Spring Teaser

     Friday was one of those unpredicted, very unexpected spring-like days in January. For a little while, there was nary a cloud in the blue sky and  the expansive fields of sprouting grasses and wheat were an iridescent green.
     Yes, rivers were swollen from recent rains and many ditches were overflowing, spilling big puddles-almost ponds into some yards and fields, but it was one of those glorious bonuses that makes you smile - makes everyone cheerful.
     But, of course! It all made sense listening to the news later in the day about the storm bearing down on the east coast. It seems that when they get whacked with nasty weather, we enjoy the opposite - and vice versa. Funny how that works. Last year when Boston was almost literally buried in snow, we were enjoying one of the warmest, driest winters in recent memory.

     As luck would have it, I had an interview scheduled on Friday that made the day all the nicer. It was at Peoria Gardens, east of Corvallis. I spent an hour wandering through some of the glass houses of their nursery with the son of the founder - now general manager, Ben Verhoeven, absorbing the history and vibrant colors that are starting to grace gardens of those with the greenest thumbs. Soon, the more fair-weather gardeners, and those just developing an "addiction" to gardening, will be unable to resist the magnetic pull of the 4-inch pots of color lined up at local nurseries. 

    If you find such plants irresistible and live in the Willamette Valley, you've seen Peoria Gardens

tags on flowers, herbs and vegetables for decades in local nurseries or independent businesses. You probably have--or have had--some of them in your garden.
     Or, if you've been through Corvallis in the summer, you've seen their huge, colorful baskets dripping with flowers, hanging from street lamps.
     There's an interesting history and some exceptionally nice people behind all that life and color. You can learn about them in my article on Peoria Gardens that will appear in the spring issue of Take Root magazine, due out April 1st.

    In the meantime, rest assured, the wet-weather streams will dry up, rivers will slow, soil will warm and we'll be surrounded by lots and lots of glorious color and new life.

Update: the article is available now: http://ezine.takerootmagazine.com/HTML5/Duhn-Associates-TAKE-ROOT-Magazine-Spring-2016?pageNum=20.  Better still, get a copy at your favorite store (see website: www.takerootmagazine.com for locations). It's chock full of interesting people and places, well worth keeping for future reference when you're ready to explore this glorious region.