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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, June 25, 2015

Dig Customer Appreciation Event with Richie Steffen and Some Surprises

On June seventh, Sylvia and Ross at Dig Nursery threw a customer appreciation event which included delicious refreshments and  a demonstration of the creation of a fern table  by Richie Steffen, curator of the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden and author of a new book entitled The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns, which was favorably reviewed by Dominique Browning in the New York Times Book Review.  There were also drawings for prizes.  It was quite a party!


Lots of basil including a variety called lettuce leaf or something like that.  The leaves are much larger than standard basil - perfect for sandwiches!


Tom and I arrived a bit early so that I could scope out the nursery.  Blogging pal Alison pulled into the parking lot at the same time and we had fun checking out plants together!  As we walked in, a familiar person (from Linda Reeder's Blog)  approached.  "You're Glenda." I said.  Glenda was surprised that I knew who she was.  An avid reader of garden blogs, Glenda also loves Dig.  It was a delightful surprise to meet her and her husband Don!  Another very nice lady in attendance thanked me for blogging as often as I do which was very kind of her. I wish that I'd asked her name but she disappeared.


Here's a quick peek at part of the nursery.


Carnivorous plants a go go  from Jim at Courting Frogs

The fabulous metal pergola. 

Sedumville.

Beautiful echeveria pot.  Talk about A Whiter  Shade of Pale!


 I have loved this long stone table running down the middle of the greenhouse since first seeing it.  It works well for displaying merchandise but would also make a wonderful dining table if one had a huge family.

More interesting things inside the greenhouse.

Hover dish beautifully planted.



Another well done Hover dish.  Notice the tentacled planters  in the background.  Aren't they fun?

Exquisite combination!

Leftover piece of cake.  The previous day at Dig, Mari Malcolm of Lusher Life who created the floral wedding cake at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, gave classes on how to create a piece of floral cake using Floral Soil.

Did I mention that I love this table?

There are always fab cut flowers for sale from Sylvia's Garden which we'll tour in another post.

Big barnacles as homes for tillandsias - fun!

Interesting pot!  What would you plant in it?

More interesting sea creatures!

Cool letters, numbers, shapes to be planted with succulents a la Flora Grubb.


More delicious succulents.  Check out the glazes on the pots.  What do you think?  


The  maniacal genius,  Mr. Steffen, attacking a defenseless stump in preparation for his upcoming demonstration.

Cute tillandsia and wood arrangements.

Richie is an engaging and knowledgeable  presenter!   

Perhaps one day I'll get a bee in my bonnet to try this myself.
 
After everything is in place, Richie wraps the fern table in fish line to stabilize it should it need to be transported. 


Voila, the finished fern table.

After the demonstration, Sylvia had Richie draw numbers for prizes.  Mine didn't come up but Tom's did.  Because Tom couldn't decide, I chose  and got a bag containing an Eryngium 'Neptune's Gold' (beautiful) a cute little hand broom that is perfect for the potting bench, and a fifty dollar gift certificate.  Needless to say, I used the gift certificate immediately to buy some cool plants!

Book signing.

Thank you Ross and Sylvia for hosting this fun event!  Everyone seemed to have a grand time!

34 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a great event, and that's a nice raffle prize!

    As to the pots' glaze question: I'd have to see it closer but my first reaction was YES!!!

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    1. You are right, sir, a great event and very nice raffle prize! That glaze is very interesting in that every pot is different but they could work together as a group very well.

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  2. The rusty sphere takes the prize. I'm not one to usually like mixed succulent containers, but some of these are particularly well done: the gray pot with the elongating aloe and drooping senecio, leftover piece of cake on pink plate, tillandsia on wood. The color and texture combinations of the cut flower arrangements are fab, yes.

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    1. Sylvia came up with using the rusty spheres as planters. She's always coming up innovative and fabulous ideas and is a master of combining plants, colors, pots, cut flowers. There is no end to her talent!

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  3. Hooray on your prize, how wonderful that Tom left it up to you. I got one of those gold Eryngiums too. Richie was indeed a fun, engaging and knowledgeable speaker.

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    1. It was nice of him to let me choose but he really didn't know what to pick when given the choice. What a grand day!

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  4. ... and Tom had HOW MANY seconds to decide before decisions were made for him?

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    1. Thanks for the laugh! I gave him some time as all of the prizes were very cool and I didn't want to be overbearing. (Out of the way, non gardener, I know best!)

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  5. I was poring through your photos thoroughly Peter, they have so many very nice things!

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    1. Yes they do and next time you visit the PNW, we will have to get you to this nursery!

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  6. Love all the succulents. The rusty sphere and that slice of cake... terrific. Jean's comment cracked me up, I snorted my coffee with laughter. Truth be told, I was going to ask to borrow Tom as a good luck charm... how fortunate are you! The glazed pots are unusual in a good way. Nice to see something different.

