-

-
Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

A Day in Portland Part One

Or, How to visit four nurseries and three gardens in Six hours.

I love going on day trips because we don't have to worry about finding care for our pets. One fine Saturday, Alison, Nigel, Tom and I set of on a Portland adventure.  Portland is a three hour drive so I set of early enough to hit Cistus Nursery before we were to meet Scott at Joy Creek Nursery.  Together we visited Means Nursery  and Scott and I went on to Xera while Alison and Nigel went directly to the next garden where we would meet.  Each of the gardens we visited were spectacular so I'll post about them separately.  Realizing that I had limited time at each nursery, I decided to spend more time shopping  than taking pictures.  With the exception of Xera, which opened since my last visit, I've posted  about these before.  You will want to see more of what Portland has to offer so I suggest that you start making plans now for next year's Garden Bloggers' Fling which will take place there early in July next year. 


It's so cool to see these huge cannas at the back of the parking lot of Cistus.  When last I was there in April, there were only tiny leaves poking out of the soil.  What a difference a few weeks makes!

 Wonder what the pink flags mean? 


Yucca rostrata anyone?

Agave Americana 'Yellow Ribbons'  Look at those pups emerging from the drain holes in the pot.  Is that adorable or what?
 
 Shade area of "The Big Top"  one of my favorite spots.


 
 Here's a section of the driveway leading to the parking area.

Taking a few plants with us, we drove up the road a piece to meet Scott, Alison and Nigel.  The gardens at Joy creek are looking so much fuller than they did in April.

Two specialties of Joy Creek are hydrangeas and hardy fuchsias.  Didn't get any hydrangeas this time.

This time of year, I always fall for a few more hardy fuchsias.
 
 Not the best picture but this miniature garden was way cool.

It still tickles me that we can grow alstroemeria in the ground here.  I remember seeing them in flower arrangements as a child in Alaska and thinking that they were the most exotic looking thing ever.


A green roof for environmentally concerned  birds.

And we're off to Means, home of the least expensive Acer palmatums anywhere.


Scott assuring Alison that she really should get one of these good sized brugmansias.  (only 19.95!)

Nice to see that Means carries seeds from Botanical interests, a sponsor of the Garden Bloggers' Fling!


Finally, off to Xera, fairly close to one of the gardens that we had the pleasure of visiting.  Xera Plants shares space with a business newly named Repotted which sells containers by themselves or beautifully planted up. 

I seem to be drawn to this orange color.  Could it be because this fuchsia is called 'Thomisina?'


Portland has enough summer heat (most years) for crepe myrtles to bloom happily. 


This little cutie was calling my name.  There's always room for one more cute little agave, right?

Simply beautiful planting by Repotted.
 Sorry I didn't get more shots of the great plants but this is a nursery worth visiting and will certainly be added to my must visit places when visiting Portland!
 
I know you'll find it hard to believe but somehow, the car got filled with plants.  Well, not totally full but I came home with a few treasures!  Next week, We'll visit the gardens.  Portland is a town where a lot of folks garden and simply driving down the street in residential areas is a treat!


32 comments:

  1. Thanks for the quick glimpse of Xera. This was another fun day. Looking forward to your posts about the gardens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was surprising how few pictures I took at each nursery but I so enjoyed the shopping part!

      Delete
  2. Now I'm thinking that going to Portland might be more dangerous than I thought. So many plants and gorgeous containers. How did the car not get completely full?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I didn't clear out the whole trunk as I usually do before going plant shopping and there's the matter of having no space left in my small garden. There are so many plants in pots waiting to be planted out there just lined up, arranged in groups on every bench, chair and table or plopped in some ground cover or other to hide the pot, it's ridiculous. (I'm calling them my huddled masses yearning to breathe free.) It looks more like a nursery than a home garden. I went with the idea of not buying any more plants but the car did come home with quite a few plants in it. Did I mention that we took two cars this time?

      Delete
  3. I'm glad I visited Joy Creek and Means the week before...so I could just chat and not feel TOO tempted by the plants ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a little bit safer time to go plant shopping because the spring stock is thinning out and the extra fall planting merchandise isn't flooding the shelves yet. Thanks for the fun day!

      Delete
  4. Talk about a whirlwind tour! You guys are the grand masters of the road trip.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So many wonderful things. Love the fuchsias. I'm partial to a cultivar called "Claire de Lune". It is that lovely orange color with white sepals. Very nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw 'Claire de Lune' & thought it was gorgeous but was so similar to 'Thomasina' that I'd already put in the cart that I passed. Also picked up 'Cardinal', 'Beauty of Clyffe Hall', 'Peppermint stick', and 'Celia Smeddley' They were only five dollars each - who could pass them up?

