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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, April 22, 2014

What's Happening at Dragonfly Farms Nursery?

As you may remember from a few posts ago, We visited the Kitsap Peninsula recently (Valley Nursery, Far Reaches Farms.)  Another of my favorite places out that way is Dragonfly Farms Nursery. To see several  previous visits go here.

Here are some random things that caught my eye on this visit:

Still in love with these metal agaves, some of which were displayed last year but not yet for sale. One that's not pictured  came home with me.  I'm so excited to have an agave that I can't kill.

They're even cooler in person. 

For more pictures of Mark's metal agaves, click here.

These rebar and recycled bottle fence pieces are protecting Heidi's beds from her new puppies.  

The fence sections are for sale; the pups, not so much.  Although, there are probably days when they'd pay you to take a dog away!

Oh to have space for a bell like this!  I rang it and the mellow, low sound was beautiful. 


Love this plant stand!  

Of course, it's not all about the art, there were plenty of wonderful plants and a great garden to explore as well.

Pyrrosia lingua 'Hiryu' just in from Japan.  Notice the cinnamon-colored indumentum.  Sigh.  Somehow one ended up in my wagon.

Heidi's is a garden about which I fantasize having someday.  Space enough for lots of trees, full of interesting garden art, great plants, and curving paths that lead you further through the garden to explore what comes next.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  My smallish urban garden takes a lot of time so I'd imagine that several acres of garden in the country would take even more time!  Maybe if I quit one of my three jobs...


I'm always thrilled to see my favorite plants for sale and want to adopt more but resisted loading the car with more Podophyllum delavayi. My late winter experiment of dividing a pot of mine that had become quite crowded was successful.  Next year, I'll divide it again.  Meanwhile the specimen in the ground has finally become fairly large.

 Drooling over this Hebe 'Pink Elephant!'  Heidi says that it's been fully hardy for her (Dave's Garden says zone 7b) and that she'll have them for sale later this season or next spring. If you don't want to wait that long, I see that Fry Road  Nursery  has it available now.  A quick search on the web shows it widely available in England.

The color is even more vibrant than the pictures show.  Quite a knockout of a Hebe!


Each spring when I see Heidi's Crown Imperials (Fritillaria imperialis) in bloom, I vow to add them to the bulb order that I usually forget to make.  Seems like a lot of gardeners vow to order more bulbs each year.  Well, not the smart ones who don't bother with the whole spring flowering bulb thing to begin with. Heidi cleverly had these potted up and ready to bring home for instant color. Can't bring myself to buy a plant in the spring that I could have had by simply planting bulbs in the fall.

Great sphere combo!

Further along the garden path.



Wouldn't mind having a driveway that looked like this!

 An English Laurel that everyone can love.  Look at that great marbled foliage!  Mine finally made it into the ground after spending a year in a pot!

Simple blue and gold combination of lungwort and a carex (maybe) is very effective. 

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Princess Susan' is quite pretty.  I've never met an Epimedium that I didn't like.  They thrive in dry shade, have handsome evergreen foliage and once a year produce a crop of delicate flowers that to some resemble orchids.  This plant is nearly indestructible and  needs no care.  You will enjoy the blooms more if each late winter or very early spring you give it a big haircut to make space for the blooms and new foliage but even if you don't do that, the plant will thrive. If you have none, you need some of these in your garden.


You may remember Anemone nemorosa 'Viridiflora' from a previous post.  It came from this visit. 


Finally Primula sieboldii 'Late Snow' caught my eye.  For some reason I didn't get one and kicked myself for days.  Fortunately, it's a plant grown by Xera Plants in Portland so I was able to pick one up when I visited  that city a week or so later. 




I also picked up another fairly large Cardiocrinum giganteum to add to the group. I didn't plant the offsets immediately the last time I had blooms and the plants didn't like being moved later so I had fewer plants survive.  They're truly exciting to watch bloom!   Deep hole, lots of manure & compost makes really happy Cardiocrinums!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

26 comments:

  1. What?! "Can't bring myself to buy a plant ..." Who are you and what have you done with my friend Peter? I remember seeing Heidi's Crown Imperials last year about this time. I need to remember to order some this fall too. I haven't been to Dragonfly yet this year, I really need to go.

