Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A visit to Sebright Gardens…

Last July when Andrew and I visited the Oregon Garden we drove right by Sebright Gardens. I really wanted to stop, but (1) There wasn’t time and (2) It was July, not the best time to buy a hosta! So when a friend suggested a visit in early September I jumped at the opportunity.

Blooming Caesalpinia gilliesii! (I hope mine blooms next year)

As luck would have it we ran into Thomas (one of the owners) who gave us a little behind the scenes tour. Have you ever seen so many hostas? And this was just a tiny part of what we saw!

Before we visited the sales area we had to wander through the display garden.

I wish I would have asked about the tree fern! How long has it been there? How do they protect it in the winter…

This scene gave me pause. If you look close that’s my beloved Clematis tibetana var. vernayi and it’s gotten a bit out of hand!

Those beautiful leaves belong to Quercus dentata ‘Pinnatifida’...

My current biggest plant crush.

Oh how I wish I could have bought this very one! (no, I don’t know how I’d get it home)

Okay, time to shop!

It wasn’t all hosta though, there were ferns…

Including this cute Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes).

And epimediums…

But the main draw is, of course, the hostas, no matter how ridiculous their names!

It figures ‘Andrew’ would be one of the expensive ones…

I’m usually pretty good at staying on task, but seriously…I was starting to get overwhelmed. I just needed two or three plants to replace a couple of older hostas I just didn’t love now that the hydrangea is gone and they’re more exposed.

Here’s what I’d come up with at this point. The two toned green leaves at the top belong to ‘Whirlwind’ – “Medium- Heavily textured, slightly twisted, very dark olive green leaves w/ white aging to lime green centers.” (all descriptions from Sebright) I wasn’t buying the white thing until I looked up this image.

The bright chartreuse leaves belong to ‘Little Sunspot’ – “Small- Thick, cupped bright gold leaves w/ irregular dark green margins & transitional streaking; Exceptional!” And finally on the right is ‘June.’ I fell for a sexy hosta at Wind Dancer last May, several commenters thought it was ‘June’ – thus when I saw it, I grabbed it. I hope this one grows up to be as remarkable. “Medium- Oh so pretty gold centers w/ blue margins & streaking; Excellent substance, truly outstanding! A Best!

So that was three plants. But when I saw ‘Lakeside Cupcake’ I knew those thick quilted blue leaves (accented with that creamy center!) would look fabulous with my other blue-leaved hostas.

So let’s see that’s four hosta…and look! Two ferns also jumped in my cart… Pteris cretica 'Albo lineata' (White Striped Cretan) on the bottom shelf and that Phlebodium pseudoaureum (Blue Rabbit’s Foot Fern) was a steal.

You’d think I was done right? But then we wandered through an adjacent area and I started swooning over others…

I’m not a fan of the bright yellow/green leaf color; otherwise I would have bought ‘Jimmy Crack Corn’ just to say that name as many times as possible.

Big leaves!

Love the color variation on the sides…

Ditto.

After that little side jaunt I added ‘Dust Devil’ to my collection. A picture? No, sorry, didn’t take one and it’s raining too hard for me to go outside right now. Here’s the description “Large. Heavy textured, moderately wavy, dark green leaves w/ wide creamy yellow margins.”

So that’s how I came to buy 5 hostas (and 2 ferns, which are actually on marginally hardy side) when I only intended to buy 2 hosta. I am hoping by buying and planting the hostas now (rather than in the spring) they’ll be bigger and healthier come next year. How forward thinking of me! BTW if you’re in the area and thinking you might want to stop by Sebright do so soon and save 10%! (details here).

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

26 comments:

  1. Quercus dentata ‘Pinnatifida’ ... Wow! I had no idea. Wow! And Phlebodium pseudoaureum is zone 8a!? I always thought it was tropical. You blew my mind today.

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    1. That Quercus is amazing isn't it? I've got to get my hands on one, soon! As for the fern I've loved it and lost it...but it looks like I'm willing to try again!

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  2. I’m not a fan of the bright yellow/green leaf color; otherwise I would have bought ‘Jimmy Crack Corn’ just to say that name as many times as possible.

    I don't care.

    As luck would have it we ran into Thomas (one of the owners) who gave us a little behind the scenes tour. Have you ever seen so many hotsa?

