The PNW: a climate with a gardening identity crisis.

After reading Timber Press' "Guide to Gardening in the PNW," and after a year of trying earnestly to understand our unique climatic situation here in the Willamette Valley, I have to honestly say that I am still mildly puzzled about this regions most appropriate method of planting is. The way I see it there are two schools of thought, or two methods to one's gardening madness.

   The first is the old-school PNW style which takes advantage of our cool, wet, mild winters, and naturally rich soils. After all, 8-9 months out of the year the weather is, well, wet and cool, and the soil is the soil, and there's no way around that without changing it with costly and labor-intensive amendments.  So then why not garden like its England, with brilliantly lush borders, and tightly clipped yew hedges?  Why not plant flowering dogwoods and delphiniums? Why? Well, welcome to the second school of thought:  The Mediterranean Garden.
   Here in the Willamette Valley, though it does feel like the UK at times, those 3 months out of the year when the sun blazes down on our pale, pallid faces we are decidedly not Nottingham. We are, say it with me, "A Modified Mediterranean Climate."  And that says it all....like a perfectly crafted synechdoche, that 3 month period between July and September though just a part of the whole, captures the whole in its truest sense. And yet what puzzles us gardeners, or at least myself, is that besides our beloved native plants there really isn't a distinctly comparable climate on planet Earth, which can make gardening all the more confusing. Don't get me wrong the Pacific Northwest is a wonderful climate to garden in. The wholesale nursery business wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't, but it is one with a nebulous philosophical foundation.Which, when I say nebulous, I mean there really is no right way to garden. Which leads to lots of differing opinions and grey answers. If you choose the way of the Brits, or our East Coast brethren, you will generally grow plants that live long, generally prosper, but unless you are only growing prairie grass, it will need constant inputs, (i.e. fertilizer, compost, pruning, deadheading, etc....). Not only is this method labor intensive it also tends tends to be fleeting, and prone to long periods of aesthetic dormancy (i.e. most deciduous woody plants). Oh, and when the glorious sun comes shining down, don't expect to sit out on the patio and soak it up. If you haven't paid for an expensive irrigation system you'll be spending your free time watering all those thirsty, thin-leaved aquaholics. Don't worry, thankfully here in Oregon rain is just around the corner.
  
   If this doesn't sound appealing you can choose the Mediterranean way, mixed with some native plant favorites and you will be rewarded with minimal maintenance, little to no watering, and year-round performance and visual appeal. What's not to love!?! Well, for one many dry-garden plants are from warmer, milder climates, and though are climate is mild, the freak cold snap which seems to happen every few years will wipe out many or our borderline hardy plants (i.e. The Great Phormium Die-off), and secondly and most importantly most Mediterranean plants are adapted to soils much leaner than our clay-heavy loams, with periods of rain that last 6 months, nothing too far north of that, which usually means 6 months of dry. Plants that are tolerant of drought tend to go through a period of dormancy in the summer when it is dry and hot. So when in July when the rains have finally tapered off a dry-garden plant would have already have closed up shop for the year. Not so here, and the plants respond by growing and growing some more. Seems innocent enough, right?  More growth equals good, right?  Not really.  These plants tend to be short-lived anyways, partly due to their fire-prone origins, so there growth needs to be measured.  Rich soil and rain into July just means that a 20 year life spans is cut to 8 years, and 10 year life span is reduced to four.  You know the saying "too much of a good thing."  That is exactly what is happening here. Feed a human being too much candy and junk food and watch their health deteriorate.  Give a plant more than what it needs and watch it perform bountifully, just don't get too attached.
    So what do we do?  Which path do we follow?  Well as in most things, it is all relative.  So it really depends on your specific site conditions, aspect, soils, drainage, etc.  And most people can get away with multiple methods for one landscape. It takes an understanding of your site, and its seasonal patterns over the course of a year.  Much of it comes down to a personal aesthetic. A style perhaps. I personally have a natural affinity for xeric plants, and thus I gravitate toward plants that are greyish cast, small-leaved, sometimes spiky. My compromise for short-lived species is too try and thin out soils (with gravel) that are water-retentive or rich. I figure its easier to amend soil to make it lean, than to continually add organic material year in and year out. I also like to design using berms which makes a natural fit for xeriscaping. If you are lucky enough to live on a slope, preferably facing south or east, just remember how, well, lucky you are.

  Another thing to remember:  there is no right way to garden. Just a lot of wrong ones.