Southern California transplants thrive in an English garden

She may have grown up in Southern California, but Los Angeles native Tiffany Jordan has always felt an affinity for the Pacific Northwest.

“I was never a California girl at heart,” Jordan said.

She and her mother, Pat, have always adored the lush abandon of traditional English cottage gardens, but the climate of Southern California forced the garden lovers to focus their attention on drought-tolerant plants and patio containers. So when Jordan and her mother decided to relocate to Oregon four years ago, one of the first things they did was start transforming their northwest Corvallis yard into something magical.

The Corvallis climate was cooperative, as it’s more like that of southern England. Armed with piles of gardening books and lots of advice from experts, the duo created a gardener’s paradise. And it turns out, gardening doesn’t just benefit them, Jordan said.

“Our neighbors tell us how much they love looking at our garden,” she said.

The Jordans’ latest effort was taking a grass-filled parking strip and making it into yet another flower bed. While most of the other yards in the neighborhood are simply an extra swath of grass to mow, their parking strip not only is packed full of perennials, it’s still abloom on the last days of October.

Verbena and gaillardia, purple coneflowers and sunflowers keep a corner of the yard sunny and bright. Just a few splashes of fall rain have kept garden maintenance to a minimum.

During the summer, Jordan said, she was out in the yard almost every evening. Her weekend days are spent weeding, watering, planting and pruning.

“It’s nice to come home from work and spend time weeding and deadheading,” she said. Now that many of her plants have established a foothold in the garden, she said it’s not as time-consuming as those first busy days after planting. Neither woman is particularly fussy; a weed or two doesn’t send them racing for their gardening gloves.

Jordan relies on the advice of many fellow gardeners. She and her mother are members of the Evening Garden Club, and they often consult with master gardeners or nursery experts.

“We are so fortunate to have great local independent nurseries,” all within a short drive, she said.

Gardening also connects her more with her neighborhood than it used to. In Los Angeles, they lived on a busy street, and didn’t like to spend any time in their front yard. Now, they often find time to chat with neighbors as they water or pull weeds. Plants are great conversation starters. And many of the plants have come from friends, or were started from seed by Jordan’s mother.

The Jordans came to Corvallis because it seemed like a place where they would thrive. As soon as Jordan landed a job with Grass Roots Books and Music, they were able to relocate, and the move has helped them bloom in step with their own expanding garden.

“Book selling is my profession,” she said, “but gardening is my passion.”

THE STORY NEXT DOOR

WHO: Tiffany Jordan, 41

WHAT: Children’s book buyer, floor manager, Grass Roots Books & Music

SECRET IDENTITY: Gardener extraordinaire

HOMETOWN: Los Angeles

LIVED IN CORVALLIS: Four years