Friday, October 5, 2012

The garden where everything grows faster, bigger, and better than mine…


Before leaving for our week in London I shuttled a few plants over to my co-plant luster Patricia’s house, she’d kindly agreed to care for them since Mother Nature is still withholding the water. While standing there chatting with her and admiring her garden I realized I've never taken any photos, what was I thinking?! Time to correct that oversight...

When I first met her (a little over 3 years ago) most of the extra-wide hell-strip surrounding her lot was a filled with lawn. Since then she’s removed all that and created an amazing garden…


That lovely Verbascum next to the sidewalk is a volunteer...

Look at that shrub behind the Banana, next to the telephone pole. Any guesses as to what it might be?

Here's a better shot.

Yes! Can you even believe it? Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira'...HUGE and right here in Portland!

I am so jealous!

Euphorbia myrsinites, so dense and full! Not at all leggy like mine tend to get.

That massive Datura was a bargain ($3.99?) purchase at our local nursery Garden Fever earlier this summer. Now look at it!

Up until recently it was pushing out daily blooms too!

On the right is a Eupatorium, E. capillifolium 'Elegant Feather' I believe...

Perfection!

Just above the Blood Grass, you can see what's left of Patricia's Echium wildpretii. It lost it's top during blooming but the base is still solid. I'm counting on hundreds of tiny seedlings next year, which hopefully she'll share.

There's the bloomed out E. wildpretii...from the other side.

Hardy Puya

Grevillea victoriae, I believe...

This Echium was purchased as a tiny 4" start mid-summer, look at it already!

Another Echium...

Thank you Patricia for letting me share your gorgeous garden! I realize now that I only photographed the hell-strip, there is oh so much more to see...hopefully I can remember to take more pictures sometime soon!

38 comments:

  1. We got a tantalizing peek at Patricia's hell-strip a couple of weeks ago in the Oregonian's Homes & Gardens publication. This confirms my sense that Patricia is in the perfect spot at Plant Lust with you. And speaking of lusting, now I lust after a MUCH wider hell strip, and that Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira'!

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    1. That story really left me wishing they had shown more of Patricia's garden. I guess that's what I was subconsciously working through with this post. BTW my Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' but the dust early last spring after bravely struggling through the winter. Patricia has the golden touch.

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  2. I love the mix of plants -- such textural interest! What's up with the floppy-eared Opuntia, if that's what it is?

    Beautiful, and I'd like to see more wide shots of the whole strip!

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    1. I should have mentioned that Opuntia. It's one of the "Opunita Santa Claus" haul (http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-opuntia-santa-claus-stops-by.html), a really big "top heavy" clump that's still recovering from it's ordeal.

      Ya, a smart person would have stood way back and taken an over all shot! Next time.

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  3. Hey, that garden looks pretty groovy thru the lens of your camera. I MUST record the names of everything in one spot. But in looking at these, I was struck by how many of my plants were gifts and/or recommendations from generous gardeners. The blood grass is from Loree. The two little Cupressus (I think) are from Lauren. The Opuntia from Spencer Houser, aka the real Santa Claus. The Eupatorium capillifolium 'Elegant Feather' was Megan's suggestion at the HPSO sale. I bought one, she bought one--and then gave me hers. The Echiums are at Loree's wise behest. The Canna musifolia, gifts from Megan. etc. etc. Thanks Loree, for the lovely post and all the great inspiration. (Also a little thanks to southern exposure and super drainage from the Missoula floodplain.)

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    1. Just think of how many passers-bye you've inspired. So many people in Portland who never knew what an Echium was will now be trying to grow them!

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  4. I am always SO jealous of the neighborhoods with those crazy-wide hell strips...so unfair!!!

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    1. Agreed, I can barely grow a yucca in mine!

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  5. That's it, I'm selling the house and moving somewhere where I can grow Echium 'Star of Madeira'. Awesome looking plant, but not for my zone 7 full of red clay garden. Thanks for the tease.

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    1. No, and not for my garden just a couple of miles from Patricia. I think we both need to seriously consider moving to the Bay Area!

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  6. I echo what Alan said. The textural variety is amazing.

    I can't believe she can grow Star of Madeira. She must protect it really well in the winter. I had one a few years ago but it croaked after a frosty night.

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    1. Get this Gerhard...she didn't do a thing! Nothing. I little radiated heat from the street perhaps. It didn't look quite this could back in March but that was just a momentary set back. Imagine the blooms it will have next year if it makes it through this winter!

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  7. Patricia's garden is way cool! Love the Eupatoriums and everything else, too.

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  8. such interesting textures....so foreign to me

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    1. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill Portland garden.

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  9. I had the pleasure of meeting Patricia yesterday.....What a lovely person, now I get to see her some of her gardening. What a treat for me!!!!

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    1. Maybe she'll host a future garden bloggers gathering and you'll get to see it in "real life"...

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    2. Hey, there you are. Helloooo again.

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  10. Beautiful! so many agaves!!! I love seeing the phormium and palm too! so many of my favs in one great space!!!

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    1. We both managed to score some very inexpensive Agave parryi a couple of years ago. She got all brave and put hers in the ground right away. I chickened out and put mine in a couple of containers, which they've outgrown. Guess I need to follow her lead now.

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  11. Nicely done massing and texture, within diversity. The cacti and agaves don't hurt, of course... (unless one is unkind to them)

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    1. And those that are unkind deserve to get hurt. How perfect.

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  12. I need to move to an area where people grow hell strip gardens. What a great idea and they make a neighborhood walk so much more interesting. Thanks for the tour!

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    1. But how could you move after creating that beautiful garden of yours. Instead you'll just need to start a hell-strip revolution right there!

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  13. Wow! Incredible plants. Great photography. I think I'm going to give up gardening and just read, drink, and visit.

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    1. Oh no! Don't give up gardening! Maybe just a little more reading, drinking, and visiting for the winter months.

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  14. I'm curious if she has any rude neighbors? I have one who hates my non manicured look, and gives me a frown every time she drives by. Oh well, can't please everyone all the time or even some of the time.

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    1. I know that a couple of her trees have suffered inelegant pruning by passers-by, and someone has found the need to break her Opuntia into smaller segments and scatter them around. Both pretty rude. But all in all she lives in a pretty great neighborhood where people appreciate this kind of look. All of Portland is pretty hip that way, I'm sorry you've got an uptight stick-in-the-mud for a neighbor.

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  15. Thanks for sharing with us Patricia's garden. I like the way she mixed different types of exotic plants in that planting bed, nice texture and colour combo to it. Some people seem effortless when it comes to choosing plants and getting them to do so well, she's one of them :)

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    1. Effortless, great description. She's worked on this planting over a period of time, adding to it without it ever looking piece meal.

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  16. A garden that looks no worse for the wear of no rain. Very nice indeed. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. I do believe she's done a bit of watering...

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  17. Great garden. I particularly like the grasses in the lava rock. So unexpected. Isn't gardening fun?

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    1. Aren't those grasses just great!? Kind of amazing how little soil they need to be happy.

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  18. You are not giving your garden enough props! This is a great garden and the pics are super but I love your garden. And your patio and cover are so awesome!

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  19. Awesome. Lovely that you have this friendship. Thank you for sharing her garden!

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