    Well, Thomas is cute, I guess. I don't know if I'd call him hotsa.

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    1. I don't care as in????

      Thanks for the hotsa catch! Fixed...even though yes, he's cute I don't know how he'd feel about being labeled a hotsa...

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    2. "I don't care" as in Jimmy Crack Corn. And I don't care.

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  3. I'm glad I can't plant more of these deer food -- I mean "hostas" in my garden, as I would have had the same problem you did, and would have been sending somebody for a second cart. I often think "aren't there too many hosta cultivars already?", but seeing these... I'd have to shout "NO!"

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    1. I have to admit I was feeling the same (aren't there already too many) until faced with this smorgasbord!

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  4. You were right, this place is seriously dangerous! So many gorgeous hostas that would want to come home with me! Another great Oregon nursery to add to the list of places to visit! Thanks!

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    1. You really should visit there someday, it's pretty fabulous.

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  5. Hostas are one of those things I just take for granted...but every time I see them in a nursery, I go a little crazy, wishing I had room for them all! I love 'June'...seriously, one of the prettiest of all the Hostas.

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    1. Maybe someday there will be a 'June' division for you!

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  6. I love me some hostas. Unfortunately, they don't grow well down here in the Sacramento Valley. I'm down to just two, and one of them is on its way to neverland. Ironically, the only one hanging in there--and actually looking quite perky--is one I received as a freebie (it's called 'Climax'). All the ones I paid good money for have croaked.

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    1. Other than the slugs hostas are pretty carefree up here, I suppose I kind of take them for granted.

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  7. Only two or three hostas amongst all that lot? A very difficult task so no wonder you went away with five plus extras. Love Hostas, they give that lush and leafy look to any garden and associates well with exotics and yet so hardy.

    Special mention to that Quercus, what a fine looking specimen!

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    1. I'm still trying to rationalize how I can end up with that Quercus...

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  8. And here you were: giving hostas away at the swap. OK, I get it...making room for more varieties, and I'm only too glad to give a new home to the old ones. Now I'm thinking I need a few with really puckery leaves (and huge). Any thoughts on that?

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    1. The ones I gave away just didn't look good anymore. I live them when their dramatic white edges peeked out from under the hydrangea but on their own they were too, well, white. I tried very hard to stick to darker color combos. As for your needs (and my thoughts) I think you need to visit Sebright!

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  9. I love, love, love hostas - but I've killed too many. Although nurseries here occasionally offer a few (nothing like the variety you show), you don't see them often in public or private garden settings. I don't think they like SoCal.

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    1. I am afraid you're right Kris, but since you get all sorts of other fabulous plants I'm not feeling too bad about that...

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  10. The Quercus does look very exotic. Hostas and deer not mixing, I have to plant them behind wire fences which is a limiting factor. So many great choices! The ferns are very interesting, too bad they are not that hardy.

    Um, my Massa's gone away?

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    1. I had to Google 'Jimmy Crack Corn' to get your and Mr. Subjunctive's references. I had no idea...

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  11. I love that you'll have a cupcake tucked amongst all the pokey and spiky guys. Great great choices!

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    1. Not just any cupcake but a "Lakeside Cupcake"...

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  12. That Quercus is fabulous, and obviously you're young stll if you didn't immediately get the "I don't care" refrain to your Jimmy reference. I'm amazed you can grow Hostas up there with your PNW slugs and snails, they zero in on hostas first and foremost here in the Bay Area, and personally I don't have the energy to do that constant protection/baiting dance. You should seek out the hardier Phlebodium aureum glaucum as grown by Suncrest Nursery or San Marcos Growers here in California, this form is root hardy to 20-25°F, but what you got most likely isn't even good to 32°F and is best indoors in winter. It's a fabulous fern, and gets 4 feet tall with 18" wide by 2' long fronds in my Berkeley garden, slowly forming clumps 4~5' across after several years.

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  13. I seriously have the hots for that Quercus dentata ‘Pinnatifida’.

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  14. fifi la fontaineOctober 02, 2013

    Oooh love that hosta garden!. A gang of us descended on that place last summer and got enough hostas to choke a horse. We were snickering at all the dirty names we saw...in fact, the "Climax" hosta was my favorite! I was so disappointed that it wasn't available for sale. Thanks for the post!

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