Monday, January 9, 2012

A little escapism

Even though we've been enjoying a mild winter here in the PNW I still occasionally find myself yearning for summer sunshine and warmth. The magic of the garden alive, growing and blooming. A recent visit to Portland Nursery was just the thing… They’ve got a great indoor houseplant/succulent area where with the blue sky visible outside you can almost believe you’re in sunny South Africa, the Tropics or maybe Southern California, without the pesky TSA pat-down/x-ray en-route. Look there are blooming Aloes, you don’t find those on every corner in Portland, Oregon… Aloe spinosissima. This poor Aloe seems to have aborted the bloom before it could even get going. This one isn’t blooming but was still a traffic stopper just based on its thick “flaming” leaves, Aloe peglarae. This one (possibly Aloe saponaria?) is very prolific with pups popping up all over… Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Euphorbia punicea And a couple of other Euphorbia that I couldn’t see a name on so I’m not sure about their specific name. Echeveria ‘Super Star’ And another Echeveria. Their Jade tree was blooming… Is this another Echeveria? Whatever it is the leaves were positively glowing. Gasteria croucheri, beautiful thick leaves. If I had this plant it would be called Mr. Grouchy. This Agave is planted in an in-ground display area at the nursery, mayy be Agave gypsophila? There were other plants (ones I’ve dismissed as common houseplants) planted in the large in-ground planting areas. I found myself stopping to admire them and realize (I know…this makes me sound really stupid) that they are house plants to me but in their natural habitat they must be amazing. Finally there were the Bromeliads, so bright and colorful, so beautiful. So I’m curious…where do you go when you need to escape winter and pretend you’re somewhere else? (assuming of course you've got a winter to escape from)

16 comments:

  1. Good tour, it does look like a good escape. We now live in a place where tourists come to escape winter so it's been a while. When we lived in Boston with endless winter, I loved visiting the greenhouses at Lyman Estate.

    http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/lyman-estate-greenhouses/lyman-estate-greenhouses-history

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  2. So you got your "dangerous plant fix" LOL

    I hope my Aloe spinosissima would hurry up and bloom like this one!

    Definitely Agave gypsophilia, which I'd like to have.

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  3. There's one garden center nearby that has some nice year-round greenhouses -- I'll check that out a couple of times in the winter (thanks for the reminder!), and there's always the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Not as nearby, but worth the drive. :-)

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  4. Beautiful! What a great nursery. I also made a quick escape to a local nursery yesterday.

    I have some IDs for you:

    - Unidentified euphorbia just above Echeveria ‘Super Star’: Looks like Euphorbia millii to me (Crown of Thorns).

    - Turquoise succulent with wavy leaves: Echeveria gibbiflora bybrid, probably Aquarius or Lady Aquarius.

    - Agave gypsophila: Yes, I agree.

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  5. I'm clearly out of touch with PN's winter aspect. Better remedy that! That Marantha you show looks a lot like one we have in our house (a plant from my dear departed MIL's back porch.) I don't really have an "escape" location for winter days: my coping technique is to whine a lot. But I'm looking forward to a weekend in Pasadena this month. Let's hear it for warm environments-created or actual!

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  6. Your comment about the 'pat down/x-ray' made me laugh! How true, and not to mention making you remove your shoes...

    Great looking nursery and fantastic selection of exotic plants to give you that plant fix at this time of the year. One new idea I've picked up from your photos is growing aloes in hanging basket, I thought it looked great!

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  7. That wavy-leaved echeveria (or whatever) is lovely...especially the red-blushed leaf edges. I tend to spend winter curled up with garden books and magazines...or out in the garden...even though I'm usually a muddy mess by the end :-(

    Although our lack of rain this winter worries me a bit in the long-term...it's been awesome for working our shed!

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  8. Shirley, wow...that looks like someplace I could get lost in for hours! Good point about living somewhere that people come to escape, I hope that will be me someday!

    Nicole, I should have linked to a post I did a couple of years ago where I bought an agave from this nursery because I was pretty sure it was a pup from that agave. At the time I thought it might be Mr Ripples but now I know what it really is! It's looking very healthy and happy now! http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2010/07/mr-ripples-maybe.html

    Alan, the Climatron!!! How come I had never heard of this before??? You made my day. Of course the action garden (and now the Climatron) are on my list to see someday but that word alone is priceless. I think our shade pavilion greenhouse will now be called the Climatron v2.

    Gerhard, thank you for the id's!

    MulchMaid, it's the Division St PDX Nursery, in case you couldn't tell. Stark street isn't quite as nice in the winter.

    Mark and Gaz, do you guys have to take your shoes off too? Yes, it's amazing how good many succulents look in a hanging container!

    scott, looking forward to a shed update soon!

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  9. scott, wait, scratch that! Looks like your big backyard post I've been waiting for is available. Must go read...

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  10. How exciting! You are so smart to have thought to visit Portland Nursery's greenhouse full of goodies blooming their fool-hearts out!! I, too, will visit soon!

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  11. Love that Agave gypsophila. That is on my "plants I NEED list for sure". The wavy Echeveria is cool too. I saw some great ones in Hawaii. I would have thought it would be too wet and humid for them but they were some of the nicest I have seen.

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  12. You are attracted to the most unusual plants....Under your unknown euphorbias statement, the first photo,pink bracts, is a crown of thorns. I have that one.

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  13. Lauren, hope they are still blooming for you!

    Kaveh,your "plants I NEED" list must be getting pretty long!

    Darla, unusual is where it's at! :)

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  14. I didn't have an escape to place, but now I do.

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  15. Looks like I shoulb be visiting Lyman, but I have made due with Peckham's green houses in Little Compton, RI and the humble Loggees in Connecticut....

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  16. No need to escape winter here in Austin. We go elsewhere (mostly Colorado) to escape summer!

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