-

-
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.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Spring fun at Molbak's

 
A couple of weekends ago when the liquid sunshine was turned up too high to work in the garden, I thought it might be a good idea to tidy up our house a bit.  The thought passed quickly and we got in the car and drove to Molbak's Nursery in Woodinville instead.  When I die, someone else will tidy up anyway so why waste too much time on that now? There are a limited amount of springs to embrace in one's life but the housework goes on forever.
 
These stone-faced folks greeted me and were not at all impressed with my attitude.  "Cleanliness is next to godliness!" they seemed to be saying. 


These two seemed to have already given a piece of their minds to someone else.

The new foliage of Pieris japonica 'Flamingo' will keep this brilliant color through part of the summer. 

 P. japonica 'Forest Flame' is another favorite.

Yucca filamentosa 'Ivory tower' looked beautiful!
 And came with their own developing ivory towers.  Tempting!

Mahonia aquifolium doesn't have the showiest flowers in the genus but their fragrance more than makes up for that!

Lonicera x hekrotii 'Gold Flame' must have just come from a grower far south of us as ours aren't blooming yet.  Hummingbirds love this one!

Wouldn't it be nice if ranunculus bloomed longer, or were reliably perennial. They scream happiness!


All those petals and the circular shape reminds me of the flowers we used to make by cutting a circle in a bolt of crepe paper, stapling the center and drawing the paper up toward the center. 

They look a bit like the product of an affair between a rose and a begonia.  I wonder if Jerry Springer would be interested in doing a show about it.  A little genetic testing, some fighting plants - I'd watch.

Surprise, someone was fooling around with a California poppy!


Moved to tears.  Oh the shame of it all.
 
Pericallis 'Senetti' comes in such beautifully saturated colors!

A perennial kale (zones 8 and above) with nice variegation,  Kosmic Kale is reportedly quite tasty as well.

Hosta 'June'



I was surprised that this was in the hard to find area.  Arum italicum is a wonderful winter foliage plant!


Is artificial lucky bamboo  (Dracaena sanderiana) unlucky bamboo? 


Pretty cool!  Tillandsias?  collection of small flowers?  How would you use this?

Fell in love with this and it rode around in my cart for a while.


She even took me home to meet her family.  My would-be mother in law's tongue just wouldn't stop wagging.  Too high a price so I left her as I had found her. 

 While I admire the miniature or fairy gardens of others, it's not something that I do.  If the fairies aren't happy living under mushrooms and in my plants and trees, they're free to fly on over to more posh digs. 

Looks like a fun place to spend the summer!


Must be some big chickens as that coop is bigger than the house and barn.  Do fairies farm?

 
I like this one because you can close the top, trap the pests and release them elsewhere.
If they persist, I hear that a nice dose of diazanon mixed with D.D.T. will take care of them.
 
The teeny tiny plants and planters section was sweet.
 

I found a couple of 3 inch concrete urns that look like the huge ones sometimes seen in the gardens of old homes. they look quite regal with tillandsias in them.

Tea lights would make the cut out pattern dance across your table.


 
 
I think that Danger wrote about these retro hanging planters that she found in Portland.



Stop growing plants upside down!  Stop it now!  Even this plastic tillandsia doesn't like it one bit.  O.K. you may use sea urchin shells, put tillandsias in the hole in them and hang them upside down so that they look like jelly fish but that's it.

Is it live or is it Memorex?

I thought that these were the bees knees for a while but then realized that my basement is full of more realistic looking ones of these that could be used as planters.  Added bonus -  the ones in my basement will match the wall colors in every room of the house.

Clever repurposing of this piece!  A terrific way to display these.  

Happy Monday!


27 comments:

  1. So many good looking plants!! I also hate plants hanging upside down...I don´t get why they do it that much lately.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully the upside down fad will pass.

      Delete
    2. I couldn't agree more. Plants don't like it and I don't get it. It's just...wrong.

