You may remember some of last week's posts about the Bloedel Reserve Sale, Dragonfly Farms Nursery, and Savage Plants. By the time Alison and I had finished playing at Dragonfly Farms, there wasn't quite enough time to get up to Far Reaches Farms before their closing time and we were pretty tired. Of course, mere fatigue didn't deter me from visiting the two nurseries that were still open on my way home; Valley Nursery is the final stop on last weekend's plant shop hop!
Valley is a large, full service nursery with a friendly and helpful staff and a small town vibe. Here we see part of the rose selection.
The feeling of joy seeing nurseries once again full of plants for spring almost makes me forget the sense of sadness experienced in late fall when offerings are a little less abundant.
More green goodness - Hellebores anyone?
Nice selection of ferns.
The intense blue of the ceanothus called me.
The sweet buds of Pt. Reyes Ceanothus were new to me. I may need one or two of these to replace the wire vine, trying to conquer the world, (or at least all the plants in one of my parking strips) that I've been ripping out.
In a back corner, this agave looks gorgeous. Here's hoping that my little one will someday look this magnificent.
Zingy anemone flower.
Not sure what to think about this; what do you think about it?
This is cool in a seasonable floral arrangement way.
This guy looks familiar. (Not just a creepy pick-up line - One of these lives in my garden.)
Silly!
Whimsical.
Embarassing! Really? Is this some sort of gnome porn or is he mooning someone. What is that bird looking at? Eeeew. I'm reminded of a chapter in an English book about garden ornament, Nymphs Not Gnomes!
A Ceanothus 'Dark Star' and this cute little nest & "magic eggs" ended up in my car.
What a great day of shopping!
I agree-what is up with the bluebird on the squatting gnome? Maybe a gnome fan can explain. You seem to be a magnet for odd garden finds :).
ReplyDeleteLike attracts like they say:) I see this object being right at home in a garden featuring toilet planters, plastic baby animals and whirly gigs.
DeleteAs if that primrose ball wasn't bad enough you give us gnome porn...I'm going to be thinking about that image all day, sadly.
ReplyDelete(You're gonna love that 'dark star'...I'm not regretting at all buying mine even though I don't have a place for it. So you didn't buy the Pt. Reyes? It's a good one too...)
Sorry about the image in your head. Had to share as misery loves company.
DeleteI've admired dark stars in other gardens and am excited to have one. I hadn't started the attack on the wire vine in the parking strip before this trip. I'm thinking Pt. Reyes might be a good replacement.
That's one well-stocked nursery! The colour of the anemone: "bazinga!" came to mind, love the frog king, the gnome porn? You had me in stitches with that one, and finally the magical nest, awesome choice!
ReplyDeleteThis is the time to see well stocked nurseries in our area because as soon as it starts to warm up, everyone is outside planting! Also, Mothers' Day (Second Sunday in May) is, for nurseries the day with the highest sales of the year. Like most gardeners, I have a soft spot for birds, nests, etc.
DeleteOh man, primroses and gnomes. Reminds me of the kind of fayre we get at bog standard garden centres here. I may have to stick a cactus in my eye to get rid of the image.
ReplyDeleteAll in all though, the nurseries you have close by > the nurseries I have close by. Still jealous.
This is the kind of stuff that many stores (hardware, grocery, etc.) that have a plant section usually carry. This nursery is quite a distance from such stores so they carry some things for customers who can't find them nearby. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming because there are so many amazing nurseries close by!
DeleteGnome porn, hmmm....
ReplyDeleteAgave mediopicta alba is up there as one of my favourite agaves. That's a gorgeous specimen!
There are all sorts of fetishes...
DeleteI drool over this one often. They sell potted pups to a waiting list but I don't know if the large one is for sale. If so, the price would be very high based on the other agaves of this size that they have.
Dreadful gnome! Who sat there and thought 'Gee, I'm gonna make a gnome with his pants down'?? Lovely anemone, though, and the agave is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Someone with too much time on his/her hands! Maybe it's part of a special gnome story that we don't know about. There were lots of great plants at Valley but being tired, I focused on goofy stuff.
DeleteOkay, now I need a variegated agave if I only had a place for it. The gnome can stay at the nursery. The primrose doesn't seem the best candidate to replace the succulent wreath. Love the little nest.
ReplyDeleteWe could live vicariously through you and watch your Agave grow. Agave mediopicta alba and A.m. aurea both have a slightly blue overcast and might look smashing somewhere near your blue agave/Bismarkia nobilis area.
DeleteHmmm...I'm at a loss for words. These folks have questionable taste, but apparently enough good plants to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteThey also have a huge selection of outdoor pots & later in the year, water plants & some aloes that they sell as annuals. One takes the good with the bad.
DeleteI like the frog king. The dwarf is suggestive in a lot of unfortunate ways. The blue Ceanothus calls to me also.
ReplyDeleteThe frog almost hopped into my cart but I'd need to find a special spot & he'd probably get lost in all the foliage. It's nice to know that others hear the voices of plants too.
DeleteThat gnome is too much!! After a good laugh the realization of the little bird sunk in and now I'm left with trauma. The plants look great, especially the ceanothus. But I vote against the primulas.
ReplyDeleteCaution: The blogger takes no responsibility for trauma inflicted or counselig necessiated by viewing his blog! That gnome is strange. They had several of them so it might not be to late to get one! The primula wreath in pastels might be sweet for a rustic outdoorsey spring wedding/funeral/baby shower/bat mitzvah...
DeleteSuch an odd elf! I think that primrose arrangement on the wall is quite odd as well.. I love those plants, so many to choose from! Happy gardening Thursday, Peter!
ReplyDeleteI hope that your Thursday was happy, Satu! Many wonderful plants and a few oddities. My strange mood may have caused me to focus on the odd things.
DeleteI have had a Pt. Reyes Ceanothus for many years; though it might be considered a little tender for here it has never had problems but is close to my house, I've noticed that helps keep the temperatures up locally. The Dark Star I would think would be definitely at risk here. It's really gorgeous, though. I really like the Pt. Reyes but it is not short, it makes long branches that trail out a long way on the ground. I tried to pin some down and get it to root but didn't seem to succeed. The foliage stays very nice all year and the flowers are nice. I also have C. Victoria and lost a little of the center to cold one year but it has done fine. I'm getting a deciduous bush, C. americanus, which is deciduous and has white flowers and larger, not as leathery, leaves, that can be used for tea. I hope I can keep it alive. I like the Primulas, being on a Primula kick at present. They have very hot colors for most I've seen. Nice photos, it seems like a much different nursery than in my neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah,
DeleteThanks for the information about you Ceanothus! The tag on Pt. Reyes said that it can spread to six feet but is only a foot tall. Has that been your experience. Where I'm thinking of putting it, the spread would be fine but if it gets much taller than a foot it wouldn't work. Where in the PNW do you garden? Valley Nursery is in Poulsbo so it might not be too far from your neck of the woods.
Peter, I liked the frog. Its crown says that this is princess-frog. There is a tale about a witch that turned the princess into a frog and wore a crown on her head. Only Knight can return the princess human image.
ReplyDeleteI'd buy this frog!
I know that wonderful story and there is a similar one, "The Frog Prince." I almost bought the frog but didn't know where I'd put it. Happy Gardening, Nadezda!
DeleteA negative spin on the "Put a bird on it" Portlandia vibe. The gnome is just awful. I like the primrose ball but I would never do anything like it. In your first photo there is that hosta with the red stem. I DO NOT need another hosta but if I did, that one would be it.
ReplyDeleteFun times!
Oh Grace, it's a beautiful hosta! Are you sure you couldn't fit it in?
Delete