Cornell Farm's Summer Lookbook
The Mediterranean Look
At first, the turquoise lagoons and terracotta terraces of the Mediterranean might seem like a far cry from the Pacific Northwest, but our dry summers and cool winters mean the Willamette Valley already has a Mediterranean climate. It's fitting that we're rapidly becoming world-class wine country, so you can raise a glass of local pinot noir to your rustic slice of paradise.
Design Tips
- Complete the look by using natural materials like wood, stone, brick, and clay tiles in your hardscaping and decor
- Shade sails can add a refuge to enjoy your sun-loving plants, while a pergola also gives your grapes and bougainvillea a canvas to climb
- If you're experiencing anything BUT ease of care with these plants, poor drainage is a likely culprit. Drought-tolerant plants often struggle to tolerate wet feet. Try planting at high points in the landscape, amending soil with a sandy substrate like E.B. Stone's Citrus and Palm soil mix, or planting in containers.
Essential Plants
- Trees like olives, figs, pomegranates, Italian cypress, and oaks
- Shrubs like ceanothus, citrus, manzanita, and 'Kintzley's Ghost' honeysuckle
- Vines like grapes, jasmine, and bougainvillea
- Herbs like rosemary, lavender, bay laurel, and sage
- Grasses like
- Foliage plants like Dusty miller, Parahebe perfoliata, agave, and sedums
Bringing It All Together
The Mediterranean look is an elegant way of centering drought-tolerant plants that will hold up to our increasingly hot and dry summers. You can anchor this garden style with hardy, tried-and-true plants like lavender, rosemary, and figs — essentials that already grow prolifically in the Portland area — but expanding this palette is where your design can get really interesting. Lots of iconic Mediterranean plants, like olives and bougainvillea, sit right on the border of our growing zone and make perfect container garden candidates in a stylish terracotta pot. Closer to home, plants like California lilac, agave, and agastache can add a little West Coast flair while fitting beautifully into the larger aesthetic.
The Tropical Look
Lush foliage, bold blooms, and the right ambiance can transport your PNW garden to a very different type of rainforest and make every day feel like a tropical vacation. Tropical-style garden designs are a showcase of the versatility of our climate, which allows us to grow a colorful palette of plants from all around the world.
Design Tips
- Moving water really accentuates the tropical feel, so add a fountain, bubbler, or other water feature for ambiance
- Vertical elements like hanging baskets and trellises can create sense of depth and bring your whole design to life
- Compared to the Mediterranean look, many of these plants crave more water and humidity, so moisture retentive soil is a must
- When in doubt, add more hummingbird plants and maybe even a colorful glass feeder!
Essential Plants
- Trees like windmill palm, catalpa, mimosa tree, and magnolia
- Shrubs like Mexican orange, hardy hibiscus, mahonia, and honeysuckle
- Flowers like canna lilies, dahlias, Peruvian lilies, red hot pokers, agapanthus, crocosmias, and fuschias
- Vines like mandevilla, bougainvillea, morning glory/sweet potatos, and passionflower
- Foliage plants like ferns, hostas, coleus, hardy banana, alocasia, colocasia, and Japanese aralia
Bringing It All Together
In the Pacific Northwest, "tropical" is often more about looks than care requirements. True tropical plants are typically grown as summer annuals and can complete the aesthetic during the warm season, but there's also an impressive array of tropical looking plants at your fingertips. An easy design trick is to pair "hot" shades like bright red, pink, or orange with a background of foliage — large leaves, fun textures, and even unique shades like maroon or chartreuse. Plant sensitive snowbirds like mandevilla and colocasias alongside a foundation of plants like fatsia, canna lilies, and windmill palms, which are hardy enough to become enduring elements of many Portland-area landscapes.
The Compact Look
You can curate any design aesthetic with enough space, but what if you're working with a tiny balcony?
Design Tips
- Container gardening is having a moment! Take advantage of design resources and plant lists of tried-and-true container plants
- Verticality really comes into play in small spaces. Hanging baskets and espaliered plants can help maximize your space
- For better or worse, container plants are highly dependent on your care. They need more water and frost protection than plants in the ground, but you can also engineer their soil conditions and more easily move them during challenging weather, if they need different lighting conditions, or when a fresh look is in order
Essential Plants
- Trees like Japanese maples, dwarf conifers, olives, and citrus
- Vines like star jasmine and clematis
- Herbs like basil, lavender, thyme, and sage
- Veggies like peppers, eggplant, and dwarf tomatoes like 'Umpqua Beauty,' 'Legend,' 'Uluru Ochre,' and 'Sweet and Neat'
- Flowers like coneflowers, salvia, yarrow, penstemon, coreopsis, geraniums, and hellebores
- Foliage plants like wire vine, kinnikinnick, coleus, creeping Jenny, vinca, and asparagus fern
Bringing It All Together
Limitations are the fuel for innovation, so this "look" is much broader because the options for small spaces are nearly endless. You can channel Mediterranean or tropical vibes, but you can also let your creativity loose with quirky containers that match your unique tastes. You don't need a sprawling garden to curate an enjoyable outdoor sanctuary: foldable garden furniture (like Fermob's line of bistro table sets) and container plants can bring your space to life within a minimal footprint.
