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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, March 8, 2016

Garden Stalking in Dangerous Territory

Does this look at all familiar to you? 


Does the green door with the paper flower wreath help?  How about the chartreuse hover pot?

Spiky plants?  Anyone, anyone?  Look at the size of that Agave weberi!

If you guessed that this is the home and  garden of the delightfully plant addicted and incredibly stylish Loree Bohl of Danger Garden fame, you'd be correct!  I had something to drop by Loree's house when we visited the Portland Yard, Garden and Patio Show.  She was still busy at a seminar at the show and nurseries were calling me so we stopped by while she wasn't home.   It's always a treat to visit this garden as it was nearly five years ago, as a surprise for my half-century birthday, that Tom arranged for me to meet Loree, whose blog I'd been reading,  in her garden.  


Sexy Arctostaphylos branches artfully pruned to accentuate their beauty.

I so admire gravel mulch but could never pull it off in my garden where there is constant bamboo litter in the summer and falling leaves from most everything else the rest of the year.

Perhaps I'm just too lazy to keep it this good looking. 
Her several Echium wildpretii seem to have sailed through this winter with aplomb. 

Agave ovatifolia, Yucca rostrata, Euphorbia rigida and an opuntia right next to the front entry.  Come in if you dare!

The opuntia isn't as close as it looks but one might not want to stumble home in an inebriated state. 

Here's her new and even-more-beautiful-in-person agave gate, which I didn't feel right about going through without the gardener.  

Fortunately the camera's zoom lens let us see some of the back garden which also looks extremely good, especially considering that it was February!  Unfortunately, without going inside, the shade pavilion/greenhouse is out of sight.

Putting two different schefflera together is a grand idea as this proximity allows one to compare the leaf forms with ease.   The angles and straight lines of the beds and pavers perfectly echo each other, unify the space and allow the curvaceous nature of the plants to shine.  A great design lesson that I've yet to learn.

Somehow Loree is able to grow a LOT of plants together and the whole is visually very appealing instead of looking like a plant hoard.

The fabulous combination of textures and colors is inspirational (I'm running out of superlatives for this garden.)

 Hmm, maybe my brugmansias could start coming out of the greenhouse. 
Have you stalked any interesting gardens lately? 

27 comments:

  1. I was just wondering the other day if it might be ok to bring my Brugs out of the garage. What a treat you got seeing Loree's garden in the winter. Of course, I should have known it would still look fabulous and tidy (unlike mine).

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    1. My garden never looks this good. Fortunately there are enough interesting plants to distract my eye from the disastrous cacophony that is my garden. It's okay to bring the brugs out but they'll want to go back in if frost is predicted as they don't like that much and will lose their leaves.

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  2. Great pics, Peter! Loree's garden is beautiful, even in the winter time. You are right, it is quite an art to combine so many plants and have them all look great together. I don't think I have that down either!

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    1. Loree balances her plant lust with her considerable design sense so very well!

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  3. "I had something to drop by Loree's house when we visited the Portland Yard, Garden and Patio Show"...people...COOKIES! There were cookies! And monkey puzzle branches too. If you're ever offered cookies (or monkey puzzle branches) by Peter or Tom (the baker) take them. They are amazing.

    You are very kind sir! I especially appreciate all the time you took photoshopping these images so my garden appears tidy.

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    1. Um, what photoshopping? Your garden and interior are seriously marvels of design and horticulture. I especially admire that you've done all of this yourselves and not hired a designer. It's nice to have such talented and knowledgeable friends!

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  4. It's always fun to see a blogger's garden through someone else's lens. Thanks for sharing your visit!

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    1. It's always a thrill to see a blogger's garden in person. I was too giddy to not share it.

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  5. All looks fabulously familiar Peter! Gorgeous garden ;)

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    1. Kind of like seeing the set of a popular movie or television show.

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  6. I'm with Kris: its fun seeing a garden through new eyes. I'm seeing Yucca rostrata featured multiple times in recent posts: I'm smitten. I suspect they are slow growers, and one need lots of patience to get them so large and stunning.

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    1. I share your crush on Yucca rostrata and have a couple of tiny ones. They require either patience or deep pockets to purchase large specimens.

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  7. Love her garden and am so glad it was on the GB Fling. I am enjoying seeing what it looks like in Spring. Thanks Peter.

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    1. This garden is great at any time of year, great bones and all that.

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  8. How many gardens do you know where you could drop by any time of year and find it looking this spectacular? Nice tribute to our mutual friend and garden goddess.

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    1. Not many that don't have a staff. Garden goddess fits!

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  9. Amazing how different her garden seems when viewed through other eyes. Great photos and you gave me a clearer sense of the layout than I had before. She does have a great sense of design.

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    1. It's a treasure and a big part of the excitement is seeing as a whole the bits and pieces featured in Loree's posts.

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    2. It's a treasure and a big part of the excitement is seeing as a whole the bits and pieces featured in Loree's posts.

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  10. This is such a special garden, very much not a typical Northwest garden. Loree really knows what she is doing with these tropical/desert plants.
    I got out and "stalked" my own garden a bit today, even did a little wor. It's amazing what is blooming and growing and leafing out already. We' are cutting off the sword ferns because the new fronds are already getting ready to pop up and unfurl.

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    1. It is indeed. Loree's love of and expertise with these plants is obvious. Things do seem to be leafing out a bit earlier this year. Must have been that very mild February! It all happens so fast from now on and there's so much that needs attention, at least in my garden.

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  11. Thank you, Peter, for crashing Loree's garden! We are all in your debt!

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  12. What a fabulous garden! The contrast of shape, texture and colour is amazing, you would never know it's winter!

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  13. Thanks for this peek into Loree's garden in March.

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  14. I love seeing a bloggers garden that I am already familiar with through the lens of its owner, only to see it photographed by someone else. Lucky you to get to see this particular one in person.

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  15. That agave gate is seriously amazing!

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