• The Elderberry Party (A one-page article about birds visiting an elderberry tree.)

• Retirement announcement (Excerpt from online magazine where a gentleman announces his retirement.)

• Sparky's Corner (Imaginary squirrel article from monthly e-zine. Sparky was developed to interest children in native plant gardening)

Some of my writing experiences:

• Webmaster, head writer and occasional photographer for NW native plant nursery. See my work on this website: http://www.nwplants.com/

• Created, printed and distributed a neighborhood newsletter for 5 years.

• Writes business documentation for software programs, procedures and policies.

• Published several newspaper articles on plants, recycling and other timely topics.

Feedback from visitors to websites I created and maintain and my monthly emag:

Thanks so much for your continued work on the Journals. I know some of the native species shown in this Journal for riparian restoration will eventually be on our property—taking the place of the Himalayan blackberry invaders! --KB

Great newsletter by the way --JM

You do an extremely good job of designing the magazine. I am quite impressed! I am also a graphic designer, of print exclusively...I just wanted to tell you that you do good work! --A

I just love this newsletter. I work with a group removing ivy from the Marquam Nature Park in Portland. I suggest to all the homeowners that are restoring their properties to check out your web site and nursery. I can't thank you enough for the energy you put into the NW native plant scene.  --CK, Portland

You have a wonderful website and it's apparent that you love what you do. I wanted to thank you for your awesome website. --HH

I was thrilled to find your website. --KC

I really enjoy your Journals and website. --MC

I just came across your web site and 3 hours later.......I love it! What a wealth of information---text, photos and drawings. I'm really excited! I moved to Portland recently from the foothills of the Sierras. What a wonderful way to learn about NW natives. I'm going to come to your nursery as soon as I can. --KD

I must tell you how much I enjoy and admire your monthly Native Plant Journal...I thoroughly enjoy it and have shared it with many plant loving friends and co-workers. --BD

 ...so that I may continue to receive your newsletters, journals and other information which I truly enjoy. --CC, Carol's Custom Gardens

I wanted to thank you for your awesome website. --GH

Your website/plants came highly recommended by one of our members who is volunteering on a large scale restoration project along the southwest hills of Portland (from Forest Park to Tryon Creek). --GB, Three Rivers Land Conservancy

I feel really fortunate to have found you on the web. You are not only a source for plants but for helpful information. --DK

..Wonderful site... --M

I love your website! ...thanks for all the wonderful info and commentary:) I look forward to receiving your mail. --S

I certainly enjoy your plant journals. Keep up the good work, --T

Thanks! And I do enjoy the Journal very much. --DC

I enjoy your web site! --EO

Just writing to let you know that I found your site today .. and it is wonderful. So much to read and look at, so much to learn. Love your photo too. --AM

I am impressed with your website! --NC

Thanks for another wonderful edition of the Northwest Native Plant Journal. Always helpful is the gardening chores list, always interesting features. and the plant puzzle is fun. --J

Thank you very much for your beautiful website and your passion and devotion to Oregon Native Plants. --SW

Just started subscribing to your news letter.....Thank you. Fun stuff! --KH

I really enjoy your quiz each month, but I think this is the first time I found the answer in time. --M

I LOVE your website! It’s a real service. --SG, A Garden Story landscape Design

You have a wonderful website. --JB

I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to have found your website. --JS

I hope this note finds you well. I wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for your wonderful site. My partner and I are in the process of re-landscaping right now and, while our space is a daunting mud pit now, your site reminds me of the exciting natives we'll be hosting in the future. Thanks for your efforts! Best to you, --J in Portland

I adore your magazine. It is wonderful and you inspire me! My garden has changed so very much. I wish I had taken before and after pics to send to you so you could fully appreciate the effect of your wisdom. Though I live in the Midwest, I find your magazine provocative and use your ideas with a Midwest approach. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your green wisdom and art. Kindest regards, --L

Thank you. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the work that you put into this beautiful newsletter. I look forward to receiving it every month. Best regards, --GM

Thank you for such a wonderful website. I’m 7th generation Oregonian, and thru grandmothers and others have learned a lot about our native plants. Once in a while I have one show up in my yard (Alsea – Lobster Valley area) that I can’t Identify. Your site was very helpful. Thanks again. D

Hi! Great site. --MS

Hello – I very much enjoyed your website. --CCA

I just discovered the garden journal, calendar, etc. - thanks so much for sharing. --LP

And thank you for having such wonderful plants available, and for your very fun, imformative website!  --DF

I found your website to be very educational. --KG

Great web site - very personal and "homey". I like that. --JH

Loved your newsletter and all its info. -- L and DC

I love the journal. --DS

Thanks for the fun monthly plant journal. --SH

Just want to say I really appreciate your monthly mailings and I intend to come down (from Portland) to visit your place before the year is out. Thank you for all you do. And give my regards to Sparky. :-)

I love your site. Thank you so very much for all the available information. --KR

Notes from my corner of the world:

April 22, 2008--Earth Day. My favorite celebration. We 'higher life forms' gain a modicum of awareness every time we celebrate this day. We make, not resolutions, but plans that we actually tend to keep. Each one makes our globe a little bit brighter, a little bit happier, a little bit healthier. There's enough for everybody to do. Let's see. A few easy eco-actions to move into:

•  Reduce! Re-use! Recycle!

