Rare Plant Research Annual Open House

Rare Plant Research is a wholesale grower of unusual plants that opens it's doors to the public one weekend a year.  I'd purchased their plants from local nurseries for years before visiting myself and now try to make it to the open every spring.   To see many previous posts from RPR, look here.  You can also search my blog by typing Rare Plant Research (or any other term you might be interested in) in the white box with the magnifying glass in the upper left hand corner of the screen.   Once again this year, I met my pal Loree (yes, THE Loree Bohl of Sunset Magazine Fame.) in her equally famous garden from which we set out to Rare Plant Research together.   Loree warned me that the garden was a mess so I didn't ask about taking pictures but his lady doesn't know from mess - her garden looked fabulous as always.  Here's a bit of what we saw.

Lots of tiny agaves.

Some more stressed than others. 

Only in the Pacific Northwest...Our native sword fern finding its way into potted agaves. 

Trachycarpus wagnerianus for a ridiculously low price had me wondering where I could squeeze in another 

This NFS variegated pineapple made me glad that I purchased one here several years ago. 

Speaking of bromeliads...

The hot and bright conditions in these greenhouses really bring out the vibrant colors of these beauties. 

I would want more bromeliads if I didn't already have so many from a number of years of attending this sale.

Citrus trees are lots of fun to see but My garden is out of space. 

 Cussonia looking quite happy.  I wonder if they'll have these for sale in the future?

Fucrea gigantia is such a stunning thing.  Mine is struggling along in the greenhouse.  Wouldn't it be divine to live in a climate where these could happily grow in the ground?

Musa zebrina 

Look at the size of those velvety leaves .  That's the head of a shopper included for scale. 

Agave geminiflora.

Colorful succulents. 

Aloe dorotheae

Carnivorous and colorful Sarracenias aka  Pitcher Plants.

NoID NFS coolness. 

 Well, isn't that different?   

Now for some of what my pal, Alison, calls  fat bottomed girls (Caudiciform plants) 

Calabanus hookeri looked so fabulous  at RPR.  

It jumped into Loree's new plantmobile along with a few other things.  To be fair, some of these are Loree's.  (well, one box)  Someone has no control.

We opted not to visit the house, gardens, and vineyard this year.  It's beautiful but another nursery and lunch were calling.