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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.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

What's More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys?

Why, a group of garden bloggers preparing to spend a day together traveling to the Kitsap Peninsula to  visit nurseries, gardens, attend  a plant sale, and chat with a plant broker of course.   In the back are Anna (Creative Flux) Alison (Bonney Lassie) Myself.  In front Loree (Danger Garden)  and Laura (Gravy Lessons)  Laura brought her Pirate who was kind enough to take this picture of us in front of my house.

Laura, her Pirate, and Anna arriving at our first stop of the day, Valley Nursery.
 
Loree and Alison have a bit of a head start.  She/he with the most plants at the end of the day wins!
 
 
Loree admiring this huge Kalanchoe beharensis. 

Hydrangea 'Plum Passion' looks a little less plummy this time of year but the foliage is still beautiful!


I always love visiting these Aloe plicatilis  and have been wishing to find a slightly smaller and less expensive one.  (Stay tuned for the last stop on our nursery romp, there's a happy ending!)

 Love the foliage of Daphne x burkwoodii 'Briggs Moonlight' and have resisted it at sales for far too long. 


Here's Anna taking a picture of my haul from Valley, the Daphne and an Agave 'Mr. Ripple' after which I'd lusted on my previous visit to Valley.  Since I'd earned some "Valnur Dollars" over the summer, I got these at half price!  Hooray!

Alison carrying a couple of treasures. 

I suppose it's a little unusual to have a bunch of people armed with cameras descend on your nursery just as it opens.  When asked who we were, I was happy to introduce everyone and we were all a little shocked that the couple of  wonderful women  we talked with actually knew our blogs.
 
Valley was, as usual, filled with great plants and wonderful staff.  A great first stop on our trip! 
Franklinia alatamaha bloom.  What a cool native American tree that blooms from late summer through fall even as the green leaves turn red.   Named after Benjamin Franklin, it's  now extinct in the wild.  If you have space for one, you should consider growing this.  By the way, the blooms are also fragrant. 

Too soon it was time to pack our cars and go to our next stop, the Heronswood plant sale and garden open. 

P.S.  Google has put the creative kit feature back into picassa and Google plus photos.  I'm happier than a slinky on an escalator! 

38 comments:

  1. Happy,happy shoppers! Lori with a smart shoulder bag and both hands free for grabbing!

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    1. You can tell that she's done this sort of thing before, yes?

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  2. So much fun! Valley does have some great trees. When I go there I always wish I had a truck to bring big stuff home.

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  3. Garden Bloggers are so much fun but then you know that.

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    1. Yes indeed, about as much fun as you can have without breaking the law.

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  4. Fun day! I saw the Heronswood sale, but it's a bit of a drive so I'll look forward to seeing the local blogger's take on it.

    Love the Daphne. Another agave? I actually find myself a bit jealous of the selection there. Franklinia blooms are gorgeous.

    I'm glad to see they put the creative kit back in picasa too. It was a pain not to make changes when posting a photo even though I do most of it before uploading.

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    1. It would be wonderful to have you come up for a Heronswood sale sometime! Or maybe you'll be able to come to the fling next year?

      I know, I really don't need another agave but they keep flirting with me! Poor things don't realize that I hardly have any sunny space left in my garden.

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  5. A slinky on an escalator - you crack me up, Peter! I'm so glad you identified the Franklinia for me! They planted a row of them along a nearby thoroughfare. I admired the flowers, but had no idea what they were. My Stewartia had long since finished blooming, so thanks for clearing up that mystery! :)

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    1. It's always fun to discover the identity of a plant you've been seeing.

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  6. ooh, what an itinerary! And my Mr. Ripple salutes yours!

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    1. My Mr. Ripple is humbled! Mr. Ripple is quite a handsome fellow!

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  7. "happier than a slinky on an escalator!"...did you just make that up? Too funny.

    What a day, thank you again for being Mr Organizer and the chauffeur!

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    1. I have a coworker from the south who spouts these things off with every other sentence. I simply try to remember and reuse. Recycling is so important!

      Thanks for driving up so early! Hope you had as much fun as I did!

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  8. FUN! I loooove that daphne. I always admire them myself!

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  9. That agave you bought is soooooo cool!!
    What a nice post!! I like the first picture!

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    1. Glad you like Mr.Ripple, he's a pretty handsome fellow! We're a fun looking group, right?

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  10. How dare you all have fun without me!!!

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    1. We're all very sorry! We'll make certain that you're with us next time!

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  11. Next time you plan an outing I am prepared to drop anything (well, almost anything) to participate. Rave reviews all around.

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  12. Hey what a nice agave...great choice!

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  13. Thanks for planning such a wonderful trip. This was the first nursery that My Pirate has shopped for plants. It was a thrill!

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    1. Wow, that's truly special. He'll always remember his first time! We must do this again!

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  14. OMG, you're famous! So bummed to have missed this trip! You guys look like such contented plant shoppers :)

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    1. We missed all of you who couldn't come. We'll do it again! We were pretty contented!

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  15. Slinky on an escalator? That's quite an image!

    I love the Daphne image though.

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    1. That Daphne is beautiful. Still in its pot, I look at it lovingly every day.

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  16. Of course I'm unattractively jealous. I'll just have to assuage it by finding my own Daphne x burkwoodii 'Briggs Moonlight'. That'll take care of the plant part of my problem anyway. Thanks for the fun pictures of the gang of five!

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    1. We'll do this again! We can work around the next Heronswood sale or perhaps the Blodel Reserve sale in April maybe both? Or we could do a Tacoma/Vashon Island nursery tour anytime! We thought of you many times during our adventure.

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  17. I'm so bummed I missed this! You all are the most fun.

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  18. Looks like a fun group to hang around with!

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    1. Garden bloggers and gardeners in general are a fun folks, especially when hunting for plants!

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  19. I'd like to say I wish I could have gone but I was at #1 grandson's soccer game, and don't actually have much interest at the moment in buying plants since my emphasis this year was on starting plants from seed. And they have to be on sale, I'm Scotch-Irish, begorrah. I did get my little Primulas planted out today, some are already blooming from a start 4/15. So much work, so little time. I have to say that I have bought 8 Daphnes, and Brigg's Moonlight is on the "It's dead, Jim" list of 5 sadly, because I was quite infatuated with it, I collect variegated plants. But the 3 that are still around are great. 'Summer Ice' blooms continuously all summer and up until frost. So I hope you can keep the adorable Brigg's Moonlight alive. You're right, it was great fun to share your trip vicariously.

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    1. I'm sorry to hear about your Briggs Moonlight! If I remember correctly, I've killed one previously a number of years ago but I'm blaming that on poor placement and ignorance of the plant's needs. (Seems they enjoy being watered at least once or twice a summer.) Hoping this one will survive! While buying plants was fun, just being with the others and seeing so many cool plants was the best part of the trip!

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