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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, April 1, 2014

Nice Surprises for April Fools' Day!

This afternoon on returning from work, it was not only still light outside but also sunny!  I could see from my car that a box had been delivered to my front porch.  I'd not ordered anything lately so wondered what it might be.   Upon seeing the return address label (Les Parks, Norfolk VA) I realized that this was a prize from A Tidewater Gardener's Winter Walk Off drawing. I was surprised at the large size of the package but thrilled that there were so many beautiful Channeled Whelk Shells!  These are east coast creatures although they've been introduced to the San Francisco area and reminded me of visiting the beach in Connecticut (visiting relatives) as a child.



These are east coast creatures although they've been introduced to the San Francisco Bay and reminded me of visiting the beach in Connecticut (visiting relatives) as a child. According to the Smithsonian's website,  the wampum crafted by native Americans was made from the twisted central axis from channeled whelks and knobbed whelks.


I love sea shells and the first thing I did was to hold one up to my ear and sure enough, even way out here on the Pacific coast,  I could hear the waves of the Atlantic.


Because I'm currently on a tillandsia kick, this is the first thing I thought of.  Les enclosed a nice note saying that these could be drilled for drainage and planted with sempervivum or sedum.  For now, I'll just leave them on the table and enjoy them!  Thanks Les for another fun winter walk off and for this wonderful prize!

On Sunday I saw these cut proteas on sale at Costco.  I'm not a huge cut flower kind of person but these were so spectacular and since they were grown in the U.S. and reminded me of seeing them growing in the ground in California, they got thrown in the cart.


As I was unpacking Les's shells the sun sreamed through a window and hit the blooms making them glow.

A sunny day, a surprise in the mail and interesting flowers to admire all with a couple good hours of gardening before dark.  It doesn't get much better than this!




Also over the weekend, we visited Vassey Nursery in Puyallup.  It's much too early to put pelargoniums (geraniums) outside but Vassey grows the nicest plants around in big nearly five inch pots, each given a foot of space to grow in the greenhouse.  This yields a large plant the size of something one might find in a gallon pot elsewhere and Vassey's price is very low.  They seem to run out of my favorites quickly so I get them early and keep them going inside or in the glass room until mothers' day when it's safe to haul them outside. 

Here's Crystal Palace Gem's leaves are enough but it also has fluorescent orange blooms.  Throw it in a turquoise pot and stand back!

Indian Princess is also a favorite of Linda and Tom Reeder.  They were smart enough to take cuttings last fall.
 
This one was new to me and they'd lost the name of it.  Here are newly emerging leaves.

And what they look like when they're larger.  I was told that if grown in full sun, the leaves become almost totally black and it produces red flowers.  Imagine that combination and try to keep this out of your cart!
 
Wishing you a day full of surprises foolish or otherwise.

34 comments:

  1. Such great surprises for April First! And none of them an exaggeration, lie or trick. Congrats on the Walk-Off win! The Tillandsias look so cool in the shells. The Banksia and the Pelargoniums are fantastic.

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    1. Thanks! I was very surprised with the walk off win as I'd forgotten that there were prizes. It's nice to have a few tillandsias living around the house for such occasions!

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  2. Nice shell haul! And I would have fallen for those protea blooms too (but then again I am a cut flower fan).

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    1. Wasn't Les generous with his shells? Way cool! I guess I do like cut flowers but not so much remembering to change their water and throw them away once they're not looking so good anymore.

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  3. The shells set off the Tillandsias perfectly! I've tried and failed to grow Leucospermums but, whenever I see them, I think I must try again - 2 of my neighbors have had magnificent success with them.

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    1. I've been seeing tillandsias in shells in stores and thought they looked interesting, almost like sea creatures emerging from the shells. Leucospermums are such interesting flowers! I hope you are successful in growing them next time so that I can drool over your pictures of them!

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  4. I love the sea! I like to collect shells and pebbles beautiful, but I don't have similar like this. Yours!

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    1. It's fun to pick up treasures from the ocean isn't it. I love walking on the beach and finding surprises.

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  5. Among the many collections of my childhood are sea shells, and I have loved them since. You found a great use for them! The proteas are irresistible! Goodness gracious, what a color! I made a note of Crystal Palace Gem, you said the magic word: orange blooms... and it's not an April fools jock either.

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    1. Does anyone not like sea shells? Like you,I've loved them since childhood. The interweb calls the flowers of Crystal Palace Gem "salmon red" but to me, they appear a bit hotter, more flourescent than that.

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  6. Nice surprises are always welcome! Nice haul of shells and those Tillandsias look perfect there :)

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  7. What a wonderful day you had, it just got better and better! The shells are beautiful, so tactile and with the Tillandsias in them, they are perfect!

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  8. I am glad they made it there safely, enjoy!

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  9. Congratulations on your whole day's haul!

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  10. Les must find lots of shells. I wouldn't give away that many, lucky you! And that's exactly what I do with mine too. Cool protea - I was looking at those at Trader Joe's today but settled on 80 cut daffodils. Couldn't resist at their prices (10 for $1.29).

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    1. A great price for a lot of sunny yellow spring cheer! Les was very generous with his shells!

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  11. May April be filled with many more weekends like this...though this one will be hard to top.

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    1. Thanks Ricki! This Saturday is supposed to be really soggy so we'll go out exploring nurseries again!

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  12. We're going to have to find that black pelargonium!

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    1. Vassey Nursery in Puyallup has them. It's a beauty!

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  13. I imagine your house as a bit of a treasure chest, with fascinating items around every corner, and this post is only enforcing that idea. Nice haul!

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    1. You say treasure chest, some say death trap. I am sort of a magpie and have things that I like to look at all over the place.

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  14. Wow, I´ve never seen pelargoniums with leaves like that...they are pretty.
    I love tillandsias and proteas...both difficult to find here. I bet they all look beautiful in your house.

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    1. Those pelargonium leaves were new to me too! Tillandsias are all the rage here right now. I bet you could get some when you're here for the fling and mail them home!

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  15. I am also a lover of sea shells, though I have a special love for Echinoderms- sea stars, biscuits, urchins, sand dollars, crinoids. You winnings are great, and so hermit-crabesque with the Tillandsias, cute! The red and black pelargonium does sound entrancing. Once I went to a gardening club meeting on April 1. A woman got up and said they had a new fund-raising project, they were going to make calendars and sell them, the hot-selling kind where the club members would pose nude, in gardening scenes. She had a sign-up sheet and wanted volunteers. People looked shocked. April Fools!

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    1. Interesting that the remains of sea creatures fascinate us so. Is it memories of beach combing as children, the wonder of the huge ocean and it's life forms so different from land dwellers, or is it just that they are pretty?

      Love that garden club calendar joke! So funny!

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  16. That's a wonderful surprise. Those shells are beautiful and perfect for the tillandsia display.

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  17. What a fun day. The shells are very cool. What a treasure! I wonder if you can root the Protea. Wouldn't it be neat to actually get a growing plant out of the deal? And of course, major score on the geraniums. Who needs flowers with foliage like this?

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    1. It would be way cool to have a growing plant but they are not really very happy in our climate. This year I WILL take cuttings AND plant them in soil instead of letting them rot in a vase of water!

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