Holly's Pacific Northwest Garden: Pacific Northwest November

Dedication and Purpose

This blog is dedicated to Doreen Eaton. She has been my friend, inspiration and mentor. She is an English gardener and her comment when she first laid eyes on my property was, "It's nice but it's so... GREEN." Many of the nicer parts of my yard are designed or inspired by her. She has chosen some of the more interesting plants.

My goal as I work in my garden is not only to enjoy being outdoors and relax and breathe fresh air, but also to create a space that is useful as a playspace for my children, a habitat for local wildlife, and a visual feast to behold. I hope someday to also have a productive vegetable garden and fruit orchard.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Pacific Northwest November

November is arguably the wettest month in the Pacific Northwest. It is Thanksgiving weekend and we haven't seen the sun for several weeks. Today, however, we were blessed with a clearish, slightly sunny day, so I jumped at the chance to get outside without becoming a drowned rat within 5 minutes of exiting the house.

Our property is on a hill, so at this time of year we always get a river running down our gravel driveway. From a geologic perspective it is fascinating to watch the water carve a path through the earth. I imagine the same thing happening on a much larger scale over eons to form the Grand Canyon and similar geologic features.

My project today was to re-establish the drainage ditch along the side of the driveway which I dug when we first moved into this house 6 years ago . Unfortunately we don't have heavy machinery, or even a pick ax, so I used my trusty shovel and rake to clear away the vegetation that had grown and dig out the silt that had been deposited over the previous year.

It took several hours, but we now have a merry stream along the side of the driveway rather than a raging river down the center.