plant lust list: Lobelia tupa aka Devil’s Tobacco
Talk about a stunner, Lobelia tupa rises to the occasion. I received this plant in the mail from Secret Garden Growers. It came in a 4″ pot. Aren’t plants a marvel. (more…)
Denver Garden Bloggers’ Fling 2019: reflections
I can explain.
Two Portland garden bloggers talked me into attending the gbfling2019. That’s what those in the know call it. I’m looking at you Danger and Just a Girl. I will be the first to admit, I’m not a terrific traveler. I like home. But this duo urged me on numerous occasions, plying me with wine and sweet talk: it will be fun; all those new gardens; all those other bloggers. They even enlisted my husband to join the encouragement game. Bill loves to travel–though usually for motorsport related events. I’ve learned to stay out of that whole business. When Bill says he’s going to the track for a couple of hours, he means sun up, to sun down.
The Flingers were kind of like that. (more…)
Happy Fourth July 2019
open garden season: Hardy Plant Society of Oregon
Anita Barbey and Todd Liebow kindly opened their historic garden to Hardy Plant Society members this weekend. (Just join already. Months of fabulous garden tours and all for $35.) From the HPSO guide: The garden was designed and constructed for Lady Anne Kerr McDonald and her husband Sir James McDonal in 1940. It includes rare mature trees–Stewartia monadelpha, Trochodendron araliodies, Acer Griseum, Sciadopitys verticillata, Cunninghamia lanceolata, and Metasequoia gylpostroboides.
I did not take pictures of any of those things, because I forgot while looking down. And I was distracted by all the other gardeners I needed to talk with. (more…)
plant lust list: Canna musafolia
How much fun is it to say Banana Canna. Right up there with Sambucus. This post has nothing to do with Sambucus–aside from the delight in saying its name. Sambucus was my first deliberate Latin plant name utterance. Megan taught me when she urged me to buy a lacy Fern Leaf Elderberry. That plant got big and gorgeous. No worries. The new peeps poisoned it and it is long gone. I will not be bitter, I swear.
Canna musafolia aka Banana Canna is not only fun to say, it’s leaves are big, dramatic, and it sways romantically in the breeze. You’ll think you’re on vacation. (more…)
plant lust list: Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’
Big leaves. Dramatic pattern. Fabulous texture. Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’ is a woodland wonder. And to think, a woman at Hortlandia just this weekend lamented having too much shade. I suggested she try a search on plant lust and filter on “mostly shade.” I got 12,505 options!
Magnolias maudiae aka Smiling Monkey Forest Tree
I bought this little Magnolia maudiae two seasons ago. It was fresh and lovely at Xera Nursery. How could I resist? There was just one, and I snatched it up. (more…)
Cinnamomum chekiangense: a good evergreen tree
I have this tree planted in part sun and part shade. It gets more or less depending on time of year, but amenable either way. Cinnamomum checkiangense aka Camphor Tree might make a lovely addition to your garden. (more…)
Zone Denial Pacific Northwest Style: gambling on a mild winter
When we first heard the forecast, Bill lamented not having Champagne in stock. It’s a tradition. We watched the first flurries from our toasty living room. It was no blizzard, but lovely just the same. Bill started a fire. The dog slept. We ate lunch on the sofa and had a glass of wine.
It was early in the day, but after all, snow. The forecasts had been all over, though most said no accumulation “on the valley floor,” that’s the Willamette Valley floor. They always says that. (more…)
Happy New Year 2019
Wishing you a wonderful new year, with more fabulous plants than you can shake a stick at.
Cheers
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