Friday, March 4, 2011

A few things I’ve been lusting after

I’ll be the first to admit I buy a lot of plants. No kids, no big cable bills, expensive electronics or fancy car payments…plants are my luxury expense. But there are still many plants I lust after that I leave behind. Some of them because the timing isn’t right, some because they aren’t for sale, and of course some because they simply are not in the budget. Here are a few of the ones I’ve been lusting after recently…

Sean Hogan of Cistus brought an amazing selection of plants to a recent Hardy Plant Society of Oregon event, a lucky raffle winner walked away with this Fatsia polycarpa 'Needham's Lace' if I recall correctly Sean said it was one of two at the nursery. In other words…rare. This Grevillea is growing at Xera Nursery. Gorgeous isn’t it? I believe it is Grevillea victorae ‘Murray Queen’ I wish I could pull a little “switch-a-roo” and have this in my front garden in place of one of the Pieris japonica. This large Agave attenuata specimen is at Portland Nursery on Division St. I wish it were at my house. While we’re at it I’ll take that blue curly Agave in the background too. These Yucca rostrata are at Portland Nursery in Stark St…I want all of them. Instant front garden perfection….just move them all right in. I saw this Aponogeton distachyos, or Water Hawthorne at Orient Farms & Water Gardens the day we visited Treephoria. Closer to home I am seriously lusting after a few of my neighbors mature Manzanita. They are so gorgeous with their sleek mahogany bark. And luscious leaves with the hint of flowers to come. One of the same neighbors has a mature, well cared for, Ceanothus. I love it’s slightly green main trunk. However not everything I lust after for the garden is a plant. I love this cart, spotted at Boring Square Nursery. Just the thing for wheeling plants in and out of the shade pavilion greenhouse. What have you been lusting after?

10 comments:

  1. Off subject, but inquiring minds want to know, me. What inspired and or got you into this type of gardening? I have been reading your blog for a while now and I always wonder...I find it very interesting.

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  2. mmmmmm...I want that Manzanita too! If they are ever feeling generous and want to give them away you should definitely pounce! BTW...I seem to remember you mentioning looking for a Lobelia tupa...I happened to be on the Dancing Oaks website the other day and they list it...you might want to shoot them an email...maybe you could charm them into bringing one for you to the HPSO sale...maybe they could even bring and extra in case "someone else" might want one too ;-)

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  3. Heck, my 'Gotta Get' list is already three pages long. And now looks like I may have to add the Fatsia polycarpa 'Needham's Lace'!

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  4. Grevillea scortechinii and G. willissii

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  5. Your lust factor has many parallels to my own, including that gorgeous grevillea, the manzanitas and of course, the yucca rotradas. The outdoor specimens you show are particularly tempting when I see them looking so good this time of year.
    I'm also lusting after at least one more callistemon (Woodlander's Red, though I really don't know where I'll put it!) and Carpeteria californica 'Elizabeth'.

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  6. Darla, well...I am not sure how to answer your question. By "this type" of gardening do you mean the spiky part or specifically the kind of plants in this post? I guess I'll try to answer both...the love for dangerous plants really came about when I visited Phoenix, AZ, for the first time. The plants there were like nothing I had ever seen before (having grown up in Eastern Washington) and I just fell in love. I've been driven to recreate a bit of that paradise in my garden ever since. We are planning a road trip to visit the in-laws in New Mexico and my brother in Phoenix this year so you will be seeing A LOT of spiky plant pictures ahead! As for the Manzanita, Ceanothus and Grevillea of this particular post it's been a slow opening of my eyes. I was all about the borderline hardy evergreens like Phormiums and Cordylines for awhile but as our winters have turned BAD these plants just don't live. As I've started to pay attention to what looks good in other peoples gardens around town I've fallen in love with the structure these plants provide.I hope I answered your question without getting too wordy, and thank you for asking!

    scott, I don't see that happening but if they do I'll be right there with my shovel helping them dig. Lobelia tupa...uhm, who could that someone else be??? Oh and btw we are very happy to have Dancing Oaks on plantlust.com now!

    RBell, 3 pages! That is impressive!

    Ian, these are what you're lusting after? If your DesertNW Ian then they must be rare if you don't have them!

    MulchMaid, ah that Woodlanders red is a GOOD one so hardy! As for the Carpenteria I didn't think those were hardy?

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  7. I'm just lusting after sunshine and 65 degree weather. Is it too much to ask for? Apparently. :)

    If someone handed me that Fatsia, I wouldn't refuse it. Yum!

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  8. Nice wish list, Mine travels around with me in my un-blackberry (ie, old fashioned daytimer) and nothing is so much fun as striking through one I've been seeking. Currently top of list: Asdenophile and Eryngium proteiflorum. My, my...those squiggly red underlines do pile up in a garden post, don't they?

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  9. Loree, Xera calls that Carpenteria cultivar zone 7. Of course they would NEVER be likely to be too optimistic, right? It works for me!

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  10. Oh Loree - lust-filled minds think alike. I gave in to the fatsia polycarpa 'Needham's Lace' at Cistus last summer & LOVED watching it grow all summer 'neath my musa basjoo. It, along with the much-lusted-after schefflera taiwanana appear to be mush now in my garden. However, the schefflera delavayi sailed through a second harsh winter with aplomb! Plants - go figure.
    Thanks again for your amazing blog!

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