      Delete
  6. Oh I wish my house had a roof like that birdhouse! That design will be incorporated into my first birdhouse building, which I hope to do eventually.

    I used to mailorder plants from Joy Creek. Now I see I need to order from their huge collection of fuchsias--your post led me back to their online store where they seem to offer endless choices of them! (Francine the hummingbird will be thrilled.) So thanks for the tip!

    That banner picture makes me laugh every time I see it. I keep wanting to Photoshop in a few flames, just at the top tips of the hair...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a cool roof!
      Joy Creek had lots of great fuchsias! It was difficult to just choose a few. Francine would like you to buy at least one of each!

      Delete
  7. I just love that birdhouse, it's wonderful, never seen anything like it. We don't go away much because of Ben so it's day trips for us too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I liked that birdhouse, too. Haven't seen Ben on your new blog but then he's not a native plant. Hope he's doing well!

      Delete
  8. I feel like I just got my PhD in Plant-ology just for reading all the names. (I wonder if the way I pronounce them in my head is ANYthing like the way they actually sound?!?)

    Today I like the bold colors - orange and hot pinks, particularly....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I usually pronounce botanical names incorrectly but, like the French, those who speak botanical Latin are very gracious if you attempt to speak their language:)

      Bold colors are wonderful!

      Delete
  9. Is this kind of like horticultural speed dating? I love that mass of giant cannas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! When six hours of the day will be spent driving, one must make the most of the time at the destination!

      Delete
  10. I love that birdhouse roof! Also, in reference to the Alstromeria, I was amazed last week when a friend in Seattle posted a picture of some in her garden there. In my mind, it's always been a hot house flower in bridesmaids bouquets. I'm pretty sure I can't grow it here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I felt the same astonishment the first time I saw Freesia growing in the ground, in Greece, on my honeymoon, and Birds of Paradise in southern Spain!

    It looks like you had a great day of shopping--such wonderful nurseries to choose from, and so many varieties of Fuchsias! Around here, they don't seem to label them, and they're all annuals for us. A garden I visited last summer had a special Fuchsia exhibit, and I was amazed at how many varieties there are!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kimberley! Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comment led me to explore your blog which I enjoyed very much and am looking forward to reading more!

      We are very lucky to live in a mild (but wet) winter area. In milder winters here, even the tender "annual" hanging basket fuchsias can stay outside and they'll come back in the spring.

      Delete
  11. So what all did you buy? You'll tell us eventually right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cistus: Manihot grahamii, a papaya, a couple of those hardy Matthiolas (for the fragrance!) and a cool foliage thing for deep shade.
      Means: Cheap Acer palmatum
      Joy Creek: Several fuchsias, saxifraga rubrifolia, and a gardenia because it was in bloom, had lots of buds and smelled so very good.
      Xera: Ischyrolepis subverticillata, another fuchsia, that cool ornamental asparagus that we saw in several CA gardens, a really sweet hardy gladiola, and that little agave.

      Delete
  12. Could that little darling of an Agave be 'Cream Spike'? I suspect I'm wrong since it's a bit more upright than CS. Whatever its name it's easy to see why it went home with you! Glad you had such good shopping in P-town!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed, that's the one! Portland has so many great nurseries! One of these days, I'll explore more of them!

      Delete
  13. Yucca-liscious! I spy some multi headed specimens there! The canna stand looks impressive as well.

    Can't wait for the fling! We'll try to be good but do remind us when registration is ongoing so don't miss out :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW! I'm so excited that you're planning on coming to the fling! You'll love Cistus! Hope things are going as smoothly as possible in your recovery from the fire!

      Delete
  14. My last purchase was an Hydrangea hardy to zone 4, maybe I can keep it alive. I lost all my hydrangeas one nasty winter. It looked a little bedraggled by the time I got it planted in a heat wave. Not a good time for transplanting. Your photos give plant lust just a little push, or maybe a shove.;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about your hydrangea loss! Your new transplant will be just fine as long as it gets enough water. I love enabling plant lusters!

      Delete
  15. Ahh,,, Portland. Surely more gardens and nurseries to visit per capita than any other city in the world. I tried to get to all of them when I lived in Oregon. Surely a gardener's paradise. Hot pink hydrangea... beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Carolyn! Thanks for stopping by! I love the beautiful views your garden has but don't envy your winter. Having lived in Vermont and Alaska, I've become spoiled here in the land of no snow shoveling! Because of our acid soil, blue and purple hydrangeas are much more common sights than vibrant pink ones!

      Delete
  16. I really need to make it up to Portland, and not without my lottery winnings either. What a fun day. I bet you had a blast.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Visiting Portland is always fun but this trip was especially nice!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.