Visiting Valley Nursery

This season, Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones, creators of Heronswood are opening Windcliff, their current garden to Northwest Perennial Alliance members a couple of Fridays a month.  I was very excited to see this new(ish) garden as I was a huge fan of Heronswood.  Alison and I decided to go to the first open, make a day of it, and Visit a couple of nurseries as well.  Valley Nursery in Poulsbo is  always a fun place to shop; the people are so friendly and they always have great plants and fun yard art. Now we have the extra treat of seeing our pal Debbie Teashon when we visit Valley as she's working there!  That sort of looks like her on the left. For a better picture of her, click on the link above.  

Viking with a rather prodigious...rooster. 

Alison had just blogged about using broken pots (see post here) and they were doing the same thing at Valley.  How cool is that?  I'm not quite as creative and tend to glue broken pots back together.

Plant addicts love nurseries year round but the sight of a fully stocked nursery in the late spring is a special treat.  So many gorgeous plants!  One envies those who live in climates where it's always summer, always time to plant and garden.  Our seasonal changes are beautiful though.

Hosta 'Raspberry Sundae' has cute raspberry-colord freckles at the base of its leave and down it's stems

Trachycarpus fortunei in bloom!

Debbie showed us some wonderful tender plants from Wehop and took our picture in front of some of them.

Love this Kalanchoe beharensis but already have one.  

This is a sweet re use of this percolator/server and these tea cups and saucers.  Does anyone collect bone china cups and saucers anymore?  I admit that most of the time I make tea with a bag in a mug of hot water but every great once in a while, it's fun to pull out a tea pot, some cups and saucers, cookies, maybe some cucumber sandwiches,   and enjoy the ritual of tea with a friend. 

The osteospermums  were looking quite nice this day.  They're always o photogenic.  This form is  my favorite; they look like flowers from outer space.

Another form, same color.

 Yet another.

These would be great "bridge" flowers blending together purples pinks, oranges in a mixed container.

Yes, it's simple Vinca minor 'Illumination' but there's this spot in the shade between my garden and that of my neighbor that is begging for this golden color.  The late day/early evening sun streams through and intensifies the gold of the leaves.  This looks much better than other hanging plants I've had there.  Sometimes a good common workhorse plant is just the thing!

 Remember the rule, "If  it's odd looking, it's probably a euphorbia?"   Here's Euphorbia 'Green Crown' I kept coming back to this one for possible use in a head pot I have but decided on something else instead.  Still, isn't this cool?  I may have to go back.

 Valley's indoor plant section is not a huge area but it's chock full of fabulous plants.  Loved the pinkish variegated bromeliad in the center.  For me, it's as much fun to talk someone else into buying a plant as it is to buy it myself.

And it goes so well with her blouse. 

Having grown many petunias over the years, I'm mostly over them but every now and then there will be that fragrance in the air or a beautiful new color combination like this 'cha-ching cherry' and I reconsider squeezing some in someplace.

Alison making a friend.

Here' our cart almost ready to roll out of the nursery. There was one more item to grab, a pot on sale for 60% off the original price.  It'll get it's own post sometime.  The Sedum burrito in the cart won out over the euphorbia for the pot.  

Time to check out and pack up the plant mobile!