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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.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Todd's Nursery

 
Is there a nursery that you visit far to seldom?  For me, Todd's Nursery is one of those.  It's a wonderful and huge place very close to a couple of pumpkin patches that we often visit in the fall.  Each time I visit  this late in the season, I vow to do so more frequently during spring and summer.  
 

This is a large establishment that has paths that seem to wend on forever through fabulous plant offerings.

Must go back in winter to see this gorgeous acer palmatum's bare limbs. 


So much gorgeous autumn color! 


None of my pictures  captured the vibrant glow of  this cotinus.  So gorgeous that it almost jumped into the car. 

Fun project idea.

Is this cute or what? 

Love this smaller size too.

Can you imagine walking through all of this loveliness while plant shopping?



If you're lucky, you may run into this handsome fellow who is a remarkably friendly rooster!

A series of bridges cross a creek at various points and lead further back toward a huge pond, man made, I think with resident fowl and a very impressive bamboo grove.


Park like in areas,  natural feeling in others, this would be a special garden in which to live.  add to that the wonderful nursery and it truly is a gardener's paradise.

Sorry about the dearth of images of the plants for sale.  You can see more from last year's visit here.

One of Todd's specialties is water features and koi.  Here are a few of these moving jewels.

I was particularly smitten with the one in the center of this picture.  It was a beautiful color approaching lime green.  You really can't tell the color from the images but the color was highly unusual.  I don't think these, in the show pond  are for sale.  Must go back and visit this handsome chap! 

Interesting collection.  Todd's has been in operation since 1960 and continues to be a very special place. 
 
I was forced to bring home a Daphne × transatlantica  'Summer Ice.' It seduced me with it's fresh, sweetly scented blooms.  Who wouldn't fall for a Daphne that's easy to grow and blooms from April through November?  Fall is a great time to visit nurseries, take advantage of sales, and get lots of planting done!


26 comments:

  1. Like you, I often forget how wonderful Todd's is. I don't go there often enough either. It's a great place, one of the first nurseries I ever did a post about.

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  2. So are you getting lots of planting done?

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    1. Quite a bit but there are still some things in pots that I've moved to protected areas for the winter. One large space is now free of the lilac monster that was suckering and taking over but the roots are still there. I'm very tempted to just mulch over everything instead of actually digging up the roots. Probably won't plant it until spring though.

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  3. That huge lace-leaf maple is majestic and very well featured. Often people are afraid to pruned them which is obviously not the case with this gorgeous specimen. I find pruning help to showcase their great structure.
    I'll put Todd's Nursery on my list of places to visit; thanks for the tip. I was hoping for a picture of your new Daphne. I managed to kill Daphne Odora (twice). Is the summer blooming variety hardier in PNW climate?

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    1. Daphne odora is odd, some of them take all sorts of abuse and thrive others just decide to die because they don't like the way you look at them. Sharp drainage, especially in the winter, is very important for D. odora. Even it they're happy for years, they'll sometimes decide to die. It's worth trying again for that heavenly scent in late winter! This summer blooming daphne is supposed to be a little less of a prima donna. We shall see. I've a talent for killing plants! If you ever want to do a tour of eat nurseries, I'd love to show you the great places that the south sound has to offer. The kitsap peninsula also has some stellar nurseries not to be missed!

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    2. It's very kind Peter, your offer to show me around. I should take you up on it next Spring, when nurseries are at their best. (You'll have to promise not to feature me in the blog: I'm a little camera shy). Like most gardeners, by the time the flower and garden show opens I'm starved for garden action and anxious for the season to start. I would be primed for a nursery tour by then.
      You said "...a tour of eat nurseries"... a typo or am I missing something?

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  4. The colors are gorgeous. Just a beautiful setting for a nursery. Also love the globe with the glass pieces which is a nice change from the marbles you usually see.

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    1. It is a beautiful setting indeed! I'm thinking that I should make some more things this winter and that ball might be fun to create.

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  5. "So gorgeous it almost jumped in the car" - love this!

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  6. They certainly do set the stage for plant lust to set in. Nothing quite compares to a nursery with a fine display garden.

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    1. Todd's is in a fantastic setting, country road, fields of produce, huge hill behind with both deciduous and coniferous carpeting. Sigh...

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  7. Great timing, with all that gorgeous autumn colour! And thanks for including koi pics, the water clarity is amazing!

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    1. The changing leaves are quite vibrant this year! Love to look at koi but still haven't figured out how to successfully eliminate the reflection on top of the water when photographing them.

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  8. With all that beautiful foliage, it really does seem like fall is just the right time to visit this place!

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    1. With all the great stock on the tables, it looked like any time would be a good time to visit!

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  9. What Cotinus variety is that? that is a nice place, beautiful fall colours.

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  10. Does your Daphne x transatlantica smell like classic daphne? I had 'Everblooming Alba' (killed it) and it really smelled more like a honeysuckle.

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  11. Peter, it's true, fall is a nice time to visit nursery! As this Todd's Nursery, with big beautiful maple and many red leaved trees and bushes. Daphne 'Summer Ice' is pretty but toxic, take care!

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    1. I didn't know that Daphne 'Summer Ice' was toxic. I'll be sure not to eat it.

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  12. Your PNW really pulls off the autumnal effect, at least as good as the (gloomy to me) eastern 1/2 of the US. Here, it only works at night! Great stuff there, decorations and foliage against the dark coniferous greens.

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    1. Yes, but the northeast has those gorgeous rolling hills covered in hardwood trees. We have gorgeous autumn color in the areas where maples, sweet gums, oaks, etc. have been planted but most of the large trees covering the hills and mountains are evergreens. I do love the colors of autumn!

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