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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.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Delighted

If you live in this area, you may have read that  the owners of Van Lierop Bulb Farm have retired.  Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy the farm and continue the bulb growing operation so Van Lierop, the last remnant of the numerous bulb farms that used to nearly fill the Puyallup/Sumner valley, will no longer be growing bulbs.  It wasn't that long ago that a drive in that area in the spring meant beautiful fields of blooming tulips, daffodils, etc. Oh well, progress and all . 
 
This weekend, I was in the area and decided to visit a couple of places in Sumner.  I drove by Van Lierop Garden Market, thinking  that they would be  closed.   To my delight, they are open.   The folks who own this business are related to the folks who own the farm but they aren't ready to retire yet so their business continues.  Hooray!
 
Behind this lovely door there lies a great florist/design shop.  It was delightful to see fresh flowers in vases placed among the displays.  It's so common to see silk flowers these days that I actually touched a couple flowers to see if they were real. 
At the rear of this lovely, kind of girley (scented stuff & cloches over moss covered bird nests - you know what I mean - beautiful and well done)  shop is a door that leads outside to a  different kind of  area.

These head planters on rebar stakes are made by a local artist.  Wouldn't these look cool planted up?
 Sorry about your tool box honey but I ran out of pots.

Doesn't everyone need a giant rusty metal nest in his/her garden?

I have some mannequins in the basement, I bet these would be fun to make out of concrete!
I'm not quite sure what I think about these beds.  Do they belong to the three bears? 


 
There are always some fun vintage funk to be found here.
I've tried to pull off the Shabby Chic look in my home and garden but it never works for me.  I end up with piles of crap that look out of place, self-conscious, and just plain bad.  The look is wonderful and my hat's off to you if you are successful with it!
These bird houses are a new addition this year. 
 
Whimsical!  Did you notice that blue sky?  So welcome was the sun!  Nursery parking lots were crowded with the cars of the plant hungry.


 
This is also the only outlet in the area where the work of  Boucant is on display and for sale. You may remember seeing some of his work in this garden.
 These stone people are some of my favs.of his work.


 There are plants here too!
 
 

There's always something happening in the greenhouses
Gorgeous Echiveria. It would have come home with me but it was in a large, beautifully done, mixed pot that did not want to make the trip.


O.K. plant geeks, is there a term for when a plant does this?  I've seen it happen to several different plants (Digitalis, tropaeolum speciosum, lilies to name a few.) Is it caused by a disease or pest?
 Fishtail pussy willows were all the rage at the flower and garden show. While these are interesting, I prefer the simplicity of the familliar form.  What do you think?
 
Talk about full service, you can even rent one of the greenhouses for events (or for much longer periods of time.) 
 
If you're ever in Sumner, do stop by Van Lierop Garden Market.  There's always something unusual to find, the folks there are extremely nice and the resident dogs are adorable and lots of fun!

23 comments:

  1. Another fun find! What a relief to know I'm not the only one who has been unable to successfully jump on the Shabby Chic bandwagon. I have an iron bed frame rusting away behind my garage. Maybe someone capable of pulling off that look could use it?

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    1. It's a great place to go for inspiration. I admire the Shabby Chic thing but I'm too in love with warm color and shiny things to make it work. We can be failures together!

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  2. That's a fun looking place for garden accessories! Not sure about the fishtail pussy willows though, preferring the usual form. Could that be a form of fasciation?

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    1. Fasciation was the word! Thanks, you are my heroes! There are always fun things to see at this place.

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  3. The stone people are my favorites. I also have rusty garden junk sitting around waiting to be used. The old metal bed someone gave me has been split up and used as a trellis. I like them used as displays though.

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    1. I agree, the beds work well as display fixtures. I've seen them covered with flats of succulents, mosses, and various other things that make them appear to be covered with quilts. The stone people seem primal and would work in a variety of settings, from moss covered rain forest/jungle to desert.

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  4. Fasciated is the term. You'll also find it referred to as crested in cactus. I find it intriguing in cactus but not certain about it in willows. I also prefer the normal branches.

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    1. Thanks Marta! It was in the recesses of my brain somewhere but just wouldn't come out. Thanks for your comment as it allowed me to find your cool blog! I'm looking forward to reading more of your entries!

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  5. "Nursery parking lots were crowded with the cars of the plant hungry"...just yesterday I was thinking about how much I missed that excited frenzy at the nurseries on a sunny spring Saturday. Since I have the (much loved) freedom to visit nurseries on weekdays I rarely see the crowds. Maybe I'll need to make a weekend visit soon.

    Also regarding Fasciated/Crested plants they kind of give me the creeps. It's like a skin condition gotten way out of hand.

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    1. The excited frenzy is fun but I've also enjoyed the quiteter pace of the nurseries in winter (those that don't do big Christmas extravapaloozas.)

      The first time I saw fasciation on one of my plants I thought that it must have something to do with radiation. Weird.

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  6. They have great stuff there! They actually had those birdhouses last year, I know because I bought one. I haven't put it up yet but I have plans for doing something with it this year. I didn't know about the bulb farming coming to an end. What a bummer. Does this mean we will no longer see that enormous field of Daffodils along 410?

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    1. It's an interesting place. Not really plant geeky but they have some great plants sometimes. For some reason, I don't remember seeing the birdhouses before. Could it be that it's been a couple of years since my last visit? The enormous field of Daffodils along 410 were part of VanLierop Bulb Farm. If they didn't harvest the bulbs, it might still be there. Or at least there'll probably be a few that escaped.

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  7. Someone brought me a bouquet of those fishtail pussy willows. I stuck them in the ground and they are now producing regular, old fashioned pussy willows...go figure.

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  8. This looks like my kind of place! Too bad it's 3000 miles away!

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  9. My favorite: the toolbox. Not so sure about the bird houses.

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    1. The toolbox is cool and would be easy to copy! My garden is so full of junk that the birdhouses would get lost in the cacophony of crap.

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  10. I love this place. Very interesting plants and good vibe. Love sumner and windmill garden too!

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    1. Sumner is way cool. Love the Main Street shops and McClendon Hardware's garden area ain't too shabby, either. You could spend a day shopping for plants, atiques, etc. lunch downtown, more shopping, dinner at Aversano's! What a great day! There's also a cool old house marked Sumner museum but I've never stopped.

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  11. Quite a "strange" place, I think. I'm not sure, if it's my style..Well, that toolbox is in a good use ;O) !

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    1. I should have taken pictures inside the florist shop. It's totally romantic, full of gorgeous blooms and just plain lovely. The surprise is walking outside from the back of the shop and finding this totally different sort of place.

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