However there is something very different about this one…all these plants were free! We Oregon garden bloggers got together over the weekend for a plant exchange and that’s my haul above, not bad huh? Get together with a bunch of plant nuts and the offerings can be pretty fabulous.
Four of the plants I brought home came from Matthew who blogs at The Lent's Farmer. I posed a question to my fellow bloggers awhile back asking if their Lobelia tupa were showing any signs of life, mine were (and still are) a no show. Matthew's were up and he shared an amazing picture of his plants from last year, they were even blooming (something mine had never done). Now I've got a tiny bit of one of those plants!
Also from Matthew the cutest little baby Agave parryi 'Cream Spike'...
A perfect NOID sempervivium rosette...
And this! An Adenium obesum (Desert Rose) which he grew from seed! This baby is 4 years old, grown from seed sent from his mom in Florida.
From our hostess for the event, Linda (Whatsitgarden) I scored a handful of Eryngium giganteum ('Miss Wilmott's Ghost') seedlings. So far my seeds haven't produced a thing and I love this plant too much to not have it in the garden. Of course now this means every seed that fell to the ground last summer will be sprouting in about a week.
Alison (Bonney Lassie) and Peter (The Outlaw Gardener) from up north (Tacoma area) were honorary Oregonian's for the day and joined in the fun. I got this Arum italicum 'Jack Sprat' from Alison...
And from Peter a gorgeous Begonia luxurians he grew from rooted cuttings!
From Anna (The Creative Flux), an Iris confusa. I had no idea what it was until she showed me a photo, then I couldn't grab it fast enough as I've loved this plant for years at the Portland Chinese Garden.
Finally the oddest moment came when I saw a Manzanita with a Cistus tag...
I remarked how crazy it was that someone brought such a thing to a plant swap! That's when Heather (Just a Girl with a Hammer) told the story. Last year when she visited Lisa's garden, she was given this Manzanita...
...as a gift, but had to promise she'd plant it. Lisa said that I'd brought it as a gift when I visited her garden earlier in the summer. Lisa hadn't found a suitable spot for it and was passing it on to Heather. I'd originally been given the plant by Sean Hogan as a tiny rooted cutting, along with another. The other one died, and my passing it on to Lisa was an attempt to keep it from the same fate. I didn't have a spot in my garden where, as such a tiny plant, it could get the sun it needed to thrive. So from Sean, to me, to Lisa, to Heather and now...finally...back to me. Thank you Lisa and Heather for taking such good care of this once tiny plant as it traveled around Portland. You grew it on and potted it up so nicely and I'm very excited to have it back again...plant swaps are the best!
All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
So lucky to have so many like minded garden bloggers in your area! Nice haul indeed!
ReplyDeleteI really am, it's a great group and we had several new faces show up this time too!
DeleteWow, what a haul! You have quite an active gardening community in Portland. Maybe I should move there?!?
ReplyDeleteI killed TWO Adenium obesum this winter. Both were indoors during the cold weather but I made the mistake of watering them ever so slightly and both rotted. A third one survived. My advice: Keep them very dry in the winter. On the other hand, in the summer, when it's really hot, they love tons of water.
Maybe you should...
DeleteThanks for the warning I will be careful not to over water and yet be generous with the water in the summer!
Soo much fun!!! Soooo much fun!!! Love the manzanita story!
ReplyDeleteWish you could have been here Louis!
DeleteI missed the story about the manzanita, that is so funny. Is it now going into the area where you took out the Hydrangea? Or maybe where you're enlarging the garden (and shrinking the grass)?
ReplyDeleteWe had so much fun, thanks for inviting us!
No the former hydrangea bed is too shady for it and the new area that used to be lawn will get summer water which they hate. So it's going to have to find a home in the front garden...four manzanita in a small from garden isn't too many is it?
DeleteGreat manzanita story! Thank you so much for including us outlanders in the Oregon festivities. I believe that the swap actually took place in Washington though. What a fun event! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteTouché! Washington indeed. I guess maybe it was you, Alison and Linda that included us Oregonians in your event! I forget sometimes that Vancouver is in WA since it seems so like a Portland suburb.
DeleteI envy your annual plant exchange. I clearly need to expand my gardening contacts in my "new" community. Only 2 of my friends actively garden and, while we have exchanged plants, the plants passed on are usually cast-offs rather than collector's items.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of those "cast-off" type plants (for example I took some lily-of-the-valley and solomon's seal) but always a few amazing things too. You live in such a garden friendly climate there must be a wealth of gardening contacts out there!
DeleteOh, this it too funny! I held on to that Manzanita for a while and couldn't find a spot for it. I knew Heather would give it a nice home. Talk about full circle! The funny thing is, after I gave up that Manzanita I did have a spot for one, so I bought one at Cistus. It promptly died and I moved the Yucca rostrata to its spot. Then I found another one on sale that desperately needed a home and put it in a large pot where it is thriving. I felt so guilty not giving the Manzanita that was a gift from you a chance - but I figured Heather planted it by now. Time to put that baby in the ground!
ReplyDeleteIndeed...I think by this time tomorrow it's roots will be in the soil. I don't know if it was you or Heather or a combination of the two of you but wow! It's grown so much...nice job!
DeleteI did re-pot the Manzanita before I gave it to Heather. I also felt some good karma after I rescued the other Manzanita from a nursery because I felt so bad about getting rid of the one that was a gift. Okay, my conscious is clear now. Glad there is a happy ending to this story. (this is a story of re-gifting gone mad!)
DeleteI hear that Manzanitas are temperamental, so the five babies that I got at the Yamhill sale went in here and there. I expected to get one to take, if lucky, but so far they're all doing well. What will I do with a Manzanita grove? Dig some up and send them into the world to see if they will become as well-traveled as yours, I guess.
ReplyDeleteReally? I hadn't heard temperamental, just very little to no summer water. I think a manzanita grove sounds dreamy...
DeleteI am so glad I stumbled upon your site. Your email is my favorite one to received. Your plants....I want them....I've got to have them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane! But please, don't take my plants.
DeleteThat was some plant exchange but I do have to ask myself, 'where is she going to put them all' !! Surely there is no room at the inn.
ReplyDeleteRoom...I've got tons of room! (hahaha) Seriously though I do know where each one is going. The only one without a home is the Lobelia because I want to really think on where it's going to be successful.
DeleteI love the plant swap...as much for the chit-chat as for the actual swapping!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed chatting with each other in person and getting to tour a garden are both good enough reasons to continue this thing we've got going even if there were no plants to exchange!
DeleteThat looks like a great exchange! So fun!
ReplyDeleteIt really was! Plus our hostess baked a couple of tasty cakes which I should have taken a picture of as they were as pretty as they were delicious.
DeleteYou couldn't make up a better story about how the manzanita came back to you. So nice to meet you in person at the plant swap and I do hope we find a way to all meet up off line again soon! Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeletePretty fabulous story isn't it? Maybe we should plan a high-summer get together somewhere?
Delete"What goes around, comes around" or maybe that other saying, "Let go of something. If it comes back, it's yours. If not, it never was." The Manzanita apparently was and is. How cool is that?
ReplyDeleteI'm loving that Begonia from Peter. Holy freaking cow! From cuttings. Who'd a thunk? Major score for you. How fun.