma's garden even. Names lost long ago. Sadly they weren't suited to my Savannah home, so I no longer have them. :-(

Is that bleeding heart I see in the upper right corner of the first photo and the center of the third one? Looks like a fucsia in the right on the last photo - is it hardy here? Nice contrast of deep purple with the hosta - tho I don't know what the purple one is. What is that fern on the left in the last photo? I love the fine look of it. There's also a very dark green leaf in the last photo on the right that's large-ish - is it something from the aroid family?

Oh well, sorry for firing so many questions this early in the day, but I'm just loving your photos. Thanks for sharing.

girlsaylor