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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.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Visiting Bark and Garden On A Rather Wet January Day


Bark and Garden is a very large nursery and the first thing I noticed when driving in is that they've added another building, a huge lath house.  Right now it is full of evergreens but one wonders what they'll use it for this summer.  The garden that they've been working on looks much more finished than it did during my last visit.

A huge water feature dominates this space and small rivulets meander throughout. 


I also noticed that there were no huge containers parked across the parking lot as they have been in previous years at this time. Inquiring inside, I learned that Bark and Garden will not be at the Tacoma Home and Garden Show or at the NWFGS in Seattle.  Bummer.   Anyway, as always their displays of evergreens blew me away.

Instead of segregating their plants by type, B&G displays them in beautiful color combinations that make me want to rip out my entire garden and replace it with something like this.

No one else in these parts does winter evergreen displays quite as stunning as these.  Those red and orange Nandinas really add a grand contrast!

Moving inside one of the cool greenhouses, I spotted this color combination. My eyes danced at the color echo of the pinky purple of the cordyline and the details of the giant lizard.

This large gazing ball-centered sunflower certainly stands out! What will they think of next?

B & G also incorporates all kinds of statuary in their displays.  One has to admire the scale of these huge creatures.

Ah, the hellebores are starting to open up. I had to bring a couple home just because they were in small pots and fairly inexpensive.  One can never have too many hellebores, right?


There were a lot of agaves in gallon pots all lining the top shelves of the unheated house.  Here are just a few.  They were mostly varieties that can make it outside here.  (Mr. Ripple was the only exception.)

Back out to see something and caught sight of more evergrens.  The new lath house is partially visible on the right.

Purty primrose.

Camellia sasanqua 'Kanjiro'  giving C. s. 'Yuletide' a run for it's money.  Although Yuletide's bright red cheery color is still my favorite.

And by some strange greenhouse magic, Dianthus blooming in January. 

Another camellia. The tag was buried around the back of the plant somewhere and I didn't want to disturb it.  Aren't those little almost water-lily shaped flowers darling?

Flowers of another kind in full bloom in the gift area.


This guy, also available through Design Toscano, was tempting.  He'd look quite interesting among  some of the gravestones in my garden.  He's a bit too realistic and scary looking though.

Another couple of large houses are devoted to tropical plants.  Dinosaurs do need heat!

As do jungle animals. 

This time of year finds holiday displays being put away, new merchandise arriving, gearing up for spring and the early summer rush.  This Yeti (or is it just a blonde gorilla?)  was taking a nap inside a small greenhouse  in the back. Hope he's not grumpy when he wakes up!

Although it doesn't look much like this right now, Mark and Gaz's (Alternative Eden) jungle hut came to mind.

Interesting driftwood horse. 

Those of you who live in areas where Spanish Moss naturally grows on your trees may find this a bit funny.  It's artificial Spanish Moss.  Plastic and at the end is a nice little handle.  $2.99 a hank.

Someone named O'Neil had fun painting "laughing rocks."



Laughing out loud!  Always with the jokes, these people.  Seriously, this is good advice.

Another view of those glorious evergreen displays and more of the lath house.  

On this extremely rainy day, the thought of watering was laughable but this is sure a pretty display of bright colored watering cans.

Here's my haul.  The Viburnum xbodnantense 'Dawn' are in the background. What a treat to bring home plants again!  The scent of Sarcococca filled the car on the way home and made me think of the Northwest Flower And Garden Show, the air of which is usually heavy with this fragrance.  (Yes, there are already a few of these in my garden but I wanted one to plant near the back porch where I'll smell it frequently.)

Have you brought home any new plants lately?

27 comments:

  1. The place looks fun and very interesting, with so many noteworthy aspects. I'm loving their large vases btw and bamboo windchimes :)

    The sixth photo clearly shows their knack for combining plants really well!

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    1. Perhaps you need both of those for your jungle hut... It's a thrill to go and see the shockingly beautiful evergreen combinations at B & G in the winter. One of these days I'll get there in the summer.

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  2. The garden looks fascinating and it's always fun to tag along on your nursery visits. Fake Spanish Moss is sold around here too and even odder since it can be found for free. Dianthus is a winter annual in my area and blooming all over the place right now.

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    1. Fake Spanish moss - what a hoot. The real stuff lasts forever. Hard to believe that people would buy fake when real is free. I've heard that people worry about chiggers in Spanish Moss though.

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  3. Blown away by the fabulous color of the winter evergreen display. I admire the driftwood horse-y. I can't understand why sarcococca is blooming in the UK and PNW but not SoCal???

