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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, April 27, 2015

My First Visit To West Seattle Nursery

Since seeing their great display garden at the Seattle Flower and Garden Show in February, I've wanted to visit West Seattle Nursery.

A small part of West Seattle Nursery's  NWFGS display garden.

 The insect hotels were a big hit!

On April 11, the plant mobile took us on  a nursery hop which included West Seattle Nursery!  We'd arrived on the day of their annual open house.  Although we arrived well after the festivities, there were still a lot of people shopping and with good reason!  This place is full of great plants!
You read the sign correctly, they're open until 8:00 p.m. I already love the nursery without setting foot inside!

Warm colors made the cool day seem less so.

Stolen  Borrowed directly from WSN's website is their definition:
"West ∙ Seattle ∙ Nursery (west sē at’l nûr’se rē), 1. the place in West Seattle where a variety of trees, shrubs and plants are nurtured and available for purchase. 2. a landmark small business operating in West Seattle for the past 31 years. 3. an eclectic group of horticulturalists and plant enthusiasts working together for the edification, service and common good of gardeners everywhere."  I can't improve on that nor can I think of a way to improve this magical nursery.


 There's something for every gardener here. You can even adopt this little cutie!

W.S.N. is not expansive in area but they've fit a lot into their space which is dripping with plants!

 You'll see clever use of vertical space throughout. 

Even a separate sale area!

I found a cardoon in a four inch pot among the many vegetable plants.  Much more affordable than the huge and glorious plant seen earlier at another nursery.

Shelving puts lavender closer to nose level!

So cool to see agaves (from Little Prince of Oregon!) mixed among the other hardy succulents. 




Hosta 'Happy Days' is aptly named.  While its appearance doesn't bring to mind the T.V. show, it's cheerful colors can't fail to make you happy, especially if you're a deer.

Azara integrifolia 'Variegata' was new to me but not to Plant Lust.  Those ladies know everything! Azara microphylla 'Variegata' is a favorite of mine and I was sorely tempted by it's larger-leaved cousin but where would I put it?  (Like that's ever stopped me before.)

There are good reasons why Chavliness, a commenting reader of O.G, says that this is her favorite nursery!

Chief among them is the focus on beautifully healthy plants!


At the Portland Yard, Garden, and Patio Show in 2014, there was a display garden that featured a group of  beheaded Pseudopanax lessonii 'Sabre.'  Do you suppose they're delivered this way?

Bidding the birds to come hither. 

Structure and some of the insect hotels from the NWFGS display garden.


 Caragana arborescens is a shrub that grew well in my Alaskan home town.  There were a few people who had clipped privacy hedges of it.  A lot of good that did.  In a town of seven hundred fifty people, everyone knew what you were doing anyway. Anyway this weeping form called 'Walker' is new to me this year and I've seen it at a couple of nurseries already.

A chicken coop with a Shotz Brewery sign.  Why?

I didn't figure out which was Laverne (Henny) Penny Marshall

And which was Shirley but this one was sipping milk and Pepsi.

The references are all to "Laverne and Shirley" which aired on U.S. T.V. from 1976 - 1983.

Trees and shrubs.

Wood made of concrete is faux bois; Are cacti made of concrete faux ouille! (ouch!)

The fading paint on the house next door adds an air of mystery.

And inside, there are more treasures to find!

Tillandsias still tickle me even though they're a bit of a fad right now.  How can a plant that's happy with a weekly bath in the kitchen sink or a spritz of water if I forget be all that bad?  Although they're called air plants, they do need water and occasional fertilizer.

Squidward here almost came home with me.  Sure is cute.  Maybe I should go back. 

Another sighting of these planters/facial tissue dispensers for the Flintstones.


Galvanized metal house-shaped display piece is interesting as are those little vases.

The best surprise was when I came across this!  Mark and Gaz from Alternative Eden posted a similar piece with which I was quite taken,  on their blog.  Theirs are light green, the top domed a bit. Might be interesting with a collection of tiny flowers tucked into the openings.  On the other hand, it's great all by itself.  

What a terrific nursery! The products were top notch and the people, even though they were probably tired from the extra work of the open house earlier in the day, were helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.  Just go!

25 comments:

  1. I've been planning to go there too, maybe this week! I'm assuming from that last shot that you bought the lotus pod thingy? Love the chicken coop. Were they selling the bug hotels from the display?

