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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.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Stopping by City People's Garden Store

After the plant sale a couple of Saturdays ago, I decided to stop by a nursery or two.  After all, this one was on my way home - sort of.  City People's Garden Store is in the middle of a busy urban Seattle Neighborhood and there are always interesting plants and all sorts of garden-related merchandise to peruse.  (previous post here.)

The good-sized outdoor yard closes for part of the winter so it's always exciting when it opens again and the new plants come marching in.

 Thuja orientalis 'Franky Boy' has lovely thread-like foliage which is "Wonderful in winter when 'Franky Boy' turns to bronze-orange."  Tempting and now that I've seen more images on the web, I may need to go back and get one.


There's Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' which seems to be coming down in price a bit this season.  

Lots of cool miniature evergreens and Acer palmatum.  What a difference a couple of weeks makes.  My Acers are unfurling leaves now!

Think Pink!  And a bit of purple.

 Echeveria


My newly-planted tulips are just starting to emerge from the ground while the ones that have been in my garden for years are blooming now.  Go figure.

Looks a bit like the holidays but heck, any color this time of year is welcome.  Of the three Hippeastrum that I put in the greenhouse before Christmas, one is completely finished blooming, the huge one with three bloom stalks is starting to wind down a bit, and the third is just now starting to show the top of a green stem.

Perfect with those red and yellow tulips!

A bevy of beautiful pots which usually seem a bit higher priced in Washington than what I've seen in Oregon.

Let's mosey inside and see what's going on.  This time of year, there are racks and racks of interesting seeds, bulbs, etc. along with everything one could possibly need to start them all. The indoor plants were calling out to be admired.
It's true, there's always an agave!  In this case, there were lots of them.  Looks like Fleetfoot and Foulweather Succulents and Cacti  have been by recently.  Wouldn't it be cool to see their growing operation?

Such cute little babies.  



No straw flowers glued to these cacti!

The indoor store goes on and on and is full of fun stuff!


Oh, Mr. Bromeliad, you are certainly handsome in bloom!


Although it doesn't quite fit my garden, I always admire this cool twig furniture.


What came home with me?   Three little oddballs:

Monadenium ritchiei



Can't find any information about this one but it's sure cute!



and Pseudolithos migiurtinus  

Happy new week!

20 comments:

  1. Another fun trip. So many desirable things to see and admire and buy.

    Bulbs almost always do that: the established ones bloom earlier than the new ones. Maybe the new ones think more cold is on the way if they came from a little colder climate which I always suspect or maybe their roots weren't quite 'set' yet.

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    1. So many desirable things indeed!
      Thanks for the tip about bulbs. I used to plant bulbs every fall but as they came back so well, I skipped a few years and thought maybe I'd planted them wrong or something.

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  2. I'm going there this morning to see if they have any erythroniums--I feel like they should be available in the stores, but I'm not seeing any. What's up with that?

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    1. I don't know if erythroniums do very well in green house/mass production operations, they're ephemeral and their blooms don't last incredibly long. Further, their horizontal leaves don't make for easy packing and transport. For those reasons, and maybe others, we don't see them in a lot of nurseries. Keeping it Green and other smaller growers, especially those who specialize in native plants, usually have them at plant sales like the Heronswood sale that will be taking place this weekend. If you're going to the sale, look at their list of vendors, email one of them and request that they bring some for you to buy from them. Just a thought.

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  3. You found some wonderfully lumpy, bumpy little cacti! I love that twig furniture too, but I don't where to fit it into my garden either.

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    1. The more I've been reading about my oddities, the more nervous I am about having them. Very important not to over water but under watering can cause rot just as quickly. Crazy!

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  4. When you said oddballs you weren't kidding! Very cute. New residents for the green house? Are you prepping for the annual Spring migration?
    The picture of Franky Boy reminded me I had my eye on Thuja plicata ´Whipcord´ for sometime now. This may be the year I'll get one.
    Did you run into sansevieria in the indoor section? My friend is searching for a replacement plant; it seem to be out of favor these days.

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    1. The spring migration will be a bit different this year as some of the heat lovers may just stay in the greenhouse as permanent residents like the three new oddballs.
      Franky boy reminds me a lot of 'Whipcord' which I love!
      Lots of sansevieria, many varieties at Molbak's Nursery in Woodinville. Didn't notice any at City People's.

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  5. It's wonderful that you never run out of interesting nurseries to see Peter!

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    1. We're lucky that our region has so many nurseries to visit!

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  6. I do love City Peoples! Have you signed up fro their online newsletter? They send out discount coupons...

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    1. So glad you recommended it! Didn't know about their online newsletter. Always happy for discount coupons that allow us to take home even more green goodness. Thanks!

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  7. That's it! I'm naming you the official nursery/garden center ambassador for the PNW!

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    1. Wow, fancy title for a plant addict but I like it. When you move up, (maybe a summer place here would work so you'd have the best of both worlds) we'll hit them all!

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  8. The Bromeliad...oh, my! Your selection of oddballs suits me to a tee. As our gardens fill up, don't we seem to go for the ever stranger additions?

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    1. It's true - so much beauty outside, we start to go for things that look like pine cones, stones and little brains in tiny pots. Crazy!

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  9. I never know if "twig furniture" is decorative only or can be used as intended. Would look good with a garden cat sleeping upon it...

    (You have inspired me to visit as many area nurseries as I can this spring/early summer.)

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    1. It doesn't really look strong enough to support more than a garden cat. I'm glad that you'll be visiting as many area nurseries as you can this gardening season. I love nursery hopping and it's especially fun with other plant crazed gardeners.

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  10. You did make some weird looking selections!

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    1. You know how pets resemble their people...same with plants.

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