Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A return to Jungle Fever

The day prior to Memorial Day Weekend my husband surprised me by saying “we need to go away for the holiday weekend.” An unexpected statement because I’m usually the one pushing for weekend get-a-ways. So what glamorous destination did we decide on? Maybe a nice little town on the Oregon coast? A swank resort on the Columbia River? An overnight trip Mt Hood? Nope…Tacoma, Washington, I know…we dream big. Try to contain your jealousy.

He had a not-so-secret agenda of course, used book stores. I don’t have to tell you what I decided to do with my time. First stop, Jungle Fever. My friend the Outlaw did a recent post on this fun place and since it had been a few years since I’d visited, well it was time...

I've stared at these Stachys ‘Bella Grigio’ at a couple of nurseries. I am so attracted to them but also wonder if their white-ness wouldn't be a bit too much...

Ha! Even Jungle Fever has fallen under the spell of the Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame'...

I always mean to purchase more sarracenia, I love the one I've got and should have a couple more.

I didn't let this Puya coerulea var coerulea slip through my fingers though, I couldn't since those barbs held on tight once I picked it up...(in other words it came home with me)...

That's a nice Schefflera delavayi...

A little pricey for me though (not that I need another one...).

One of the best parts of a visit to this nursery is strolling up the sidewalk and touring the owners personal garden. Sure there's a lot behind the fence that you can't see but the bits you can see are downright fabulous...

Grevillea 'Canberra Gem' perhaps?

It's a figbottle tree!

I love this so much! Bottle trees aren't usually my thing but the execution here is perfect.

All of this plant goodness is just surrounding the public sidewalk!

At first I was jealous at how good his veratrum still look (mine has browned up a bit)...

But there are a few here down for the count as well.

I think it was the last time I visited that the twin to this agave was in bloom (see that post here, all the way back in 2011!)

These super wide steps through the parking strip are my favorite hardscape element in this garden. Of course the fact they're half covered in plants makes them all the better.

Although the big boulders are pretty sweet too.

Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane' perhaps?

There could be tigers back there...

Looking back from where I came.

Those steps from the other side...

Not only did his Aloe striatula live through the winter but it's going to flower, pretty amazing! Mine is coming back from the roots, which is wonderful.

Finally we end this visit with a nice "only in the Pacific Northwest" shot, agave and fern...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

26 comments:

  1. Ok, now I don't feel quite so bad about how my poor Veratrum looks. I lost my Poorinda Leane over the winter, it's brown and crispy. I haven't taken it out yet, but it's definitely a goner. Now I'm tempted to visit Jungle Fever. It's been a year or so since I've been.

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    1. I lost pieces of my G. ‘Poorinda Leane’ due to winter. Some branches are great, others turned crispy. Same for my G. victoriae 'Murray Queen'...lost a major branch while the others are fine. Makes for an odd shaped plant.

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  2. The Pacific Northwest meets the desert. What a great combination! All that green is balm for my eyes. I'm so used to the browns that dominate down here in parched California.

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    1. "Pacific Northwest meets the desert" I like that line!

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  3. It does indeed look as though there could be tigers back there! And I love that fig/bottle tree - I wonder if hanging blue bottles on my Albizia would make me happier with it?

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    1. I can't remember, is your Albizia chocolate? If so that color combination would be wonderful, heck it'd be pretty swell on the green too...

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  4. Love this place! I went for the first time in early May. You took great photos! I was too distracted by the plants to take any photos, I need to learn how to remember I have a camera with me.

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    1. Thanks! And I even had a small dog pulling on my arm while attempting to focus the camera. Thanks for commenting, I'm excited to check out your blog.

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  5. If you open the side gate, the tigers will come out to greet you! You took some great pictures of this fun place and it looks like there are some new plants since I was last there. Must go visit again. You and your new puya will be very happy together!

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    1. I missed out on a tiger greeting!!! Damn.

      I don't think my puya was very happy with me at first. I removed a ton of gnarled dead leaves, I think he's adjusting to the new look however.

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  6. The place looks fun! You can never go wrong with an exotic theme in a garden ;)

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  7. That's my kind of weekend...and I keep hearing about Tacoma as an interesting destination.

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    1. Really, it's not just us? It really is a great place that's gotten sort of a bad rap.

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  8. Cool place! Love the stairs! Actually, your husband did you a favor, right?! Thanks for sharing the highlights!

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  9. You are right! those stairs with plants are a great element in the garden. And agave next to fern is a strange thing, but I kind of like it :)

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    1. I've been trying to think where/how I could do something similar with stairs like that...

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  10. It really is a jungle! There are some combos that don't work for me, but overall it's fantastic! The bamboo helps sell it for me too. :)

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  11. OH my, oh my! how wonderful. I love those steps. So many beautiful plants. I especially love grevillea... wish I could grow them.

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    1. I'm kind of surprised his grevillea looked so good, but then again he's in a nice little micro-climate near Puget Sound.

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  12. Yikes! I thought the scheffleras at Tsugawas were expensive! I wish I had gotten one from Far Reaches when they were still really cheap. What a beautiful garden! I don't really care for the English lavenders, but I love Spanish lavender! It's those bracts! And Spanish lavender branches better than English, so it doesn't get as leggy.

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    1. I'm a lavender dummy and couldn't tell a Spanish from and English if they were both right in front of me.

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  13. I love that you take so many photos of the nurseries you visit. This was really fun. My sarracenia didn't survive the winter. Seeing these fabulous ones makes me a little ill. So did you succumb to the whims of Stachys ‘Bella Grigio’?

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    1. Really it didn't survive? Then again I guess you got a lot colder than Portland. No, I haven't yet made the ‘Bella Grigio' purchase. I'm just afraid I wouldn't love them so much once they were here in my garden.

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