Portland Getaway Visit Part Two: Cistus Nursery

For me, no visit to the Portland area is complete without a visit to Cistus Nursery.  So many treasures to see that there are a lot of images so I won't bore you with too many words.  Few Words Friday?

Can you imagine having this sort of driveway?

One never knows what he/she'll encounter in the densely planted beds on either side. 

Entering the Big Top!

Echeveria 'Topsy Turvy'

Interesting signage.

This one hopped into my cart.

NOID but beautiful bromeliad family member in glorious bloom. 

Ditto this Puya.

Another cart jumper. 

This one got serious consideration but my greenhouse is already packed to the gills in the winter so it stayed at the nursery for someone else to take home.

Sigh, so much glorious green!

Abutilon x 'Kenny Sweetheart'  "A Cistus introduction. New in 2005; named for our Jack-of-all-trades, Kenny Kneeland. Medium plant; warm yellow to peach flowers flushing to saturated coral pink with temperature drops or serious embarrassment."  Who could resist?

This cool leucadendron, one of quite a few members of the proteaceae family available on this visit.

Looks like this brutal winter was too much for Butia capitata.  It may surprise everyone with new fronds but even if it doesn't, it's still quite interesting.

More fabulous abutilons, a Cistus specialty.

I'd be terribly excited to find Fatsia polycarpa Needham form if mine hadn't survived. 

It was in this very space many years ago that I first experienced Agapetes 'Ludgvan Cross' in bloom. At that time there was a huge specimen cascading out of a pot on a table surrounded by small starts.

Seems this year has seen heavy bloom of Trachycarpus  fortunei in many gardens, my own included. 

Crinodendron hookerianum

Acacia pravissima is always fun for a few years until it gets killed by a cold winter.  

Carpentaria californica 'Elizabeth'

Yucca rostrata

Opuntia microdasys monstrose form.

Nolina looking glorious.  There's one in my parking strip.  Somewhere. Must go looking.

So much more to see and love.  I only wish I lived closer!

Time to head up the path to the parking area and head over to Joy Creek Nursery!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend in the garden!  Don't forget, Sorticulture Garden Arts Festival opens today and runs through Sunday.

The Garden of Lavonne Stewart Campbell and Mick Campbell

You may remember an autumn visit to this garden.  You may also recall that dear Lavonne passed away earlier this spring.  In her honor, her partner in gardening and in life, Mick, continued with a scheduled open garden in Lavonne's honor.

This mature garden is beautiful and serene in all seasons and spring is certainly no exception.

The large garden unfolds little by little, never being fully visible.

There are many areas to sit and enjoy the gurgling water  which, like the garden itself, reveals itself slowly in small segments.

While we no longer see Lavonne in person,

her garden legacy lives on in the capable hands of her husband.  May it help in healing his loss and bring him a measure of solace.

What a treat to once again walk the paths of this special space and to feel Lavonne's presence in the Eden she created.

Wednesday Vignette - For the Birds

Wednesday Vignette is hosted each week by the creative and fabulous Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Click here to see what's on her mind and in her lens this week.

A few years ago, I decided to take down my bird feeders due to many unwanted evening visitors. There are things I miss like seeing the flocks of American Goldfinches flutter through my garden. The chickadees still visit but they aren't as numerous as they were when there was a constant supply of black oil sunflower seed.   I don't miss the Starlings crowding out other birds and making a mess everywhere.  The humming bird feeders remain and get lots of visitors Surprisingly, there are still lots of other birds hanging out in my jungle.  Earlier there was a hummingbird gathering lint from the  dryer vent outlet and flying off with it so there must have been some nest building going on.  Last Wednesday, you saw one of the Cedar Waxwings that visited.  The Western Tanager still eludes the camera but I get a glimpse of that red and yellow beauty from time to time.  There must be a robin's nest in one of my bushes as a mother robin has been bringing her fledgling to the Japanese Maple by the back door and feeding him/her berries from  Mahonia × media ‘Charity.'  What a great plant that blooms in the winter providing nectar for the Annas Hummingbirdsand then produces berries for birds feeding their young in the spring.

On a recent morning while checking out the begonias on the back porch, a plaintive bird cry made me search out the source.  This baby hummer seemed like it may had dropped onto our wicker chair from a nest somewhere but none was visible.   As I grabbed the camera and went back, an adult flew by. Maybe mom was catching bugs for baby.

After snapping a picture or two, I went inside and watched through a window for a time and it eventually flew away but returned a few minutes later.  First flying lesson?

Later in the week I glanced out the kitchen window at 5:00 a.m. and noticed a Great Blue Heron on the path by the pond.  These birds love to eat koi and I rushed outside only to see a flutter of wings as it took off.  I've been told but don't know if it's true that these huge birds don't land directly on water but rather land on the ground and wade out.  Thus the unsightly electric fence around the pond deters them from wading in because it messes with their legs.  These are fascinating birds to observe but not when they want to eat one's pet koi!

