Highway 30 Trilogy Part Three; Joy Creek Nursery

The last stop on the Oregon trail of the Bonnie Lassie and the Outlaw was Joy Creek Nursery.  Even though Ricki warned   us to go to Joy Creek first as they closed sooner, the traffic on highway 30 was such that I was in the wrong lane to go up the hill and blah, blah, blah...Anyway, the point is, when you do these three, remember to go to Joy Creek first as they close before Means.  So we arrived in time to do a little shopping. 

I love a pretty parking lot!

There are lots of treasures here.  Soon the largest selection of hardy fuchsias  I've ever seen in one place will take up a huge chunk of space. Must go back soon.

Another specialty of Joy Creek is Clematis.  Here's a fraction of their selection.  Notice the clever way that they keep them from blowing over all the time.

Pleione formosana or Windowsill Orchid.  Pretty but not for me.

Closing time was fast approaching and the kind folks working at the nursery said that if we parked our car out on the road, they could close the gate across their driveway, we could walk the garden at our leisure, and simply exit through the "man gate," a new term for me.  (A gate through which a person may pass.)   Mike, one of the owners who lives on the premises, said that he hadn't walked through the garden for a while (?) an offered to walk through with us.  We were not expecting the special treat of having this knowledgeable plantsman and entertaining fellow  give us a guided hour and a half tour of his garden.

Gunera beginning it's show stopping summer aria.

So many wonderful colors and textures.  My only regret was that I hadn't pulled a pad of paper and a writing utensil out of the car.  Mike knew every plant and named each one as we passed.  Having a background in liturgical Latin, I can take botanical binomial nomenclature dictation pretty well.  My brain, however, can only store a few things at a time.  Fortunately, I had a camera and can inquire about plants in my pictures at my next visit to the nursery.  Also fortunately, this is very much a working garden and trials, produces or showcases much of what's offered at the nursery.  Picture/name/plant/purchase...It's a beautiful thing.

Yowler, who runs the place, was acting very silly and kept attacking this grass as if it were a mouse.  Be sure to check out Alison's post  about this day for more and better pictures of this adorable feline who followed us through the whole garden playing the whole time.  What a great cat!

Joy Creek is located in the middle of several acres and has gorgeous views. 

Having always gardened in a relatively small space, I so admire sprawling properties where one can have lots of huge, beautiful trees. 

Here we are at the front of the house.

Muscari macrocarpum  'Golden Fragrance' which I'd also admired in Linda's garden earlier in the day was also blooming beautifully here.  Mike instructed us to get a little closer.  Oh my, I see where it gets the fragrance part of the name - incredible and now on my list of things to get for next year!

Random rhododendron.  Aren't these wonderful blooms? 

Speaking of heavenly fragrances, this daphne was perfuming a huge area of the garden.  It was difficult to move away.

Wonderful blue and gold area.  Notice the blue needles of the conifer as well.

Trillium cuneatum

podophyllum pleianthum is one of my favorite plants. (Aren't they all?)

Rodgersia. Who can resist that bronze color, fabulous leaf shape and amazing texture?  This reminds me, I haven't seen mine yet this year.  I'd better go rummage through the weeds to see if they're still  around.

Something that I'll be asking about.  Foliage looks kind of like an anemone but look at the  tops.  Cool, huh?


This shows that common plants like this euonymus (not trimmed into a little box) and Euphorbia wulfenii can make a stunning focal point.

Magnolia 'Elizabeth' blooms are  a sweet sight with it's buttery yellow inner glow.

And here's our host  showing that he's one of those crazy Pacific north west tree huggers.  Thanks so much, Mike for the wonderful, informative, and fun time in your garden!

Alison already posted pictures of the car which she thought was full.  Silly Alison, we could have re arranged and made space for a lot more plants. This image, in particular, shows a lot of unused space.

From the other side.  Look at all the room we have left.

Glad that I cleaned out my trunk before we went!   Truth be told, we could have fit a few more things back there too.  What a fun day this was.  I still don't know where half of this stuff will get planted.  Last Saturday I just got around to planting the hellebores I bought this winter when I visited Bark and Garden. 

A satisfying ending to a marvelous day!   

A Portland Visit Continued - Joy Creek Nursery

It's always a pleasure to wander through the gardens and retail area at Joy Creek Nursery. It's like strolling through a friend's garden.  The space is as spectacular as the staff.   I fondly recall a visit several years ago with Alison.  We'd arrived just before closing and did a quick bit of shopping. We were getting ready to leave when Mike, a co-owner, offered to give us a guided tour of the gardens.

 Oh, that driveway!

With views like this, it's surprising that there aren't car crashes in the parking lot.  

Clematis, one of the specialties of Joy Creek.  Was it calling my name?  Someone was.

Turns out, it was my pal Anna (Flutter and Hum.)  Blogging pals Tamara and Ricki also now work with Mike and Maurice. I'm sorry I missed them but it was, as always, a pleasure to visit with Anna who was very excited to share her new favorite plants.  Her stash was on one of the front tables.  Do you think you'd actually make money working at a nursery?  

So many shady characters.

More varieties of hardy fuchsia than you could shake a stick at.

Primula 'Green Lace' 

Golden Hops Vine looks handsome with just about anything. Persicaria virginiana (maybe 'Lance Corporal') is likewise a great team player.  Together they're quite a knockout.

While admiring a new Farfugium japonicum 'Shishi Botan' leaf,  someone yelled, "Anna, come here quickly."  What could the excitement be?

It was the largest and most beautiful garter snake I'd ever seen!  Anna seemed very excited and not fazed by this sight at all.  Snakes are beautiful but I don't often see them and they can move so quickly which makes them a bit scary to me.  Unbeknownst to me, Anna, who seemed thrilled at the sighting shares my fear.  It's all here in her post.

After that encounter, I kept wondering if there were more snakes lounging about in the plants.  

That didn't keep me from finding some treasures to take home. 

Meanwhile, back in the gardens... 

Although Ricki wasn't there in person, her arrangements graced the inside of the old barn/checkout area.

 New this year is the large vegetable garden.  Oh to have this kind of space to play with..

Another exciting visit to Joy Creek drew to a close.  If you don't live in the area, Joy Creek also sells by mail order. 

Up next: Portland Nursery on Starke.