  •  Get real--everybody knows why. Just do it!

•  Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.

  •  4 times more efficient

  •  Lasts 10 times longer

  •  Uses 50-80% less energy

•  BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) so you can answer that question of "paper or plastic?" with "Neither!"

  •  Estimated 8 billion pounds of plastic bags enter the waste stream every year.

  •  Most stores give you a discount for bringing your own bag.

•  Combine errands--make one trip instead of 3-4.

  •  Several short trips use at least twice as much fuel as one longer trip.

  •  Saves money--each time you enter a store you spend.

•  Travel smart--if you can't walk, bike, carpool or buy an alternate fuel vehicle, drive better.

  •  Don't go over 60 mph. Each 5 mph over 60 equals paying an extra $.15 per gallon of gas.

  •  Speeding, rapid acceleration and raking uses 5 - 33% more fuel.

  •  Idling longer than 10 seconds uses more gas than shutting down and restarting.

So, save the Earth = save money every day.

March 9, 2008--It's been a whizbang day. Spring is practically here and it's time to change the clocks again. Every time this happens there are fewer and fewer things to set--the clocks and television and computers all reset themselves. Is this good? I think so.

If it were possible to set one's body to slide between daylight savings on and off we could avoid that inevitable biological adjustment period. It's rather like flying back and forth across time zones twice a year. Jet lag is acceptable but time zone lag is not. What's that about? Do we not realize what this does to us? Suddenly we're tired every March and we blame it on spring. Think about it. We have 'spring fever' when we want to laze about and then we get all energized in the fall and we think it's the 'brisk' weather.

I believe common sense left town with the horses. Come to think of it, perhaps it is time to go back to the horses. I'll bet it would be cheaper to board a horse than pay for gas. Definitely friendlier on the universe. More fun probably. Less emissions. Free fertilizer. Yep, I'm ready. Git me a hoss and ride off into the sunset.

Speaking of sunsets, this one was a beaut (click to enlarge).

P.S. I broke down and bought the 'correct' food for the furries. Note to self: Don't pick a fight with cats. 

February 19, 2008--My two cats sat me down tonight and explained why they are unhappy with me right now. It seems I bought the wrong cat food. I was in a hurry, the bag was the same color that I always get and it said 'for indoor cats.' Well, that was apparently not good enough for these two felines. They have not eaten one bite of the new food since I bought it two days ago. We ran out of their customary viddles last week and I've been filling in with canned tuna, some kipper snacks, a little roasted chicken, whatever I could lay hands on until I got around to grocery shopping. The tuna was OK, the chicken was a dud and who knew cats would not appreciate kipper snacks in tomato sauce? I felt sorry for them this morning so before I left for work I poured a tiny bit of sour cream over the untouched dry food. It's 12 hours later and the sour cream has not one sniff mark on it.

Thus, our heart to heart chat this evening. They swear they are going to starve themselves until I step up and produce the correct food. The littlest one simply looked soulful but that big furry grey one was downright preachy. He said I'd better get ready for some serious mourning because when they kick the bucket I am going to be extremely sad--my heart will break--yada yada yada.

We'll see. I don't believe them, not for one minute. But for the life of me I can't figure out what they've been eating. They are not allowed outside and we have no varmints indoors they might have caught. The dogs never leave so much as a crumb in their bowls so they're not eating dog food. I keep everything in the kitchen under tight seal (I once lived in Missouri and got scared of the bugs there, I mean huge and nasty, the first cockroach I saw in my life and it was as big as my fist!) so I know they aren't snacking on crackers or nuts. They must have a secret cat food stash somewhere.

But if that food in their little cabaret isn't touched by tomorrow evening I may have to break down and hit the store. Damned 4-legged fiends. 

January 4, 2008--It's a new year, new opportunities. It's time to do all those things you wanted but put off until later. Well, it's that time: later. Gil Scott Heron said, "The revolution will be live." Whether or not you know it, your life is happening right now. You can't catch up. You have to get on the bus and either ride along or drive. I'm voting for taking that wheel. How about you?

Contact me via email: Jennifer Rehm