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    1. Dig is full of great plants and related merchandise and it's always worth a visit! Jean's sense of humor is as wonderful as her wisdom and advice! You can borrow Tom as a good luck charm anytime!

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  7. I was so bummed when I got the invite and realized I'd be in Toronto, glad you and Alison were able to make it...and report on it! Lucky Tom (you) being a prize winner! As for the container glaze, yuck. Looks like a skin disease.

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    1. Loree those pots in person are really very attractive,I hope you get to see one soon some of your collection would look lovely in one Glenda

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    2. The day would have been even more sparkling had you been able to attend! Your comment on the glaze made me laugh! I'm kind of on the fence about it and am willing to wait to see if there's a context in which it looks good.

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  8. It was a great event one of the best,and Richie is an amazing person knowledgable and yet down to earth. The book he helped write is definetly one to have in your library. The glaze on those pots in person is actually very very beautiful. Hello Peter it was so nice to finally meet you and Allison. As always I enjoy your posts on this very fine blog. Happy gardening and enjoy your summer off. Glenda

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    1. Such a fun event and cool people! The examples of that glaze at Dig was much nicer in person but I can't decide if the appeal is one of novelty or not. What would they look like with plants in them or would one of these make an empty pot statement surrounded by plants that would pick up the colors. It was nice to meet you; it's always a thrill to hear that people enjoy my blog whether they comment or not . Thanks for taking the plunge!

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  9. Wow, you got to visit that wonderful nursery, see a great presentation, and then got paid for showing up! I wish my local garden centers had customer appreciation days.

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    1. We have some exceptional nurseries and many of them present special events and classes throughout the year. Sylvia and Ross did an exceptional job as always!

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  10. What a fantastic day…thank you for sharing all the great photos. There is no telling how many things I could buy if I lived in the area.

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    1. Everyone had a great time - my pleasure to share! Perhaps a trip to the PNW with an empty truck is in order.

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  11. Alison's and your posts complemented each other nicely. I'm glad you were both there! So many succulents! Even with my relatively limited taste for them I was drooling!

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    1. Thanks for mentioning Alison's post. I'd somehow missed it and was delighted to read her take on the day! Dig is a great nursery for great succulents!

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  12. Some creative plant combinations that make me wish I had the knack. I think my problem is lack of patience to fully research the plants to make sure they will cohabit happily. I give thumbs up to the glazes.

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    1. You make such cool flower arrangements that I bet you'd make great combination pots if you thought of the plants like flowers. The cohabitation thing is fairly easy if you stick with succulents. Barbara Wise's book, Container Gardening for All Seasons: Enjoy Year-Round Color with 101 Designs has some great recipes for combo pots and might be of help.

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  13. Still laughing at Loree's comment about the container glaze. Those pots are appearing locally, and some of the glazes turn out better than others, but I give it a thumb's down too. I think they're from Vietnam, but don't quote me. Peter, the base of the table looks like CMU -- another genius hack! You could totally make a scaled down version for yourself. C'mon, do it!

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    1. In some ways the glaze is reminiscent of ware brought up from the bottom of the ocean after hundreds of years. It might be a matter of context (like they might look better at the bottom of the ocean.) Just joking. There certainly must be a setting in which these would be perfect. The table is doable and Ross is happy to tell me how to do it. Right now, as things move around in my greenhouse, it's best to keep the easily moved folding tables. Once things settle into place, a more permanent table like this will happen.

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    2. I'm glad to know a similar table is going to be in your GH. There is nothing wrong with pots made in Vietnam, they have good clay and some nice pots are affordable that come from there. I like a subtle glaze. It certainly looks better on a pot than on skin. I thought they looked aged, as if they had barnacles.

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    3. Most of the frost tolerant pots we see on the market come from Vietnam and I have lots of them in my garden. Nothing wrong with them at all. One would not recommend glazing the skin in any color as firing ones self in a 2400 degree kiln tends to be detrimental to one's health and well being. I knew a guy who tried it once- goes by the name Dusty.

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  14. What a fun day! And Yea! for the winning ticket.

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    1. It was a fun day and the winning ticket (there were many, like 13 prizes) was the frosting on the cake!

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  15. You met Glenda!
    I love all of the succulents i n your photos.

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    1. We did indeed!
      Sylvia does an exceptional job with succulent combinations!

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  16. The glazes on those pots are amazing - right up my alley, but nothing like that here. Sigh. The sedum containers/dishes, especially the "white shade of pale" one are an inspiration for me to try in some shade out here.

    I appreciate how much you blog, and your detailed posts, even if I rarely comment or get to read more than not...

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