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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2011)
•voices W W W .J U S T O U T .C O M V Pride In The Garden, every mursoay, all summer long, we have a party, a barbecue, and one-on-one advice from gardening rts! You're invited! PORTLAND PA I RESTORATION INTERIOR-EXTERIOR-RESIDENTIAL-COMMERCIAL Licensed-Bonded-Insured Free Painting Estimates Color Consutling Uncompromised Service PA IN T IN G Paint Removal r. Kt - > I O K A ) 1 I) N Pressure Washing Restoration & Carpentry Repaint Specialists Deck Restoration & Construction 25 Years Experience f e Minimum 25 Year Eco-Friendly Paint with “Life Warranty" Options Lead Certified to Meet New EPA Standards Certified Sustainable Building Experts Remodel / Renovation Custom Design n .L T 1 CCB187803-PO RTLPR911 PK | T Fart 1: A garden alive There’s a garden I visit several times a year, and have been doing so since it first began over 15 years ago. It’s one of my fa vorite gardens to visit, so thoughtfully de signed and planned, with plants blooming or providing interest throughout the year. I always discover something new, and note the changes, additions and growth. In par ticular is a Camperdown Elm, tiny when first planted but now large enough for me to enter its secret canopy and hide from the outside among its branches hanging down to the ground. Ibis last visit, I noticed something I hadn’t before. In the brush, at the back, was a small rabbit. It could have been a bunny, but there it was. It hopped forward and to another area to nibble in. My friend and I stood mesmerized at the encounter. Yes, it’s a country garden, but neither of us had seen a rabbit in a garden before. And then my eyes began to really open up to it all. Above us, birds flitted from tree under story to branch, chirping and announcing their arrival. Bees buzzed in the early rose blooms. As we turned a corner, glossy spot ted blackbirds lit up a patch of grass, eagerly digging about in it for whatever golden bits they were catching there. This garden was alive—alive with plants, and growth, blooms and spring, insects and animals. I could feel how it alive it was, literally buzzing with life. And in that moment I knew the reason for this magic: There were no harmful pesticides or chemicals being used in this garden. Pes- This coleus has obviously come out of the closet. ticides that would kill the bugs the birds would be eating. Chemicals that would kill the weeds the rabbits were known to forage on. This garden was alive with life of flora and fauna, and it was this symbiotic rela tionship that was being allowed to flourish and thrive here. The aliveness was palpable. The commitment to gardening chemical- free is not always visible. Some nonbelievers think it means you will have sickly plants or infestations and swarms of insects. I have yet to see that happen. What I saw in this favorite garden was a commitment to nature and beauty. It was also a commitment to creating a truly special garden, and decisions made that moved beyond the space itself, for the betterment of the earth—a pride of H THINKING OF REPLACING YOUR WINDOWS? We are celebrating our 20TH year of advertising in Just Out, and for those same 20 years we have been selling and installing Migard® Windows and Doors in homes just like yours. This year we have a special discount for our readers. So stop procrastinating, and call Garland Horner anytime - 503.283.9481 A for a friendly in-home proposal. 503.236.7003 PAINTPDX.com LEANN LOCHER As Told In Three Parts TTt«-
