Plant Talk: Paul's Himalayan musk rose

July 31, 2009

Wall of Roses

If you're looking for a mammoth rose to coat a wall or drape an arbor, consider Paul's Himalayan Musk. And if you want an example of how abundantly it blooms, walk down 2nd street in Langley, and right next to the bakery, in front of the Coldwell Banker office, is the most sumptuous example of this or maybe any rose I've ever seen. It creates a cave of sweet scent and shade right along the sidewalk.

This antique musk rose is an exuberant rambler and climber, blooming pale pink from June through early August. You have to stand beneath it and inhale to really bask in this rose's old-fashioned beauty, but here are a couple of photos to give you the effect of a full-blown Paul's Himalayan Musk at its peak:

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New Book: Petal & Twig

The first reviews on the new book are in! From Publisher's Weekly:
"Open your eyes and keep it simple: those are two lessons Easton (The New Low Maintenance Garden), a garden writer and Huffington Post columnist, passes on from her own 40 years in the garden. When selecting and arranging flowers for bouquets, you needn’t spend a bundle buying a bundle of imported flowers.....Easton offers guidelines and principles....as well as a journal of possibilities through the seasons. The result....will be unique, local, imaginative, and inexpensive. Color photos throughout illustrate and inspire."
Petal & Twig will be in bookstores on January 31, and will be available for the iPad, Kindle, and all those kinds of devices...

Featured Events

Portland Yard, Garden and Patio Show Talk on February 17
I'm the first up speaker on Friday morning, 11 a.m. at the Portland Convention Center for the Oregon Association of Nurseries big event. I'll show plenty of photos and talk about how to turn your entire garden (and neighborhood) into a cutting garden for uncomplicated little handheld bouquets in every month of the year...it's all about the simple joy of bringing nature indoors...

In the News

Pacific Northwest Magazine's 2012 Garden Issue
An entire issue devoted to shelter in the garden... Read here about David Smith's modernist garden on Vashon, centered by a joglo; Ron Chew's backyard cabin on Beacon Hill, John and Toni Christianson's charming garden with greenhouse and outbuildings you've probably seen in their award-winning F&G Show gardens, and a personal little summerhouse on Whidbey Island that's a hand-hewn original, complete with king-size bed and pizza oven.
Planting art
Check out this interview in the Chicago Tribune on using art in the garden...
Tour the Gardens at the UW President's Mansion with Head Gardener Ray Larson
The gardens at Hill Crest in the Madison Park neighborhood, home of the University of Washington president, have been transformed over the past few years. Voiced by head gardener Ray Larson, this UW-made video features the art and seasonal beauty of this updated landscape.
Root Cellar and Recycling - The Swanson Garden on Whidbey Island
From a stylish root cellar, sheep dairy, and thriving vegetable gardens, the Swansons expansive property on Whidbey Island is both innovative and historic.
Sylvia Matlock's Cool Indispensables
Vashon Island's DIG Nursery is known for its cool and unusual plants - check out this list of plants that proprietress Sylvia Matlock wouldn't consider gardening without....

The New Low Maintenance Garden

Reviews Are In....
"Over the years, countless books have espoused a low-maintenance approach to gardening. None have been as engaging, practical, or inspiring as this latest of Easton's contributions to the gardener's bookshelf,"
- Pacific Horticulture magazine, Jan/Feb/Mar 2010
"A handy guide to a garden you can raise without a corresponding increase in your blood pressure..handsome and informative...."
- Metropolitan Home, Dec. 2009
"A garden can be a consuming passion—at least until you feel it consuming you. When Val Easton found herself in that spot, she knew it was time to move on, this time to a gem of a low-maintenance garden she made for herself. It kept her passion for gardening alive and spawned a terrific book, The New Low-Maintenance Garden."
- Sunset's "Fresh Dirt" blog
"This book is an invaluable addition to the garden library – destined to be a classic for many years to come."
- Garden Design Online
Paperback copies of "The New Low Maintenance Garden" are in bookstores for $19.95, Timber Press is out of hardback copies ($29.95) but you can buy them on online at HomeStyle Book Club; more hardbacks will hopefully be available in bookstores early in 2010.