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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.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Random Outlaw Fun

Recently, pal Alison and I attended the Heronswood Fall plant sale and my heart skipped a beat when I saw this Trevisia affinis palmata on the Windcliff Plants table.  Earlier this summer, exceptional gardener and plant freak, Mary Palmer,  posted a picture of hers and created instant plant lust.  Dan Hinkley says that his specimen has been hardy outside during even the coldest winters in his zone 8b garden.  This beautiful thing comes from the mountains of NE Vietnam.   My Trevesia palmata 'Micholitzii' and Trevesia palmata are hardy only to 25-30 degrees and  their even more deeply-lobed and cut leaves (Snowflake aralia is a common name)  have made it worth lugging them in and out of the house each year.

Birthday money was meant to be spent on something frivolous, right?  Sometimes I wonder why, when there are so many perfectly fabulous, hardy, tried and true plants available,  I'm  so easily excited by something new and unusual.  Crazy.   


Staying with palmate leaves but moving from Araliaceae to Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha multifida, purchased three years ago as a seedling from Etsy, lost it's leaves in the greenhouse a couple of winters ago so last winter, I decided to keep it indoors.  It lost it's leaves again during the coldest, darkest part of the year.  However, they keep growing back once it gets brighter and warmer again. Bare branches may not be everyone's idea of an attractive houseplant but the naked stick look is more than made up for by the foliage when it's present. 

Hey, what's that? 

This is the second time blooms have appeared this season.  

Gentiana 'Alex Duguid' is an older variety of autumn-flowering Gentian.  They had me at autumn-flowering.  From the Far Reaches table at the Heronswood sale.

There were some Valley Nursery reward dollars in my account that needed to be spent so this beauty came home with me. (Like I need another bromeliad...)

From the Odd Plant Sale came these new additions.  Those name tags are around here somewhere...

Many years ago, I planted Tropaeolum speciosum at the feet of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Van Pelt's Blue' thinking that the brilliant vermilion blooms would look good clambering up the oh-so-blue foliage.  That Tropaeolum  never did much but this year,  one nearby jumped over and decided to climb toward the sun on the blue Chamaecyparis (A.K.A. Port Orford Cedar) which made me exceedingly happy.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Van Pelt's Blue' appeared briefly at a couple of nurseries about eight years ago and I got three tiny saplings.  They then seemed to vanish from the trade, perhaps because of the fungal problem that beset the Port Orford Cedars.   However, recently Youngblood has been delivering them to several area nurseries.  This is such a stunning blue color which gets even better in the winter.  If you see one, snap it up as one never knows how long this window of availability will be open.  By the way, my three little saplings are now about ten feet tall and don't seem to mind a bit of pruning.


11 comments:

  1. It was worth the wait to get those red flowers in the cedar. Far Reaches has a similar Gentian for sale that I put on my list to consider. Have not grown Gentians but I love the paler blue color and light throat.

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  2. Oh, that Jatropha! Now, those leaves are worth it, and it must be happy if it's flowering. So glad you got that Brom.

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  3. Oh that Trevisia, oh that Bromeliad! Happy planty fun with the Outlaw...

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  4. The Trevisia seems a perfectly appropriate birthday present to me! I just picked up a Jatropha (J. integerrima) myself. Mine's planted in a large pot outside, where it will remain so long as I remember to water it regularly...

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  5. The Odd Plant Sale member on the far right looks like Bowiea volubilis, the Climbing Onion, a nice specimen! And since I've been tuned to Ken Burn's Vietnam series, I'm seeing the trevesia through that filter. I've been wondering about all the plants that were bombed and napalmed, and here's a gorgeous one on your blog. What a beauty!

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  6. Peter, so many exotic plants and they are all lucky to have a home at your house. And here I sit with petunias, ha! I think it is perfectly wonderful to spend your birthday money on what you love. Carl and I had a fantastic time going through all the posts I've missed over the last week; the garden tours are amazing. I always feel as if I'm there in person. Thank you for allowing us to tag along.

    Thank you also for your kind words about my wasp misadventure. I will admit, the videos were a great bit of comic relief at times and a strong bunch of cautionary tales.

    Always a delight to visit with you, Peter.

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  7. You have some really cool unusual plants. Things I have never seen.

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  8. You are such a sucker for fancy foliage! Those leaves are beautiful though.

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  9. by this time we have all grown tired of the tried and true...should follow you around to suss out bits of exotica.

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  10. Love the Tropaeolum blooming on the Cedar. The Gentian is also a delight.

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