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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, August 14, 2018

Playing With Friends at Valley Nursery

On Saturday morning, in with the clouds and a nice bit of refreshing rain blew a couple of bloggers you may recognize.  I was so excited to see them that the only picture I took of them both is blurry. Loree (Danger Garden) and Alison (Bonney Lassie) and I had planned a trip to Valley Nursery, Windcliff, The Brindley Garden, and Far Reaches Farm.  Loree started the day at 5:00 a.m. in order to arrive at my house at 8:30; Alison lives considerably closer but the arrival of friends in the garden is always a reason to celebrate. 

Perhaps my Trachycarpus needs another limbing up.  On the other hand, it's not really a jungle unless a palm frond or two thwacks you in the face. 

Alison at our first stop, Valley Nursery in Southern California  Poulsbo.

It was delightful to see a substantial number and variety of cacti and succulents offered.  Seems that there was recently some sort of event or class about using these plants outside in our area.  In addition, there were protea, leucadendron, and other tender offerings.  Sounds like the work of Petula Plants, plant brokers who supply plants from growers in California to nurseries in Washington and Oregon. I appreciate Valley's willingness to bring in so many fab plants not often offered in these parts. 

Danger flirting with some man (gave)


Isn't he handsome?

Furcraea macdougalii


Clever use of picket fence.  

Agave gypsophila 'Ivory Culs'

Thrilled to see so many Tephrocactus articulatus var. inermis available.  

Alison did more than just flirt with Senecio stapeliiformis; they went home together.  We'd never seen one in bloom before.

So many plants, so little space in my greenhouse. 

The purple-potted hardy agaves came from The Blooming Advantage in Cornelius, Oregon.

Labeled "Peanut Cactus."  Echinopsis chamaecereus?



Cleistocactus  winteri, Golden Rat Tail Cactus.  


A box of small and medium cacti came home with me. Many were labeled "Cactus, Assorted" which used to irritate me but of late I enjoy the challenge of finding plant names. 

Meanwhile in the jungle...

Stenocarpus sinuatus looks a bit like an oak but has fabulous red flowers. Since it grows to 30 -50 feet, and is only hardy to 50 degrees, one would need a sizeable conservatory to house this bit of wonderfulness.  On the other hand, it is very slow growing.

Monstera deliciosa in bud and fruit (below)


Someone's a little grumpy about the tropical/desert invasion.  Getting his machete out, he cleared a path to the more climate-appropriate offerings.





At 50% off, it was tempting to take home a hanging tuberous begonia or two to enjoy for the rest of the season.  the tubers, after all, could be started again next spring.  Nah, my garden needs fewer of these.

Sedum trees, what a fun idea.


Visiting Valley is always fun and, like most things, it's even more so with friends (plant addicts.)

22 comments:

  1. It was a fun day, thank you for being the chauffeur. I would have considered taking home that Furcraea, had it not been planted up in a container, thus increasing its price substantially.

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  2. You really need to stop tempting me with all of those exotic desert plants. They are so cool looking, just fascinating, but I'm trying to simplify, not go nuts on a whole new "collection".
    Loved all the photos, as usual. Thanks.

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    1. Oh but cacti are really easy as they can be outside for the summer and don't need much attention during the winter. Just a watering or two. Many are small enough for a windowsill and if kept dry enough, they'd be hardy in Tom's greenhouse.

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  3. What a fun trip the three of you must have had. Hope to see posts from all three of you on your various stops as it would be fun to see what catches the attention of each of you.

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    1. It was a truly wonderful day in great company and a great last garden hurrah of summer break before turning my attention back to the jobs.

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  4. What a fun day that was, I'm so glad the three of us got together. I truly do not know how you are going to fit everything back into your greenhouse. They did have a rather amazing, and tempting, collection of succulents.

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    1. Thank you for making the day even more special! It's always more fun to visit places like this with garden friends. Much of the stuff in the greenhouse gets stowed away for the winter to make space to crowd in the plants. Some of the plants come inside the house, some on the covered back porch, and there's another table that's currently folded up and out of the way in the greenhouse that gets put back up. It's amazing what can fit in there when the time comes.

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  5. Looks like the three of you had a really fun day! the nursery looks like a great one. Wish I lived a little (or maybe a lot) closer so I could check out these places you write about.

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    1. Have you ever considered moving to the Pacific Northwest? It would be wonderful to have you live closer. It would be fun to have another gardener come along with us on adventures!

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  6. That's a great assortment of cacti -- I wonder how the prices are up there? Prices are going through the roof down here. Amazing to see such well-traveled plants still unblemished. So good to hear someone got cool temps and rain!

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    1. The really large specimens were a bit pricey but small and medium sizes were pretty low. $4.00 - $12.00. We're lucky to have Fleetwood and Foulweather, a grower of unusual and fabulous succulents and cacti, in Oregon as their plants, sold directly to nurseries have always been reasonably priced. Most of the other offerings come up from San Marcos Growers, Monterey Bay, and others in CA. The prices of the really large things were pretty high but they take a while to reach 5 gallon size.

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  7. I have never been plant shopping with another gardener/plant lover. Some people have all the fun!

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    1. It's a great deal of fun to shop with other garden/plant addicts but can be dangerous on the wallet.

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  8. Such a fun day. I have never seen many of these plants blooming. I have never even seen the Senecio s. before let alone one blooming. It is always like a visit to another world when you go shopping for plants. I enjoy seeing what all is available out there.

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    1. We're extremely lucky that we can grow such a wide variety of plants here and that we have so many fabulous nurseries that carry fun and unusual plants.

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  9. Seeing your blogging pals is the best part.
    A month ago, I didn't even know Senecio stapeliiformis exists. Now I have one, and so do you and now Alison too. (She definitely scored the best one, as it has the bloom). I'll be very proud if I get mine to bloom one day!

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    1. The company was definitely the best part of the day!

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  10. I think your Valley Nursery had more cactus than many of our SoCal garden centers!

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    1. So you'd feel right at home here when you move up:)

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  11. Interesting nursery and plants, I also liked your friends, Peter, especially the photo 'Isn't he handsome?'

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  12. Loren must have been in heaven with their selection. So much to love!

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  13. Oh, how fun you must have had! I still fondly recall our nursery whirl back in 2013, when I had just started to get to know the other bloggers. I think we blew through seven nurseries that day - it was AMAZING! It still counts as my favorite blogger outing, and it was five years ago!!!
    ~Anna K

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