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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, April 20, 2017

The Rhododendron Species Foundation Spring Sale

Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming!  How lucky for those of us in the Pacific Northwest to have two, count 'em two, fabulous specialty plant sales happening on the same weekend.  Fortunately, the RSF sale took place on Friday and Saturday while Hortlandia took place on Saturday and Sunday.    First the RSG sale.

This sale seemed even more grand than it was last year. It was a treat to see so many familiar vendors who I worried might forego this sale this year because of the conflict.  Some, like Keeping it Green Nursery found a way to be at both sales.  Plant people are magic.

Having bid farewell to our Chocolate girl in the wee hours of this Good Friday morning, it was good to get out of the house and try to  be a little distracted by late afternoon when the sale opened.

Being surrounded by so much life was helpful and walking the grounds of the garden (post tomorrow) was healing.

So many delicious plants.

Fuchsias with interesting foliage

and adorable blooms like this F. reflexa

Acers a-go-go

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' has come back during the last couple of years.  For a time this was hard to find.

I forgot which pyrossia this is.

 The foliage of Viola koreana, the cyclamen-leaved violet, caught my eye.  The clump of violets in my front lawn isn't increasing quickly enough to take over all of that grass so I'm collecting violets to plant around in the lawn to help out.

Teddy, the mascot of Keeping it Green seemed comfortable on a chair in his coat.  He's a very friendly and sweet boy who I've met and patted before.

From soft and cuddly to sharp and dangerous, there's always an agave.  Nice to see more of these showing up!

Ian of The Desert Northwest brought a very nice selection of agaves but I have most of these, having shopped with this great grower before.

Grevillea fivularis, which has sweet pink flowers came home with me. 

So tempted by these Banksias.

Descampsia flexuosa 'Aurea' looked quite fetching especially when the sun broke through the clouds briefly and lit it artfully.


A new plant to me that almost made it into the plant mobile just for the story!


Here's the haul:  Prostanthera rotundifolia, delighted to finally find an Artemesia versicolor 'Seafoam', Eucryphia glutinosa, Grevillea rivularis, Descampsia flexuosa 'Aurea', a couple of Saxifraga stolonifera to replenish a patch that I lost, Campanula 'Samantha' , Hosta 'Crumb Cake' and a new Grevillea 'Ivanhoe.' My Ivanhoe perished this winter in the wet and cold sitting out in a four inch pot.  I'll take better care of this one!
Tomorrow we'll stroll the garden together!

8 comments:

  1. Our Hardy Plant Soc. sale has plants from members' gardens rather than vendors. This has got to be fun to shop from so many sources in one location.

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  2. So you made it to both sales? I was tempted. The Desert Northwest alone almost makes it worth the attempt, but I had played to hard all week and just couldn't justify the time. I'm glad you had these sales to distract and begin the healing. I really love that oak. I lusted after the two at Cistus while I worked there, but they weren't for sale. It's exciting to hear that it's survived single digits. Most information states it's only hardy to 15F. Now I really want it! I love Eucryphia glutinosa. The fall color is gorgeous and the fat green and black buds on the bare branches in winter are equally so.

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  3. Nice haul! I have that Grevillea rivularis from Ian, it made it through last winter with just a little die-back. It hasn't been a great bloomer for me, but it's really about the foliage.

    Sean tipped me off about those Oaks at Hortlandia, I should have grabbed one. Oh well.

    Who did you get the Grevillea 'Ivanhoe' from? I got one at Little Prince, to replace the 3 I lost last winter. I love that foliage so.

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    1. Both the Grevellia 'Ivanhoe' and that oak were in the space of a small Oregon grower. I've forgotten their name but they were at the RSG sale last year too. Very nice and knowledgeable older couple.

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  4. I don't think PNW plant sales can be beat anywhere, with the exception of the UK perhaps. The words "the sale seemed even more grand that last year" have never escaped my lips here. You took home a great collection of plants - I'm glad you found some 'Seafoam'!

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  5. Well, we missed that sale this year, first time in a long while. I'm glad it was even better and that you found treasures.

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  6. Great choices! I skipped the sale this year again. Still trying to get caught up in the garden after neglecting it last year. I've bought some workhorses, but not too much iffy stuff that I'm not familiar with. That golden Descahmpsia is nice! I bought three 'Seafoam' Artemisia from High Country, and they're tiny little plugs. I was hoping to find some at Xera when I went down to Portland a couple of weekends ago for the Little Prince outing, but didn't see any there.

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  7. Looks like a fun event. 'Spotty Dotty' is an excellent name for a plant variety.

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