-

-
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, May 26, 2015

Visiting Marbott's Nursery

Loree at Danger Garden has been posting about visiting Marbott's Nursery for years now.  See her posts here and here.  Imagine my surprise and delight when, on the way to the Portland area garden blogger's plant exchange I drove by Marbotts!  You know that after the exchange, the plant mobile magically found it's way into the nursery's parking lot. It has a tendency automatically find Dairy Queens as well.  Ice cream is a food group, right?  Oh please, this body doesn't just build itself, I have to work at it!  I digress.  Marbott's has been in business since 1930 and they still grow much of their own stock.


This place is all about beautifully grown plants so it's no wonder that the parking lot was full when I stopped by.  The sight and smell of deciduous azaleas greeted me at the entrance.

 Citrus plants seem to be everywhere these days, even in my own greenhouse.  What up with that?  This one looks especially sweet covered with tiny oranges.


Cryptanthus 'Pink Star' (I think) looked especially bright!

Birdbath with a grass fountain.  

Gorgeous Azalea in a corner by the wagons.  Poor thing needs to be the spring star of someone's garden!
 If I hadn't already felt silly for growing tomatoes from seed myself this year, the following would certainly convince me!

What, there are more?

and more...

And more yet.  Did they plant all of the seeds in their packets as well? 
Truth be told, it's been very gratifying to watch those little seedlings continue to grow into plants and it may just happen again next year.

Purple and gold.  Are you folks in Portland fans of the University of Washington Huskies? 

 Glorious tuberous begonias which were started from seed in November to get them to this size by April. There's no rest for folks in the nursery business!  Notice the papyrus on the left.  One of them came home with me.

While the foliage usually isn't anything to write home about, who could resist those big beautiful blooms?

More things growing  in a back greenhouse.


Kalanchoe uniflora 'Coral Bells'  somehow jumped into my cart.  The spent flowers dry and remain on the plant for a while and make a sweet sound when they collide with each other in the breeze on the car ride home.

Interesting area where they heve set up tiny garden vignettes.

Pretty pastels!

Walking into a huge greenhouse full of geraniums (Pelargonium) is quite an experience.  Looking one way.


and the other way.  These popular stalwarts of many gardens provide interesting foliage and mostly hot colored blooms all season long.  They always remind me of a sweet elderly couple in my home town who year after year kept  several  pots of red geraniums on their glassed-in front porch.

Not for sale plants always seem more tempting than those that are available for some reason.

Double Delights Freedom Hydrangea seems like a long name for this innocent looking thing. 

While Marbott's has been in business for years, has some cool old greenhouses and an old time nursery feel, they also carry enough interesting and unusual plants to keep lovers of the same intrigued.

Echium wildpretii  was very tempting but there's simply not room inside the fence for a huge tower of a bloom stalk and I'd worry about planting in one of the hell strips.  Oh well, one can't grow everything, can one?

Aeonium tabuliforme(dinner plat aeonium); a second sighting.  The first time I saw one in person this far north was at Hortlandia this year and now here at Marbott's.  Hope that means that this sweet thing will become more widely offered here. Isn't it interesting looking?
There was also a small selection of eucalyptus - hooray!

This fixture of Northeast Portland  is definitely worth a visit!

27 comments:

  1. But did you get yelled at by Old Man Marbott? No trip is complete without him admonishing you for something you've yet to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was sitting at the front register but didn't lecture me about anything. I've heard it's great fun!

      Delete
  2. Double Delights Freedom Hydrangea is a mouthful, and reminds me of little frangipani flowers. That dinner plate aeonium is very cool.
    And we always want what we can't have!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a cool nursery! I'll have to seek it out next time I'm down there. *I* have room for a huge Echium flower. I don't think I've seen a Hydrangea with that yellow and baby pink color combo. I kind of like it, it looks so sweet and delicate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You do have room for a huge echium flower. Wildpretii seems to flower more on the pink side and pininana (available at Jungle fever) is blue so maybe you should have several.

      Delete
  4. What a beautiful place to visit (and buy). You are right about the satisfaction of growing from seeds. I hardly know what to do with plants already 'fully growed' when I get them home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've done "fully growed" for so long, I'd forgotten how much fun starting things from seeds is. It's so nice to have the space to start seeds that isn't the kitchen counter!

      Delete
  5. Isn't it so nice when you finally get to visit a lovely place that you've only ever read about before? :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's a cool idea, planting up the birdbath. The 'Coral Bells' makes a wonderful natural chandelier for your green house (or will it go outside for now). I giggled at the "purple and gold comment"...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The birds probably weren't too thrilled with plants taking the place of their water source but it is a cool idea! Coral bells in outside for the summer but will retreat to the greenhouse during the winter.

      Delete
  7. I love places that grow their own stock on a large scale!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! It's a whole different experience from the stores who bring everything in. Love nurseries of both kinds though.

      Delete
  8. I'm so glad you made it by Marbotts - you certainly captured the spirit of the place very well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for posting about it for all this time so that I recognized the nae when I saw it. What a cool place!

      Delete
  9. A great nursery. Those giant echiums are dramatic but I can never get them through the winter so I don' t get the huge spikes. Did you bring that lovely Azalea home with you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No azalea came home with me. but in looking back at the pictures, I wish the orange and pink one in the second image had come to live in my garden. (No space.)

      Delete
  10. I've always meant to visit Marbott's. Why, oh why did I not plan it into the trip to Patricia's? Didn't realize it was so close.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's really a special nursery and worth the drive. Hope you make it there soon!

      Delete
  11. I wonder how many of those tomato plants go homeless...

    ReplyDelete
  12. I always wonder when I see huge numbers of starts, like here, how many they actually sell. It's time to get it all into the ground now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. later in the season, we sometimes see fully grown plants in large pots with ripe fruit for sale. Great way to have fresh tomatoes without all that messy soil business.

      Delete
  13. Peter, if I were in this nursery I would buy many plants, like roses, begonias etc.
    Funny I made my hanging pot with violas like in your photo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many wonderful things to buy! That is a beautiful combination of plants and I look forward to seeing yours!

      Delete
  14. I'm going to Portland tomorrow. Maybe I should add Marbott's to my list of stops.

    ReplyDelete

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