      Delete
  2. Happy Monday! Are you out on break this week, or is that next week? I might be tempted by that colorful bird cage cum fairy gazebo, but I wouldn't put tiny furniture in it. The tiny urns are cool too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are many things about miniature gardening that I think are very sweet but I don't think I could pull it off.

      Delete
  3. Happy Monday! Fun at Molbak's is a good way to start the week. The Ranunculus colors are so pretty and bright for spring. I'm not much of a fairy garden fan but the gnome trap is an idea worth remembering should they become a pest in the garden.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear that the gnome trap works on all manner of garden folk including fairies and leprechauns.

      Delete
  4. Rollicking start to the week...thanks for the chuckles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't do fairy gardens or upside down planters either, but I DO wish for a magic wand so I could bippity-boppity-boo that green and blue fairy gazebo to full size! Nursery trips always win out over tidying up in the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be awesome! If you ever find a wand, could you turn my garage into a greenhouse? Thanks so much!

      Delete
  6. Your opening pics certainly give meaning to the term "stone-faced." Interesting that you interpreted the stone's expression as a rebuke for dereliction of your housekeeping responsibilities - maybe they were really trying to convey annoyance at the delay getting out the door to visit them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too funny! I like your interpretation much better.

      Delete
  7. Some of those vases and containers would be right at home in a modern, contemporary home and garden. Including the sansevieria one which is quirky and fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may have to go back and get that sansevieria vase. It would also work in my old quirky house too.

      Delete
  8. It seems as if you had a good time but did you buy anything?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes. I got a couple of 5 inch concrete urns (not pictured) a daphne that is supposed to keep blooming on and off all summer, a tiny Rhipsalidopsis (spring blooming Christmas cactus looking thing) and it seems like there were a few more plants but I can't remember what they were.

      Delete
  9. I was there recently but you managed to focus on entirely different things than I did. fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's one of the great things about reading lots of local blogs! Your picture of that Magnolia at Swanson's made me want to go check it out.

      Delete
  10. I did blog about (and buy) a trio of those hanging planters. The ones you discovered are better colors though.

    You know, I think you would be fabulous as a talk show host. Maybe in your next career?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I was a kid, I got home a couple of hours before my parents and sometimes to amuse myself, I had a talk show with imaginary guests. Sonny and Cher were fairly regular visitors and I'd always get to sing with them. My favorite part was the cooking segment where I'd talk aloud to the camera about what I was creating. A plant talk show would be fun. I could chat with people who actually know stuff like you!

      Delete
  11. Oh my you are in your element now! I enjoyed your prose even more than the photos. I hope you're writing a book. And I'm so glad I'm not the only one who will avoid housework for anything garden-related. And the stoned-faced folks... too clever, especially the ones who gave a piece of their mind. .... I would love to own that former-locker. Love June hosta too. Don't have room for it though. Dang. Thanks for the entertaining post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the post and as always, it was my pleasure, Grace! Not writing a book as I'm a fairly good writer of captions for pictures but that's about it! There's always room for another hosta. They grow great in pots and can be placed in beds where spring ephemerals have died and left a space. Gotta remember to move the hosta pots before next spring though.

      Delete
  12. So glad you had fun at our nursery! I love your enthusiasm and photos. Any chance I could use the honeysuckle image on our facebook page? If you would be willing to share a fewother photos, please email me at lmoses@molbaks.com. Have a great day.And come by again soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting! I love Molbak's but it's a good thing that I don't live closer or I would end up signing over my entire paycheck to you! You are welcome to use my pictures but please give credit and let me know.

      Delete
  13. I'm totally with you on the upside-down plants. I just don't get it. I do, however, adore the hermit-crab tillandsias, so clearly there's no accounting for my taste.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also love the hermit -crab tillandsias and looked at more really gorgeous artificial flowers on this trip and decided that they are pretty cool! So, I guess that we'll both get our Matha Stewart impeccable taste cards revoked. Pity.

      Delete

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