As we mentioned earlier, we have been filling space with meadowfoam because it is green during the fall and reseeds itself nicely. I had ordered a large packet of seeds for white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba), and tried sprouting them various ways with some success just throwing seed onto one of our ecoroofs. Of those I tried to start indoors only a few sprouted, and those that did looked quite different from those that were growing on our ecoroof. Read the rest of this entry »
Camassia quamash
One of the nice spring surprises this last week has been that our camas has decided to bloom. Read the rest of this entry »
Evenings on the Roof
With the onset of spring, and our recent beautiful weather, we have been able to enjoy one of our favorite aspects of the house: Dinners on our ecoroof. We have a small area of pavers sitting amongst ferns, strawberries and camas with a little round table and a lovely view of the neighborhood, downtown, and the sunset. Just about the best way possible to enjoy a warm spring evening.
Spring Planting
We have recently started up with the Portland Audobon’s Backyard Habitat Certification Program and picked up plants from one of their seasonal sales this last weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
Meadowfoam Love
Over the last year we have become pretty enamored with a particular group of plants -Meadowfoam… Due in large part to one great reason, they are an off season plant. Read the rest of this entry »
Signs of Spring
Just as before, it seems that our ecoroofs seem to know when the season is about to change before anything else does. Over the last week or so, camas has been popping up all over the place on both of our roofs that have some. Read the rest of this entry »
Siding
One of my favorite parts of Harpoon House is the siding. Early in the process when developing the initial concept for our house we were really interested in the idea of aging gracefully… And that certain materials, when allowed to show their age, can be extremely long lived with very little maintenance. I’ve been noticing lately that this aging has begun to happen in a very visible way. Read the rest of this entry »
Energy From the Sun
This time of year our upper ecoroof starts looking a little scrappy. It gets a lot of sun and is generally too hot and dry for anything growing up there to be very happy. So recently after talking with some of our neighbors who have been enjoying the benefits of their solar panels, we’ve begun to look into the possibility of installing a small array on our upper roof. Read the rest of this entry »
First signs of Fall
Aside from the lower sun and rain in the forecast, there hasn’t been a whole lot of change to indicate that fall is setting in… But there is something in the air, and our ecoroofs seem to know it before everything else. Read the rest of this entry »
Library Ladder
At long last we finally have our library ladder for loft access. Read the rest of this entry »
