A Typical Winter Saturday; Visiting Bark and Garden Nursery

Although the daylight lengthens a little with each passing day and now I can see the yard in the light really briefly before I'm off to work, I still come home from work in the dark.  I also work until one or so on Sundays and occasionally teach a class on a Saturday.  Anyway, time in the garden while it's light out is fairly limited for me this time of year.  With never knowing what the weather will be like, a sunny free Saturday is a blessing.   You may recall that during a recent wind storm, this happened.  In trying to fix it myself while the wind was still blowing, the cool pot in the center got knocked over.  I'm pretty good with silicone though so it'll be back up soon.

 

 Last Saturday, Tom offered to help me put this all back together which was extremely kind of him as I would have a hard time (can you say impossible) lifting the concrete columns myself.  we scooted the bamboo out of the way and since there was only room for one of us back there, Tom volunteered to deepen and widen the hole while I separated and repotted my largest Podophyllum delavayi.  I could have made three plants but opted for two as I couldn't find an empty pot that I really liked for the third and had run out of potting soil and didn't feel like mixing up a new batch just for this job.  If I'm successful, they'll get split again next winter. 

The hole was ready and we dragged the bamboo over positioned it and threw dirt around making sure to water it in well to fill in any air pockets and to try to make the root ball as heavy as possible so it'll stay upright.  After a little work, everything was roughly back in place.  The black pot will not stay there - it was part of a whole bunch of stuff that was on the ground to try to cover up the ugly white pot that the bamboo had occupied.  Now  that the bamboo is in the ground, the soil around looks lovely and will be planted with some cool ground covers like the Adiantum venustum (Himalayan maidenhair fern) in the pot at the base of the column. I'll also get rid of some other clutter around here or I could just wait until the Hosta 'Sum and Substance' in the pot behind Buddha's head grows out and covers it all up. 

After we got this put back together, we decided that we should take a little road trip to the Olympia area to visit Bark and Garden Nursery about which I've previously posted here, and here.

Since Loree and Heather were both abuzz about Hamamelis mollis 'Early Bright', I've been looking for one.  While 'Jelena' was tempting with it's gorgeous color, I couldn't smell a thing.

 I love 'Diane' so much that I bought one earlier this year  for  its flowers and fall foliage which are surprisingly very similar in color.  While others say that they can smell these, I've never detected much of a fragrance unless I nearly impaled a nostril with a branch.  I've heard that 'Early Bright' has the elusive fragrance that even a non believer like myself will be able to detect.

No luck here but it's only the second place I've looked.  I love the thrill of the hunt, don't you?

Hydrangea quercifolia with that lovely fall/winter foliage.  Mine usually stays mostly green and seldom gets much of this cool coloration.

Rhodocoma capensis in a gallon pot from Monrovia looking so happy and healthy. (and inexpensive.)  I remember when  all of the the restios were the latest plant craze here.  Rhodocoma capensis seems to be the hardiest of the bunch for me.  I had a couple sail through our freeze with no damage at all.  Really, who couldn't use another one of these?

 That gorgeous Astelia chathamica x nervosa 'Silver Shadow' from the Sunset plant collectin glowed as the sun started burning through the fog.  Something tells me that this was inside during the freeze.

Look at this great evergreen grouping.  Yum!

 Look, it's Scott and Loree hanging out together!

I vowed not to buy any hellebores since mine weren't blooming yet and I wouldn't want to have too many of the same kind.  They're such a beautiful and long-lasting flower for our winter gardens!

 OMG!  I KNOW I don't  have a hellebore with foliage like this!  "Anna's Red' came home with me!

 

As did a pot of Cyclamen coum which blooms in the winter and spring

 

 

I didn't catch the name of this gorgeous golden needled pine but it was less than half the price of 'Chief Joseph'.  Tempted but I was given a 'Chief Joseph for my birthday a couple of years ago. 

Tree ferns inside just waiting to go home with someone.  You perhaps?

Just in from California I'm thinking. 

Very cool but I wonder if I'd remember to continue braiding it?

Labeled simply "Echeveria"  this fuzzy cutie made me smile.

'Topsy Turvy' has been one of my favorites since I bought my first one at Heronswood a billion years ago.

Here are the containers that  I wrote about yesterday.  One will be going to the Tacoma Home and Garden Show this week and the other will be going to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show the first week of February.  Come to think of it, these folks have a pretty big display, maybe both trucks are needed at each show?   Lots of work for this nursery in a short period of time!  Make sure you stop by and say hello if you're at either of the shows!

Here's a 'Chief Joseph'  Lodgepole pine that'll be visiting the shows.  If you have a half a grand of pocket change burning a hole in your pocket, this is just what you need!

If you like the gold color but want to spend less, there'll be alternatives available!

Work continues on the huge water feature out front.  I'm looking forward to it being done so that customers can wander through!

Back inside, the houseplant section is looking lush.  I was just missing quite a few of the great statuary pieces that must have sold as I walked in and who should greet me?

My girlfriend Monrovia!  It was a relief to see that she was still waiting for me (or just about anyone else.)

I've seen enough and have a cart full of plants so it's time to collect the Tom and check out.  Where could that Tom have gotten to?

 

 

I swear this man has found a place to nap at just about every nursery in the Pacific Northwest!

In addition to the hellebore, cyclamen, and rhodocoma capensis mentioned earlier, I also picked up a few nandinas (below,) an Adiantum venustum, and the Cupressus arizonica 'Blue Ice' pictured below.

In addition to being very handsome, 'Blue Ice' also has a delightful fragrance.  I'm so lucky that the freeze took out some plants and I got rid of a lot of stuff that I was sick of last fall so that I'll have space for some of these new arrivals.

Because we'd just gotten a flier from Watson's about their 30% off indoor plant sale, and since we had an hour and a half before closing time, we decided  to zoom over there (40 minute drive) to check it out.  That visit will have to wait for another post. 

 

Blogging has caused me to explore nurseries a lot more during the fall and winter, great times to see some really interesting offerings for winter interest!  I feel very lucky to live here were we can garden almost all year.  (O.K. it's not California gardening all year, but still...)  Happy weekend all!