Moving Out of Your Garden
Regional gardener Pat Herkal contemplates her move to the Pacific Northwest and her new garden.
June/July 2004
By Pat Herkal
It is a bittersweet time for me—the excitement of moving on to new life adventures is juxtaposed with the sadness of leaving behind wonderful friends and a mature yard full of my favorite hardy roses, herbs and perennials. I learned to garden in the arid high plains of the Rocky Mountains. I soon will be gardening in the moist, temperate Pacific Northwest. The contrasts between the two environments are tremendous. Riverton is a cold Zone 4; Port Townsend, Washington, is a mild Zone 8. Winter temperatures often drop well below zero in Riverton; now I can anticipate winters with few or no freezes. From what I have been reading about the Northwest, the summers will be fairly dry, as I am used to in Riverton, but there will not be weeks of temperatures in the 90s. I avidly have followed the advice of gardeners such as Rob Proctor and Lauren Springer (authors of several books including Passionate Gardening by Fulcrum, 2000). I look forward to getting to know new mentors and to discovering different ways to garden.
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