Monday, May 13, 2013

Desert Jewels…

I’ve come to realize most of the rest of the country thinks all of the Pacific Northwest is rainy and moss covered. It’s simply not true! Once you get on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range things change significantly, Eastern Washington and Oregon are virtually deserts, indeed!

When I was home (that’s Spokane, WA…in Eastern Washington) in June of 2012 my mom mentioned this great little nursery she’d discovered while hunting for Missouri Evening Primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa), unfortunately she did so as we were packing up the car to head back to Portland. Ah, next time! As though my mom needed back-up just a couple of month’s later Panayoti Kelaidis (Senior Curator and Director of Denver Botanic Gardens Outreach) blogged about his visit to the same nursery!

So close and yet so far, I had to wait ten months but I’ve finally visited! Desert Jewels is a tiny nursery run from a home in the Spokane Valley. As though running a nursery wasn’t already enough work the owner, Diane Stutzman, also has a full-time job for the Bureau of Land Management. This is a very busy lady.

The Lewisia were looking spectacular during my visit.

I was surprised to learn most Lewisia are hardy to Zone 5 (where part of the Spokane area falls) and since my mom hadn’t previously encountered them  it was fun to be along as she discovered their bright flowers.

Their (cheap) availability at our local grocery/everything store has lulled me into thinking most Sempervivum are common and easily found, but here were some drop-dead different choices!

One of these came home with me…

But I could have left with many…

Spikes!

Mom and I took a peek in the greenhouses…

More Lewisia!

I don't remember ever seeing seed starting containers this deep!

Guess that makes for a happy tap-root?

Desert Jewels specializes in hardy, locally adapted and drought tolerant plants...many are Western natives.

Lots of room to expand.

You know I love the lupine leaves...

Lonicera ciliosa, grown from seed and organge blooming. Yep, I bought this one!

Sulfur buckwheat

Penstemon glandulosus

Polemonium pulcherrimum

The display gardens were still mostly asleep for the season...

But a few things were waking up.

Since Desert Jewels is only open Fridays & Saturdays 9-5 and located next to the owners home you are given the opportunity to "ring for service"...I highly recommend doing so because once you've had a look about you've still only experienced just the tip of what this nursery has to offer. Chat with Diane a bit and learn about what gets her excited. I did and I found myself wanting to leave with many more plants than I had room for.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

19 comments:

  1. I enjoy the cold-climate cacti and plants, especially since it helps me appreciate how much more I can grow in Abq, which are much larger in prominence. Good variety that I bet are underutilized in most gardens there?

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    1. Totally underutilized! She's agreed to join plantlust.com so hopefully we can help get the word out.

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  2. What a find! This the kind of nursery I love.

    Wish I could grow lewisias but they hate our summer heat. I've tried on several occasions and they all died--just like all the dudleyas I've ever tried.

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    1. Dudleyas too? Wow Gerhard that's surprising to me.

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  3. What a great find, and great advice to chat with the owner. True at just about any nursery. I am jealous of your orange honeysuckle.

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    1. You could see I really wanted that lonicera you brought to the gb plant exchange couldn't you? Well finding one with straight up orange blooms finally pushed me over the edge.

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  4. Desert jewels is a treasure indeed and right there in your home town! Looks like it was worth the wait!

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    1. Actually my visit yielded three fabulous (and very different) nurseries...one more post to come!

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  5. Pretty impressive, and especially knowing that it's a second job for a "working girl". I don't think I could pull it off working at it full time.

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    1. Not to mention she also had a gig belly dancing the evening mom and I were there!

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  6. Awesome! I love the smaller nurseries like this (is it small?) although sometimes they can be pricey (was it pricey?)

    I'd certainly like chatting with a small nursery owner especially if they specialize in certain types of plants, but my experience with general nurseries (at least around here in STL) is that they don't know as much as they should.

    If you're still looking for *Missouri* Evening Primrose I think I know somebody who can hook you up. ;)

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    1. Yes it's small, no it's not pricey (everything was very reasonably priced) and I think Diane knows her stuff and then some!

      Thank you but Diane was able to hook my mom up with as much *Missouri* Evening Primrose as she needed, in fact she passed one on to me but the darn thing won't bloom here...for her, nothing but!

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  7. A full time job and running/owning a nursery, wow! A passionate plantswoman she is.

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  8. Thanks for the info on this nursery. I'll have to be making a trip to Spokane just to visit it!

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  9. You found a great 'gem' of a nursery. I love that she is running this little business on the side, keeping her hobby alive! So many lovely choices and colors! Great post! Cheers, Jenni

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    1. Her husband shared that he built her a greenhouse instead of giving her an engagement ring, that's true love!

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  10. I am so jealous of your spring visit: they are a wonderful couple and they are extraordinarily knowledgeable about Western natives. I can't wait to get back and visit them (preferably with a truck and a flush bank account)!

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