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    1. The non-blooming SoCal sarcococca is a mystery. Does it usually bloom there at this time of year or is it dormant during your hot dry summers and break dormancy/bloom in the fall?

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  4. The only plants I've been buying lately have been houseplants -- or greenhouse plants, technically. I'm so disappointed these folks won't be at either show, I was really looking forward to seeing what they bring and how they display their plants. They're so good at it. I guess I'll just have to plan to visit them some time this spring or summer.

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    1. They do a great job and it's a bit disappointing that they won't be at the show but we can always visit the nursery! I really want to see it in the late spring/early summer this year!

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  5. Wow, sad news that they won't be at the NWFG Show, they were one of the largest plant vendors! I hope some other nursery has stepped up to fill their space. (nice haul btw!)

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    1. They did bring on the green in a big way at the NWFG show but they said that this is one of the busiest times of the year for them and it's hard to add another thing.

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  6. I can see why they are not going to the garden shows: all their efforts went into making this a destination.

    One could get some little fake succulents in tiny clay pots at dollar tree to put with some of the faux spanish moss. Along that same line of thinking, I could spray paint some green Nandina. I've never seen anything like the yellow and red they show. Somebody used to claim that colorful Nandina was caused by a virus.

    Winter here is mostly green. All those colorful evergreens are stunning.

    I've always wanted to build a lightwood horse.

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    1. Last year when I visited in January, the trucks were being loaded for the show and the nursery looked equally fabulous.
      Black spots on their leaves may be caused by a virus but I think the color changes are natural. Of course, a stressed plant might color up even more intensely than one that is pampered; I'm not sure.
      Horse building could be your next project! Wouldn't one look great outside your mule barn?

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  7. The water display is amazing and is worth the visit, if only to be able to say "small rivulets" in a sentence. A grand evergreen display such as theirs rivals spring blooms in my opinion.

    P.S. With the lure of a free lunch I convinced the garden-owner to drive the gardener (me) to the Tacoma show on Saturday. I'll look you up in the crowd!

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    1. Small rivulets is redundant, isn't it, a rivulet being a small river and all. Oops. Anyway it was a great excuse to use the word! I agree about the evergreen displays. What really makes them pop is the red nandina foliage which is only that color in the winter. Often when I visit them in the winter, I want to replace most of my garden with evergreens.

      Hooray about the Tacoma Show! Do you know about when you'll be there? We could meet at the door if you'd like. The hall isn't huge so it'll be easy to find us!

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    2. I'd like to arrive as they open, around 11:00 but I haven't discuss the details with the garden-owner yet. I appreciate the gesture but don't wait at the door; I have a feeling you and Alison will not be too difficult to spot.
      Did you know there are $2 off coupons you can print off their site?

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    3. O.K. we'll see you there! Thanks for the tip about the coupons, I didn't know!

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  8. I feel fortunate to have access to such an inveterate shopper. Nandina! That's what I need to add a bit of color to Delusional Drive. When I win the lottery, I will cover an acre of open ground with waterways just like that.

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    1. You know I'm more than happy to bring anything down to you next time I visit Portland! Nandina would look great in the delusional drive! That water feature is gorgeous but if I won the lottery, I might look for a piece of property that had a natural water feature already present.

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  9. As cool as all the stuff is here, I am most taken by the outdoor evergreen displays. So beautiful!
    I bought a few primroses the other day for a front porch pot. That's it. This is not a plant buying time of year for us because we don't want to get down on the cold wet ground to plant them.

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    1. No one else does evergreen displays quite this way. That's always my favorite part of visiting them! I'm not actually planting anything just scattering the pots around.

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  10. What a fun nursery! I wonder if that bear would scare raccoons? Perhaps a Yeti is needed for that.

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  11. I finally broke down and bought an Ulmus parvifolia 'Seiju'. It has the coolest bark and pretty little mouse-ear-sized leaves which turn a beautiful golden yellow in fall. It's a lovely little tree! Their evergreen displays are wonderful, and I have to admit to having a soft spot for giant dinosaurs towering over the plant displays. Not sure why...

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    1. Your new acquisition sounds great! I've admired that plant in nurseries. The Elm is so small that you could get by with a much smaller dinosaur...

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  12. I loved this guy but I thought that I woud be afraid every time I see him on the floor :((
    I also would buy some camellias : white and red, and some colorful plants from that stand, Peter.

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    1. He is pretty scary. Have a good weekend, Nadezda!

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