Today, I return home from a trip touring nurseries in the Portland, Oregon area, preceded by several days visiting gardens and hiking mountains in Washington’s Olympic National Park (below).  As always returning from this trip, I’m ready to plant, filled with inspiration, no matter that there’s space for only a few of the plans and plants that I’ve dreamt about.

As I’ve often speculated why some plants flourish in the Northwest but only survive in my garden, I suppose that it’s not the heat and higher humidity of the Mid-Atlantic as much as it is that the humidity keeps temperatures warmer through the nights. The stress relief of cool nights encourages growth, or at least it reduces plant stresses. I’m not tempted to relocate, but the Northwest is the ideal climate for many of the plants I adore.

While stopping in a favorite mailorder nursery and several gardens near the Olympic Mountains, I missed the opportunity to visit a local seller of mountain natives. But, while researching alpines found at higher elevations, I ordered several from the small nursery that must have been just around the corner from where I stayed. Maybe I’ll visit the next time I’m in town.

I’ll wait a few weeks before ordering others on my wish list. Perhaps good sense will prevail.