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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, July 17, 2018

Summer At Swanson's Nursery

A couple of weekends ago, after touring some Seattle Gardens we were only fifteen minutes from Swanson's Nursery so it made sense to stop by.  (It always makes sense to visit nurseries.)

Humphrey, the life-sized dinosaur is decked out in flowers for the season and is standing midst huge dahlias.  Just think of the damage a garden pest like this could do to one's garden.

Temptations abound. 



The vines are just getting started so we'll have to check back frequently to see the progress.  

Herbs and pots. 

Rieger Begonia, Elatior Begonia (Begonia x hiemalis) come in such gorgeous colors but I've never grown them.

Until 'Valentino stole my heart.  I'd admired this in my pal Alison's (The Bonney Lassie) blog in the garden of Charlene and Jim Hampton but had not seen them in person.  Then, here they were.  I've read that Riegers make great houseplants but don't appreciate drying out too much.  I'll really try to keep them going over the winter along with a few others I picked up on sale at our local everything store.

More begonias!  

I love it when nurseries create combinations that one could copy at home. 


Not interested in creating a seasonal combo pot?  Just grab one of these. 

Swanson's always has a lot of very well done combo pots!

Oh, those delphiniums.  Sigh.  

Off to the shady side. 

Hosta 'Zebra Stripes'   


A fernless fern table. 

A great variety of fern offerings. This is only a fraction of the fern area. 

Oh, look a stunning  Persicaria 'Silver Dragon'  It looks so cute in the pot and the color is wonderful but  the microcephalas tend to be a bit thuggish in my garden so this beauty stayed.


Love that plant stand.  One of these days, I need to learn to weld!

Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Sunset' (Looks more like 'Orange Blaze' to me)   Oh that gorgeous color!


The purple color of Opuntia 'Santa Rita' could make one fall hard for this one.  Oh those glochids -  sometimes love hurts.

And, as Loree says, "There's always an Agave." 


Well, hello there handsome. 

Summer fun?  The teepee seemed to be quite a hit with the kids. 

Pinus sylvestris 'Bialogon'  Wouldn't it be wonderful to have the space to grow every cool conifer one came across?

Yucca rostrata and Dasylirion.. 

Probably best not to venture back there. 

Stachyurus yunnanensis has silvery evergreen foliage, red stems and pinkish new growth.  Oh yeah, it blooms too.  What's not to love?

With dark burgundy foliage and these fantastic blooms, more pink than they appear here.  Hydrangea macrophylla 'Miss Saori'  jumped into my cart.

Hypericum 'Red Star'


Inside stuff. 

Look back there, I think that's Tephrocactus geometricus.  What a surprise to see it here.

Humphrey's relatives?




 One always has to visit the koi.

Another winning combination. 

Annual madness.

Time to take our purchases to the check out building where the sale shelves are located.  I contemplated buying one of these for a Monday vase but didn't.


Time to go to the parking lot and load the plantmobile.  

18 comments:

  1. Love everything thanks for sharing! It is going to be another scorcher here.

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    1. Sorry about your heat! It's warm here but not too hot.

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  2. What a great visit to Swanson's! I've got to get there sometime soon. You found some real treasures. How cool that you found that Begonia after seeing it on my blog. I'd never seen it before, but it's such a darling flower.

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    1. Looking on the interweb, it's a relatively new introduction. Hope I can keep it a live this winter.

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  3. Swanson nursery is an eye candy, and I love the diverse shady plants area. A couple of weeks back I saw they have a bunch of Acer palmatum "Ukigumo" which I've been lusting after, but at about $140 each I went for a tiny cacti instead. It has a big name thought... Kleinia-stapeliiformis-Senecio-stapeliiformis (Pickle-Plant).

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    1. It must be dangerous to have your garden so close to Swanson's. I think of your garden every time I visit the nursery. Ukigumo is such a gorgeous tree. A lot of my expensive maples started as the least expensive one-gallon sized plants I could find. $140. is pretty expensive. The visit before this, I got a Kleinia-stapeliiformis-Senecio-stapeliiformis but it had no name tag. Thanks for identifying it for me. From now on, I'll call my Chava!

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    2. Ha, Chava-Cactus. I like it.
      Mine just said "Foliage"on the 2" pot, an internet search provided the name. One of the images showed an exotic looking orange bloom; I can hardly wait.

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  4. I want that tall plant stand and then I am going to fill it with that orange Libertia. Swoon!

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    1. There are always so many gorgeous plants and things at Swansons. It's a good thing that it's an hour away!

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  5. Thanks for visiting us! You got some great photos. Hope you are enjoying your lovely plants!

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    1. It's always a pleasure to visit your amazing nursery. I've got to get back this month to spend my Swan Dollars!

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  6. Replies
    1. Amen! Aren't we lucky to live in an area with so many great nurseries?

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  7. I think these nurseries ought to give you a discount for all the 'free' advertising. ;) You'd put it to good use, I think!

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  8. That hydrangea almost makes me fall off the wagon. I swore I wouldn't buy another. Yet...

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    1. Isn't it spectacular? The foliage alone is gorgeous and then there are those flowers. You can never have too many hydrangeas.

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  9. You welding, along with your glass talents...look out! (I think you’ve discovered your retirement career).

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