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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.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Visiting Flower World

Visiting Flower World is an event.  The place is located on 200 acres on which most of what they sell is grown.  Fifteen acres of that space is dedicated to the retail nursery and three of those retail acres are covered by huge retail sales greenhouses making shopping a delight even in bad weather.  In addition to the nursery, there is a huge, beautifully landscaped park, a local produce stand, and a small farm that includes all kinds of fowl, sheep and goats.  Heck, even the parking lots, nestled beneath tall douglas firs, are full of interesting plantings!    So large is the nursery that maps are posted in mail boxes throughout so that you don't get lost.  The first few times you visit, the map is a necessity.  So, here's a little of what I saw on this trip.  (I skipped the tree areas, the rose house, and several other areas.

Malus 'Madonna' blooms greeted us near the front entrance. 

Brugmansia blooms.  I finally got my first bloom this spring on mine in the green house. Alison got blooms much earlier.  Flower World almost always has these in stock and in bloom.

Abutilon 'Red Tiger'  trained into standards were everywhere as were Abutilon megapotamicum 'Variegatum' in hanging pots.

And of course fancy leaved geraniums (pelargonium.)  This one is 'Vancouver Centennial' a perfect partner for dark leaved phromium!

Also ever present are tons of African Violets.  I haven't grown these since I was a kid.  Do you grow them?

 Alison and I have both killed this beauty.

Ah the foliage!

So nice to see Beaucarnea recurvata (Ponytail Palm) allowed to have a single trunk.  Lately it seems that I only see them in stores with multiple trunks.
 Cordyline terminalis 'Tricolor' 


Had to pick up one of these since they were small and inexpensive. 

Another gorgeous Cordyline!

Rex Begonias are faves but I have enough of them!

Nice to see so many impatiens back on the sales tables.  Has the downy mildew problem gone away?

A few of the many tables of tomatoes.  There were all kids of other veggie starts as well.

Amusing to see the seed potatoes displayed among the ornamental plants. 

Of course they carry lots of  conifers, trees shrubs, well lots of everything.

Fortunately the map mailboxes are posted throughout the nursery in case you get lost. 

There is a vine house, ground cover house, etc.  Here's the Herb house.


Ginger mint is my favorite to grow both for the way it looks and the way it smells.  


YIKES!  This stuff will take over bushes, flower beds, small communities.  Fortunately, it's easy enough to pull up.

 Columbines.


Grasslands.  Those palms are everywhere!

Scads of Japanese maples!

Acer palmatum 'Higasayama'

Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' 

Acer palmatum 'Full Moon'

Acer palmatum 'Koto no ito"



Brugmansia sanguinea is pretty but does not have that fabulous evening fragrance of the others.

Walking through the park to cross the street and see the farm.


The black sheep of the family.

Hey, Little Bo Peep, I think we found your sheep!  Some cute pygmy goats to boot!

Notice the pile of baby ducks huddled together for warmth.

These adults have their coats on.

Hello, I am a tease.

I'll start to fan my tail but then decide against it.

This is all you're getting!

Hope you enjoyed it because I just can't be bothered to do any more.

And I hope you enjoyed poking around Flower World as much as we did!  It's not far (15 minutes) from Molbaks and definitely worth a visit when you're in the area!  
Happy weekend and happy gardening everyone!

26 comments:

  1. The place looks and sounds colossal Peter, so much to see! Happy weekend!

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  2. Flower World is one amazing nursery to visit! Definitely its own world, lazy peacock and all. Great shot of the fountain. Ginger mint sounds divine, need to find that one.

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    1. It's pretty special. There were other, even lazier peacocks as well. Ginger mint is wonderful and I think it would make really cool ginger mojitos!

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  3. This seems like it might be *too* big. I kinda like jam-packed nurseries -- does this one have too much room? Is there too much to take in? Is there enough staff around if you have questions? Not that I wouldn't mind visiting...

