An annual outing with my fellow plant lovers...(part 2)

Yesterday I shared the first half our outing, with stops at Xera and Secret Garden Growers. After grabbing lunch we headed to Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants, a nursery I'd only just learned about thanks to a visit from a blog reader in California, thanks Max! GK Exotics is a mail order nursery but the owner, Elizabeth, was kind enough to allow our group to visit, and while she was out of town no less! Her husband Nathan (plants are not his thing) was a trooper and dealt quite well with 3 car-loads interupting his peaceful afternoon.

GK Exotics specializes in passion flowers, like this beauty.

Even the foliage is fabulous.

I'm sorry but how can you not laugh at a plant like that? Reminds me of my "big hair" days.

Lush and lovely Grevillea x gaudichaudii

I really wanted to buy one of these, but instead chose to be content with my single plant, purchased last fall from The Desert Northwest. It's good to know of someone else out there growing it...in case I do decide to take the plunge (perhaps I'm feeling the sting of last winter?).

Leucospermum grandiflorum, which Elizabeth grew from seed...

Looks like a successful mail-order business!

Not one, not two but three fabulous Aloe polyphylla...

Not only were there beautiful plants but there were goats! Just the thing to take Heather's mind off the puppy we had to leave behind earlier in the day.

This one's got guts too, it tried to eat the Passiflora 'Sunburst' I'd just purchased moments before. Silly goat!

Onward! Our last nursery stop of the day was Bosky Dell Natives. Do you notice anything unusual in the photo below? Under the water spigot? Poor opuntia had to go into hiding.

Swoon...

I suppose this was once planted with sedums and such, not so much anymore. I would love the opportunity to cart it home and plant it up.

Not sure if this was part of the home on the premises, an out-building, or just what. This whole nursery was a bit of a mystery...

See what I mean?

Where else are you going to see a shopping cart with a tree growing out of it?

And I didn't make any purchases here, but that's okay. I'd done all right earlier in the day.

I'm still not jumping on the trillium bandwagon...

So that's a wrap on our day! After four nursery visits (and a lot of traffic on the way back into Portland) we're back where we first met up that morning, the garden (and house) of Sean Hogan.

I spy a couple of new Yucca rostrata...

And perhaps a Nolina microcarpa? I'd accuse him of being a copycat (since I just bought one) but then we all know who's the copycat don't we?

I can't remember the name of this camellia but it's gorgeous. I were looking to plant one in my garden this would be the one...

Thanks for coming along on our fun-filled day!

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