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    1. Thanks for the laugh pal! It does seem silly for me to say something like that but when I see the gorgeous potted blooming bulbs for sal for five times the price of a bulb, I kick myself for not being more vigilant with bulb ordering. This will be the year! Dragonfly is waiting for you!

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  2. Beautiful. My eyes always sparkle when I see these awesome gardens you have in the PNW.

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    1. We're very lucky to live in this cool summer moderate winter area where so many plants thrive.

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  3. It looks like Heidi has been busy! Then again I can't really imagine her sitting still. The Pyrrosia lingua 'Hiryu' is fabulous, glad you bought one.

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    1. Heidi says that she's mostly a winter gardener and her place looks especially nice right now. You're right, that lady doesn't sit still for long! If she could bottle that energy and sell it, she'd be a rich woman!

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  4. I love that Hebe - I hope it shows up down south here. I laughed at your comment about having a large garden. During the many years I made do with a postage-stamp sized garden, I told everyone I wanted at least 2 acres (almost impossible to find in SoCal and unattainable unless you win the lottery). Well, I finally got a 1/2 acre property 3 years ago and maintenance, not to speak of renovations, consume a massive amount of time, energy and, yes, money. It's a good thing I never found a 2 acre plot...

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    1. The small space I have takes more time than I have so I should be careful about what I wish for! Of course, if I had more time to garden and money to support the habit, a larger space might be fun. My jobs get in the way a lot but they keep me in plants!

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  5. Buying bulbs, we're not the most disciplined with it, perhaps because they're not instant gratification or we're not in the mood for them at the time you need to plant them...

    That Pyrosia is seriously lust worthy! The entire site is actually and we echo your thoughts on how desirable it is.

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    1. It's so hard to think about panting bulbs in the fall when everything in the garden is looking so full and lush and spring flowers are the last thing on our minds - Summer can last forever, right?

      I'm glad that I got that Pyrrosia! There were three or four other named varieties that were also delicious but I couldn't see enough of a difference to invest in them all. I may be sorry once I see the plants mature.

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  6. Doggone it, Peter, you've done it again: now I'm going to be lusting after Pyrosia lingua.

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    1. I'd be happy to pick one up for you next time I'm at Dragonfly!

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    2. That would be fab, Peter. The one you show is way more attractive than what I found on the web.

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    3. Great. Next time I'm there, I'll grab one for you.

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  7. Beautiful garden, love the plant stands. Epimedium is so pretty. Dry shade? I wonder if it possibly could do okay but the heat tolerance thing might be a problem.

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    1. I'm not sure about the heat tolerance of Epimedium. If you don't see them at your local nurseries, there's probably a reason.

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  8. I love metal art in a garden...makes such a wonderful contrast! What an amazing collection or art and unusual plants : )

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    1. Dragonfly's tagline is "Where Abnormality is the Normality!" It's a great place to find fun and interesting garden art, great plants both common and unusual, and lively, knowledgeable conversation!

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  9. What a wonderful place! The garden art is a great bonus. I need to go check it out. These are such great photos!

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    1. It is a special place! Thanks for your kind words.

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  10. It is a lovely place, I also long for a much larger gardening space. I don't suppose you could send a few of those Podophyllums over this way, their fabulous. Thanks for showing so many wonderful and unusual plant species I have never seen before.

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    1. It's a lot of fun for me to find unusual plants to photograph and fall in love with. Many of your natives are all the rage here and seem very exotic to us! I'd be delighted to send Podophyllums your way! Everyone who loves them should grow them!

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  11. Peter, having three jobs you maintain your garden very well.This one is very big for me as well. Lovely paths and sculptures, I would like one or two in my garden! The blue bells are nice, as other flowers that I am not familiar.

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    1. Thank you, Nadezda. I usually only show parts of my garden that look o.k. What makes it possible for me to tend my garden is that I have most Saturdays off and 1/2 days on Sundays and in the summer, I get 8 weeks of vacation. Dragonfly farms is a delightful garden and nusery!

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  12. You certainly had a wonderful visit! So many beautiful plants and art work to chose from, making a decision must be very difficult!

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    1. It is difficult in a way because everything is very special but there is very limited space in my small garden so that helps. Some of the objects here would take up more space than I have! If we won the lottery, the choice would be easy - I'd like the whole garden please.

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