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    1. It's definitely worth a visit! Yes, I bought the lotus pod thingy because I thought Mark and Gaz's was so cool. Now I'm not exactly sure what to do with it. The bug hotels were hanging on walls around and didn't seem to have prices but I didn't look very hard.

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  2. "...tissue dispensers for the Flintstones"! you crack me up, Peter.
    Happy you enjoyed my neighborhood nursery. The large empty space you showed near the end of the post was vacant just for the open house: I was there yesterday and it is overflowing with even more plants that arrive in the two weeks since your visit. I went in to get a couple of lavenders and the lines were so long I figure I'd stop by again this morning before work. I heard the adjacent home belong to an owner of the nursery and is planned on being razed to double the size of the nursery. Imagine the joy!

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    1. You're lucky to have this place in your neighborhood, it's truly wonderful! It's so special that I hope with the expansion that they can still keep the fun small vibe. Who wouldn't want more of a good thing?

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  3. Fun! I ♥ jam-packed spaces. Still mourning the demise of my favorite local nursery. Haven't found one to replace its particular charm. Need to explore more. SURELY something out there.

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    1. It's hard to loose a special nursery! Perhaps someone will open another.

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  4. Glad to hear it exceeded your expectations Peter, and that you finally got to visit them :)

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  5. Squidward...hahah....
    That's some nursery. And again, another to add to the ever-growing list of ones to tour up north. I need a month to do so at this rate, Peter. Thanks for the tour! Seems like one worth going to! Especially if they have Laverne and Shirley to visit :)

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    1. Perhaps you could rent a condo up this way for a month and spend every day exploring nurseries. Kind of a fun vacation. Some people climb mountains, others shop for plants.

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  6. I've got a good friend who has lived in West Seattle her entire life. Whenever I mention that West Seattle Nursery has become a "thing" she just laughs. I guess when you grow up with your mom dragging you to the local hardware store/nursery it's hard to imagine them every gaining any caché. As for the scalped Pseudopanax lessonii 'Sabre' word on the street is that the grower did this to get rid of frost damage. Poor things.

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    1. Interesting about the Pseudopanax lessonii 'Sabre' and funny about the nursery. It's certainly not a hardware store any more! Seems like a lot of West Seattle is experiencing an increase in popularity .

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  7. Love all the Vietnamese containers.

    I am inspired again and off to work on my bug hotel.

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    1. Aren't they pretty?
      You'd make a great bug hotel! Might be a good inside project once the summer gets too hot for you to work outside.

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  8. Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Looks like a great nursery worth supporting, with a focus on plants, not just Flintstone tissue dispensers.

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    1. Definitely a focus on plants. Looking forward to going back to see what they do at different times of the year.

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  9. Great Nursery - I really like the Caragana arborescens and the fact that this one has resident chooks (all that free manure!) But in visiting so many nurseries, you are a braver soul than I am....my wallet always ends up so much lighter at each and every one!

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    1. It's a dangerous thing to visit so many nurseries. When I began, I thought that simply photographing plants to show on the blog would be a good substitute for actually buying them. That worked for a while...

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  10. I hear something...do you hear it? I suspect it is Squidward, calling your name.

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    1. Squidward will find a home with a loving family but I already have enough tillandsias! Let's see how long my resolve lasts.

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  11. This nursery has it going on! Great plants and little interesting objects. I love the way they display the plants especially the tillandsias. If I ever took a road trip to the PNW I would have to bring our work trailer : )

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    1. What a great idea! Just drive on up with your work trailer. You could scoot over to California and work your way up the coast. So many nurseries! My idea of a perfect vacation.

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  12. What I find most surprising is that there's a nursery within 100 miles you haven't visited before. Why don't some of these people open up shop in SoCal. Oh, maybe they heard about the water thing...

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  13. I love nurseries like this one. Neat, organized, and packed with big, healthy plants. That weeping Caragana is interesting. I kinda like it, even though I've been avoiding yellow lately. Squidward looks like Tillandsia duratii to me. The flowers smell like grape Kool-Aid, btw, although mine has only bloomed once. Maybe that will change now that I'm getting a greenhouse.

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  14. What an excellent looking nursery. It seems like it has a great 'feel' to it. Lots of lovely pots and the stuff inside must have been tempting.

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