Come out and visit the nursery this weekend for the Cascade Nursery Trail Spring Fever Open House. We’ll be open 5-24 thru 5-26, 10am to 5pm. There are lots of other nurseries to visit along your way so be sure to check all of them out on the link above. Hope to see you soon!!!
For months I’ve been meaning to write about life at work but I’ve been busy working and wrapping up my degree in horticulture from Clackamas Community College. Posts have been sparse, I know, but I’ve simply not had the time. I miss the regular practice of writing though, and look forward to graduation so I can begin “better” where I left off.
There’s always so much to say about “the garden” and its place in our lives. While I work at both jobs I’m always coming up with post ideas for this site. I just need to find the time—and a housekeeper, cook, and gardener to help me MAKE the time lol.
While my garden at home is a bit of a chaos garden in need of some weeding and pruning (who knew I was way ahead of the trends on this front lol), things at work at Secret Garden Growers have remained on track, with the expected pops of color as spring has sprung. Each week there is something new. This is when I really begin to love our display garden areas as they’re tidied up for the season.
Whenever friends contact me to ask about a plant that we grow, or someone posts about one they’ve purchased, I always want to delve deeper into that plant here, writing profusely about how much I love the damn thing—but then I remember how redundant those remarks can be…
Many of the plants we produce I only see in flats or stock pots. Not all are planted in the garden beds, and that really is the most exciting way to see plants as they develop and grow. It’s why we love to see so many of them on social media, online, during garden tours and open gardens, or in books and magazines. True plant trials are where it’s at! Tell me how this has grown for YOU!
I know I’m in a growing minority that still prefers a well-written book, but I’m embracing the love of visuals made so popular now in a new way. I find it fascinating this year how many visually stunning books have been published in the garden realm and I’m thrilled to have been included in one of them: The Spirited Garden. It reminded me of a time when I loved picture books, before our online routines began, where it often felt like you had a secret discovery that others had most likely not seen yet, and this felt so good.
Now we discover visually in crowds where we never see other faces, on devices, in a kind of controlled unnatural silence. At least we can send photos to others, sharing them before the next time we see them in person—as we would with a book. I’m adapting. Change is good.
We all rapid share now. I’m even embracing that more—but it still feels lonely. Luckily work keeps me in contact with lots of people.
Most days you’ll find me plunking away at making more plants, trying to ascertain what’s bothering this or that crop, thinking hard about what to make more of next. I find my photo inspiration while taking breaks, or eating lunch, and friends send me all kinds of things to look at. This is life now.
My best moments are spent at work though, working with others, speaking to others, even being riled by others. The same goes with school. I’ve enjoyed the discussions, the camaraderie, those who listen, and those who share. As I commute, I love to think about all of the plants.
Going back to school has made me want to try harder, to be better at what I do, and to focus more on what I’ve dedicated the last 24 years of my life to. Working with Pat and Evan and the rest of the team at Secret Garden Growers has only added to this. We’ve grown a lot of great plants this year.
At Secret Garden Growers we sell to not only home gardeners, but to designers and botanical gardens too. Our mail-order is very busy. It’s such a rush when someone tells us they’ve been looking hard for something and were so happy when they found it through us. I can’t say enough about how happy it makes us to provide these plants, and how frustrating it can feel too when we’ve not yet made something else available for someone else.
So, suffice it to say, Pat has chosen some great stuff and we sell a lot of stalwart garden goodies.
If you’ve planted and grown something from us, send us a shoutout online wherever you choose to spend your downtime posting your garden.
Better yet, come out to visit the nursery soon if you’re in the area.
Ann Loves Plants 
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