Hooked on The Work and Garden of The Creative and Talented Judi Hook!

I've known Judi for several years now, since she had me make some fused glass for some of her work.  Her style has changed since then and she no longer uses glass.  Fortunately our friendship has continued and I get to see her beautiful garden and gorgeous work occasionally. See previous posts here.   Here are some shots from our most recent visit a few weeks ago:

I never tire of looking at these bursts of color.  Each one is unique and contains lots of surprises to discover.

Kalmia latifolia is beautiful in bloom but even more spectacular in bud!

Judi's deciduous azaleas were in full and fragrant bloom, an olfactory treat I hadn't experienced in her garden before.  It was tempting to simply stay here and become intoxicated by the fragrance but there was so much more to see!

A sphere by James King.  This is where I stole the idea was inspired to emulate the effect. 

One of Judi's new pieces of bling that she calls Pinky. It's placed so that she can see it from inside her house. 

Judi and her assistant pose with Pinky.

You may remember some of these pieces from previous posts.  Seeing them always thrills me. 

Her creatures are way cool!

This one was a gift and made by someone else.  Isn't it sweet?

Doesn't every garden need one of these? 

Raw materials.  I'd no idea that these are now in high demand by collectors.  I still have quite a few of them found at thrift stores for five bucks a bunch.  Some colors are so unusual that people are bidding hundreds of dollars for a bunch.  Really?  It's resin folks.  (Retro resin!)  Thinking that we certainly have the technology to make these things in modern times, I found this you tube instructional video. I'm seeing a fun craft for summer!  Written directions here.

Candy!  Well at least eye candy.

New little guy in progress.

Will it pass inspection by the assistant?

Aren't they cool?  They can be used as ornamental mulch for potted plants. 

Thank you, Judi, for another fun visit and for the gorgeous gift!  Wasn't it nice of Tom to dress to match? (Photo by Judi Hook and used with her permission.)

Happy weekend everyone! 

Visiting Tsugawa Nursery for the First Time

News Flash!  

We just shared the first tomato from the greenhouse.  It was a Sungold and probably picked a day too soon but it tasted marvelous!  Of course there were tiny tomato plants at McLendon hardware so covered with red cherry tomatoes that one could barely see the leaves (how do they do that?) so cheating was an option. At $4.00 for the 4" pot  that must have had at least a pint and a half of fruit, it would have been not a bad deal.  Really, these plants looked very sad but the fruit was amazing.  There was a whole shelving unit of them and tomatoes were falling all over the ground beneath.  Sorry for the digression.  Really excited about that first tomato. Three Early Girls are also starting to turn red.  Very fun.  As my blogging pal Jean (Dotty Plants Greenhouse Journal) says, "Gardening is cheaper than therapy -- and you get tomatoes!"

Tsugawa Nursery, in Woodland is visible from Interstate five.  When driving from Tacoma to Portland, the sign on the side of the freeway means that we're almost in Portland and lots of fabulous nurseries too excited to get to P town to stop but curiosity always elicits a promise to stop on the way back.  On the way back it's often past closing and if not, plant lust has been sated for a while and the plant mobile is full of treasures. Urged on by posts by Evan (The Practical Plant Geek) and Loree (Danger Garden.) I finally decided on a recent trip to Oregon that we'd leave early and make time to visit Tsugawa.  It was a good decision!  Here's a little of what I saw on our fast walk through the nursery:

From the road, it looks nice enough but I wasn't prepared for how large and well-stocked the nursery is.

The great conifer selection goes on and on.

Oh, and you get to park in a lot across the street and peruse a discount center the size of a small nursery. Lots of temptations!

Taylor's Gold Tip Pine seems to be following me around but I must remind myself that I don't really have space for a pine.  They tend not to like growing in the dark beneath a bunch of other foliage. Funny thing that.

Shrubs for any situation. 

Meanwhile, back in the conifer section the cones of Abies koreana 'Silberperle' were looking very sweet.

Abies koreana 'Silberlocke' is so tempting but they grow into trees for which I've no space.  How long do you think I could keep it fairly small in a pot?

Rhododendrons everywhere.  Don't remember the name of this one but isn't the yellow and orange combination gorgeous?  A background of ceanothus blooms doesn't hurt either.

Delicious!

And deserving of a second look. 

A little tropicalismo.

Opuntia 'Santa Rita Tubac' is so handsome with it's purple pads which are, unfortunately, covered with glochids.

Okay folks, what is it with just about every nursery carrying citrus plants that have to live inside during the winter?  I'm not faulting the industry, just wondering if this a new trend?

 The main indoor area is full of wonders.

Setcreasea dies to the ground in cold weather but in a mild winter like the one we just had, it resprouts.

Many beautiful begonias but these two were especially interesting. 

Begonia 'Elephant Ear' almost came home with me but there are already enough of begonias in the Outlaw collection!

 Pretty fuchsia.  The humming birds were urging me to buy more.

So what's the big thing about pot being legal in Washington?  These have been available in nurseries for years!  This is the only kind of pot that excites me. (okay, that's a lie, I also like plain terra cotta)

Is there a color, besides true blue, that isn't represented by a petunia?

Bonsai.

A whole building devoted to water gardens.

Water lettuce anyone? 

No fish in this large pond?   There were small koi for sale in a room behind the yellow wall.

More water.

Cute benches!

More annual fun!

This gravel path is flanked by hoop houses each containing great stuff.  Two are full of rhododendrons, a couple overflowing with veggies, etc.  This is not a nursery that one can easily breeze through.  

There was a Japanese Maple area, another devoted to fruit trees, yet another to shade and flowering trees.  This is a full service nursery with very little stuff and lots of great plants!  I won't drive by so quickly again!

Wednesday Vignette - Pretty In Pink!

Each Wednesday, Anna at Flutter and Hum hosts Wednesday Vignette (Not so wordless Wednesday.) One of the things that caught my eye this week is this new Geranium (Pelargonium, not Cranesbill) called Pelargonium 'P.J. Kate' or P.J. Kate Geranium.  When Pals Alison (Bonnie Lassie) and Emily (All Things Emily) and I toured four gardens in Bellevue, we naturally decided to stop by a couple of nurseries.  This gem was found at Wells Medina Nursery that afternoon.  Geraniums with patterned leaves are favorites of mine and this one is quite unusual in that it has green white and a hint of coral pink in the leaf. 

While I usually prefer strong, deeply saturated colors, this delicate colored foliage is cool.

The big surprise?  The pink in the foliage matches the flower color. 

There was no information about this plant online so we'll have to make do with the label description: "This lovely geranium has wonderful bright colors in the leaf of green, white and a hint of coral pink. Single coral pink flowers compliment the foliage nicely. Needs some shade."

These will be planted in a large pot that can be enjoyed outside during the summer and hauled into the greenhouse to bloom all winter.

Do you like/grow geraniums?  What do you think of this new one?