A couple of weeks ago at Tsugawa Nursery, there was a mom who thought that a gallon pot of geraniums would be a great place to build her nest.

Mom stayed nearby and as soon as I moved away, she scrambled right back into her nest. 

Such a busy time for both flora and fauna in our gardens!

Brings to mind the lyrics of that sweet old song,   "I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me."

" How lovely is thy dwelling place...Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young."  from Psalm 84

There's always time for a little Brahms, right?

A Mini-Vacation in Portland Part 1 (Of Many) Tsugawa Nursery

Visiting the Rare Plant Research annual plant sale and garden open has become a bit of a tradition.  Since I had to use some personal days at work or loose them, I decide to drive down on the Friday before the sale on May 20, take in some nurseries, spend the night and have a plant play date with Danger.  What a grand time it was.  The first stop on the way was Tsugawa Nursery in Woodland, Washington,  very close to the Oregon border.  Come with me and enjoy the explosion of color!

Petunias and geraniums - reliable season-long color.   

I'm fond of dahlias with dark foliage.  If only I had more space...

Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'   is a lovely thing.   Thoughts of ripping out my big patch of the non-variegated form and replacing it ran through my mind briefly.

More petunias.

Schizanthus have a special place in my heart although I've not grown them in years.  The lady who owned the tourist shop in Alaska where I worked for 16 summers planted these out front and so many tourists inquired about this easy-to-grow annual that we finally put a sign in the flower bed.  Maybe next year these will get a spot in my garden, perhaps if the pot ghetto gets emptied.  (Who am I trying to kid here, that'll never happen.)

Rhododendrons and azaleas are ubiquitous in gardens in this region because they grow and bloom with little care.

Another plant that has my heart is tuberous begonias.  Those I started myself are looking good except for the pendulous ones planted in pots hanging from the greenhouse eaves.  I hope they get over the shock of being transplanted and thrown into the sunnier location soon and start growing again.

This one almost made it into the plantmobile but it wouldn't be happy being jostled around for a couple of days so it stayed.

Love the use of Spectrum's "Baroque" glass in the fins and tail of this koi stepping stone.

One of the larger ponds looking lovely.

So peaceful.  It's difficult in looking at these scenes to know that this nursery is very close to Interstate 5, an always-busy, major highway.

Bonsai are attractive but beyond my level of dedication. 

Hoop house after hoop house of great perennials.

Glass/ceramic flowers.  These were made using the drilling method rather than the Reeder/gluing method which makes much more sense.  (I drilled for years before Linda taught me an easier way.) I'm always torn when I see a great old hand-painted porcelain piece used.  Once it's drilled, it's ruined but if nobody wants to use things like this anymore, perhaps it's better that the work is enjoyed in some way.

Tsugawa has large collections of conifers, Japanese Maples, plants and other supplies for water gardens but the nurseries of Portland were calling.  The discount center always has great buys.  Not usually anything unusual but good healthy garden backbone plants.

The garden of my dreams has acreage enough for a grove of these. 

Why would they put these on sale when they're looking so gloriously gold?  Tempting but there are many in my garden already.

Time to go  back to the plant mobile and head off to more nurseries! (Cistus, Joy Creek, Means, Portland Nursery.) 

 Isn't spring grand? 

In A Vase On Monday

In a Vase on Monday is hosted each week by the fabulous Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  Click here to see her vase and to find links to those of other participating bloggers.

The first time I saw Euphorbia wulfenii in bloom I was smitten.  Such a huge chartreuse beauty of a bloom.   Of course one eventually came home with me and was planted in the hell strip where it took a few years to establish.  Now, for some reason, it's very happy and seeds all over the place.  Now they're allowed to bloom but  as seeds form, it's time to cut them off or pull entire plants out lest it take over the whole garden. Why not enjoy a few inside this week?

This ginger jar, found at a discount store several years ago had never been used as a vase but seemed large and heavy enough to hold the huge trusses of euphorbia and since it's not clear, the milky sap of the blooms would go unnoticed.   I happily filled it with water and started placing the flowers inside when water began leaking from the bottom.  Oops, not water tight.  Oh well, we'll just throw another vase inside. Not, of course before water and euphorbia milky stuff was all over the kitchen.  Fun times.

In honor of the milky mess in the kitchen, joining the vase this week are a  couple of cow shaped items.  First, a butter dish, a Christmas gift last year from our friend Bob.

Second is this cream jug that had belonged to my grandfather and mother.  My mother gave this to my brother as he was fond of it.  He and I had a joke about cows.  (Vermont, the state where we were both born, was once known as the state with more cows than people.  The dairy industry is still quite healthy there and Vermont's Cabot extra sharp cheddar cheese is the best I've ever tasted.)  Anyway, when my brother died, his significant other gave me the creamer.  It's one of the items that is always present on my Thanksgiving table at which my brother's children are present.

So, there you have it, a quickly assembled vase made after a busy day of gardening.