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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, September 7, 2017

The Normandy Park Neighborhood Garden Festival and Plant Sale

The Galicic family hosted the sixth annual Normandy Park Neighborhood Garden Festival and Plant Sale, an event to which I look forward each year.  Justin, who writes the blog Growing Steady, designed and built the garden at his parents' home and, although he now lives at his own place, he still comes back to help his parents from time to time.  The festival has something for everyone to enjoy, even children and non-gardeners.  See previous posts, with better images here and here.  This year, the midday sun and blue skies were pleasant but not so great for taking pictures.

The first thing one sees from the street are raised beds full of some prickly characters.  It's been a thrill watching this Agave ovatifolia get larger each year.

Is that Agave 'Mr. Ripple' in front of the Butia capitata?  I'm tempted to leave mine outside this winter.


From the desert to the oasis.



Into the jungle.





Wow, look at the size of that Fatsia polycarpa Needham form.






These boulders as well as the others in the garden are actually Justin's hollow concrete creations.  My pal Camille took a class from Justin and created a hollow boulder of her own.  Cordyline 'Electric Flash' is striking!


Rhodocoma capensis on the right sailed through the winter and I don't see any brown foliage.   

As if a beautiful open garden and plant sale weren't incentive enough to attend, lunch is served, a guest speaker gives a plant talk and there are activities for children.

There were lots of great plants at the sale but I didn't take any pictures.  Seems my hands were busy doing something else.


Past speakers have included Dan Hinkley, Kelly Dodson, and Graham Kerr.  This year, another world-renowned plantsman, Sean Hogan, brought plants to sell and then gave a talk about some of his favorites.  Conveniently, the plant sale was open after the talk.








Oh my, that's Clematis florida var. sieboldiana in the middle climbing the trunks of Schefflera taiwaniana.



Many thanks to the Galicic family  for another opportunity to visit their stunning garden and for this lovely annual tradition!



13 comments:

  1. This year, I made sure to mark my calendar so I don't miss this event (again). I remember reading Justin's post about creating the "rocks" and I had to see with my own eyes. In a word: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. They look absolutely convincing. Cordyline 'Electric Flash' is a perfect placement. On a nursery visits prior to Normandy Park, you coveted this exact Cordyline, and I thought "Oh, Peter should see this!" And so you did.

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  2. This garden is amazing enough on its own but to realize the event that it showcases — that is a serious accomplishment. The use of the same color and material for hardscaping really ties it all together. We have one fake rock that we bought to put over some pond gadgets. I've never seen any that look so realistic as these. He has really studied the shapes and odd contours of boulders to achieve such realism.

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  3. Oh...thanks for this! Someday I am going to make it up to this event...

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  4. The Galicic garden is looking good!

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  5. Are there any enticements to gardeners the PNW doesn't offer? I can't even conceive of an event like this in SoCal - we need more fanatical gardeners down this way!

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  6. I can see how they would have lots of starts to sell. What a lush place. I like the oval beds. Just everything looks great.

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    1. Not only do they sell things that they propagate, the guest speaker, usually a well-known plantsman, brings a lot of plants to sell as well.

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  7. P.S. you didn't mention what you bought or what was keeping your hands busy.

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    1. My hands were busy pulling and reading plant tags. A couple, maybe a few, let's just say some plants came home with me. A Protea, an Erythrina that Sean said is root hardy here, a Fatsia polycarpa, and a gold-leafed holly.

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  8. WOW!!! There is so much to see in this garden. Very nice.

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  9. If I lived closer, I'd be there in a minute! Those brick pathways are fabulous! I'd like to do more with brick in my garden in the future. (Oh, and of course all the plants there are great, too!)

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  10. We visited this garden when it was open on an NPA Hardy Plant Study weekend. It is a wonderful garden, looking more lush than ever.

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