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    1. There are parts of Flower world that are jam packed. The houses are large but divided up into a variety of spaces. It's almost like a shopping mall composed of a lot of specialty nurseries. There is a well staffed information desk Where all answers can be found. Most of the people who work there are very busy buzzing around, setting out, watering, etc. but are happy to answer your questions if you can catch them. There is a lot to see and do here but it's great to take the non gardening spouse and kids who will be amused for hours with the animals and park while you get to shop. For a beginning gardener who perhaps would like fewer choices in a smaller space, Flower World could be overwhelming. Not for you, my friend!

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  4. I really should go some time and explore the areas that aren't plant sales -- the garden, the pond, the farm. I've never done that. Great capture of the rainbow in the geyser.

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    1. It's great fun to saunter around and explore! Thanks!

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  5. Glad to see the turtles made the cut--the turtles and the frog/tadpole ponds are some of the features we always visit. Usually, the area right by the hen house, too.

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    1. We visited the area by the hen house & tadpole ponds but I didn't take any pictures as I was having so much fun watching.

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  6. Your comment "Alison and I have both killed this beauty" has me thinking of a new meme where everyone joins in with the latest thing they've killed.

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    1. Love this idea! It could be called bring out your dead or the once living dead or something silly like tha.

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  7. Acer palmatum 'Higasayama': I'm in love!
    I'll be visiting Flower World this weekend: I couldn't take the shame :-)
    I've bribed the now retired homeowner to drive me out there. He is convinced I don't have room for more plants, but that is neither here nor there. I'm so excited!

    P.S.
    There is a plant sale this Saturday at Kubota garden in Seattle, from 9 to 1. It benefits the garden's foundation. Kubota garden is beautiful and worth the trip even without the sale: http://www.kubotagarden.org.

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    1. Isn't that a beautiful leaf. Look at you caving in to peer pressure. After this weekend, you'll be able to hold your head up high! No room for more plants? What do non gardeners know anyway?
      Thanks for the tip about the sale at Kubota! Please don't tell anyone but I've never visited that garden.

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    2. Hee hee, your secret is safe with me!

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  8. What a marvelous place to visit, one could even live there.

    I'm glad to know that you and Alison have brug blooms. I've been wondering. All my 'dead' plants outdoors have foliage of some sort. The most protected ones are big plants and there is a Bud!

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    1. It would be a dream to live there! We bring our brugs inside for the winter. They are root hardy here but our springs are usually so cool, especially at night, that they don't emerge from the ground until fairly late in the season, if the slugs don't eat all the tender new growth first. If they do survive, they don't attain blooming size until September and they have one flush of bloom before they slow down with the cooler evenings in October. It's worth the effort to bring them in and start with a blooming plant in the spring!

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  9. Peter, ginger mint is new to me, great color. Danger...love the new meme idea!

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    1. It really smells/tastes like ginger which is wonderful!

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  10. It's fantastic to see the big destination nurseries still operating! We used to have them here, but with land so expensive (about US $500K for a less than 1/8th of an acre) and houses becoming rare, they have largely disappeared...which is such a shame as they were a great way to spend a few hours. I always loved the indoor plant areas, so many brilliant plants to choose from!

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    1. Oh my, land prices there are very high! No wonder the big nurseries can't afford to stay in business. You've sent me on an internet search to see why real estate is so expensive there.

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  11. An entire house of groundcovers? Another reason I really need to see this place!

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    1. It's quite a place and always has a few unusual/rare things and since they propagate nearly everything there, they have hundreds of everything!

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  12. That's a cool place, with the animals and all. I'd need a very big trolley and an even bigger cheque book.
    Love the idea of a bring out your dead meme. I'd have no shortage. What the mice ate.. What the pheasant beheaded, What the gardener forgot to water..

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  13. A map to the grounds! I've referred to my favorite nursery in Orange County (Roger's) as the Disneyland of garden centers but it think Flower World has it beat. Love that last Cordyline - and the animal pics.

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