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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.

Friday, January 24, 2014

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!


30 comments:

  1. Wow, your friend really knows, how to relax.. You found such a lovely and special Hellebore. Happy weekend, Peter!

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    1. Relaxation is our favorite sport! Happy weekend to you, Satu!

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  2. Actually, it's a good thing we're not in California, they have a drought going on. We've also had quite a bit less rain this winter than normal. I guess that hanging chair hammock thingy was comfy, huh? I remember checking it out when we were there last summer. I've been hoping to find 'Early Bright' too! My 'Jelena' has no scent either that I can detect, but then it is planted in a bed near three sweetbox, which have such a strong scent I can smell them from my back porch. That's pretty cool foliage for a Hellebore, I love it.

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    1. You're right about California! I feel bad for gardeners there right now. Tom thought the hammock thingy was very comfortable but getting in and out of it was little awkward. Maybe with a little practice... Maybe we'll find 'Early Bright' at the show.

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  3. Your pics are a sight for sore eyes. So nice to see color in the landscape again. Still snow here.

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    1. Sorry that you still have old snow on the ground and no new snow to freshen it up. We only got about an inch of snow that lasted half a day this year but every two or three years, we get a nice covering of snow that lasts a couple of days. It's so beautiful and brightens the night incredibly. I sometimes miss real winter but then It's a treat to have so much green outside and something blooming outside all year long. On the bright side, spring is just around the corner for you!

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  4. I almost be that yellow pine is Pinus strobus 'Louie'...which I saw for the first time at Wind Dancer a few years ago...and may have bullied Heather into buying last fall! They're way cheaper, grow faster and actually don't turn completely green in summer (like 'Chief Joseph' does), but fades to a bright chartreuse-y green in summer.

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    1. I remember Heather posting about 'Louie' and that very well could be the one. There was no name tag on it but it really was a great color! Nice to know that 'Louie' doesn't turn green in the summer. We simply need more space to grow all of the gorgeous plants we fall in love with!

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  5. Tom is such a good sport to accompany you on these adventures, Andrew would politely decline. You made me laugh with the comment "it's Scott and Loree hanging out together!"...pretty funny. Speaking of fragrance (the hamamelis) I had no idea Cupressus arizonica 'Blue Ice' was fragrant, I'll have to lean in next time I see one.

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    1. Tom is always up for a road trip so if I'm visiting a place that requires a little drive, he enjoys coming along. He even looks at plants occasionally and if he ever comments on something I make sure to get it. Cupressus arizonica 'Blue Ice' is fragrant if you brush or bruise it a little. Makes great cut greens for inside during the holidays!

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  6. Scott and Loree together make for a cool and unusual combination! And lucky you got hold of Anna's Red, been after one for years and it's always in short supply here (named after Anna Pavord).

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    1. Loree has written before about the beauty of the grass/succulent combination and it is lovely! I'd no idea that Anna's Red was named after Anna Pavord; that makes it even more special! I also was ignorant of the fact that it existed but was just enthralled with the foliage. There were several of them at the nursery. Would you like me to get another and deliver it to you at the fling this summer? Will you be taking plants back?

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  7. I snapped up the last of the 'Early Bright' at Garden Fever after Loree blogged about it. Like you, I detect no scent from most of the Witch Hazels, but have high hopes for this one. I actually prefer the look of the alternative you show to the Chief (maybe rationalization?). The lacy look of 'Blue Ice' is stunning.

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    1. The alternative to the Chief makes more sense as it were to succumb to pine borers or some other ill, you wouldn't feel so horrible about hocking the last of grandmama's silver to buy the Chief! I'll keep looking for 'Early Bright' round these parts & hope to find the stinky thing! Although, maybe with the lonicera fragrantissima, winersweet, viburnum 'Pink Dawn' and sarcocca pumping out perfume to beat the band, I could just let the Witch Hazel be a visual treat. I'm still in love with Diane's gorgeous color both of flower and fall foliage.

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  8. I always wanted Chief Joseph, never bought one because of the price but maybe one day. I actually prefer it's slow growth habit. I'll be looking for "Anna's Red". It's gorgeous! Who cares what color the flowers are with leafs such as this!
    And finally: I think what should have gone home with you that day is the hammock! That would have been the perfect purchase. What a precious picture.

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    1. I was lucky enough to receive a Chief Joseph as a gift from my sister and niece a couple of birthdays ago. What a special treat to go to a local nursery and have them say, "We've got something waiting for you." As if that weren't wonderful enough, I was led to a Chief Joseph. I couldn't believe what a special gift it was and was a little overwhelmed that they'd spent that kind of money on a plant. Luckily, I haven't killed it yet. It's still in a pot because I'm frightened to plant it in the ground. 'Anna's Red' does have spectacular foliage. I think that the red eventually fades to green as the leaves mature but still, what a spectacular show! The hammock did look comfy but it would take up far too much space that needs to be used for plants!

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  9. Would you be able to drive some rebar down the inside of the pot the bamboo is growing in? Might help anchor it a bit more. It looks like it's pretty tight, so maybe even rebar couldn't slide between the side of the pot and the rootball.
    I love Anna's Red. There is one growing in the garden I work at, along with a trio of Penny's Pink. Penny's Pink has more intense markings on the mature leaves, but I like red better than pink. Blue Ice is such a beautiful conifer. That may make it into the list of "must-haves" for my dream garden.
    Your girlfriend, Monrovia, certainly has a lot of character!

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    1. Your rebar idea is a great one! Since that bamboo is supposed to be a clumper, I removed the pot entirely. Tom dug a deeper hole and we set it free in the ground. I never liked the look of the bottomless pot but the ground beneath was undiggable for several years because it was full of the roots of a running bamboo that I successfully killed (just kept cutting and fertilizing, no chemicals.) Now that the roots have rotted somewhat, we were able to dig through them a little more easily.
      Now I'm going to look for Penny's Pink! You can never have too many Hellebores, right?
      Monrovia is a good time gal and shows up at a few nurseries around the area. She's always ready for a party!

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    2. Oh, good, you removed the pot! I thought you had mounded soil up around the pot. My mistake. No need for the rebar then! Hopefully you won't get anymore strong winds until that bamboo has put out some roots.

      I forgot to comment on the tree ferns. If only, if only, I lived in California, Hawaii, or southern England or Ireland, ooh, or New Zealand.

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  10. Ooooh, Chief Joseph sure is a beauty! Whew!

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  11. I can't believe someone gifted you a Chief Joseph! Lucky man. And Tom is adorable, conked out like that. Plant shopping is exhausting.

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    1. I'm very lucky to have a Chief Joseph that I didn't have to pay for but now I feel even more responsible to keep it alive. Tom always finds some place in just about every nursery we visit to snooze.

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  12. Good you were able to set everything right again. Your witchhazels are gorgeous but I have also had the experience of plants not producing the fragrance for which they are renowned. I always feel cheated.

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    1. The emperor has no clothes! There, I said it. The damned witch hazels have no fragrance. They're lovely to look a but that's it! Don't we all feel better now?

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  13. That Echeveria would make a good pet - cuddly, but doesn't need feeding or cleaning up after. That was a successful hunting expedition. Tom must have got very tired after all that digging.

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    1. Napping is one of Tom's favorite things to do at nurseries.

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