Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Ginger, franklinia and pomegranate…oh my!

Oh how wonderful it is on a cold November day to look back at an open garden visit in August, all sunny and warm.

My Hesperaloe parviflora didn’t bloom this year, I missed them.

This gardeners parking strip was quite wide and packed full of interesting textural plants.

I love the look of this (not sure what it is?), but doubt I would so much in my own garden.

The front garden is not quite as over-planted as it looks…

Although the sidewalk is a little “tight”…

But things do open up on the other side.

There was a couple fixated on the crepe myrtle when I walked up, I felt bad for disturbing them…

When visiting a new garden this is the point where I hold my breath for a bit. Things are about to go one of two ways...

Thankfully this one went the "thumbs-up" way...

Abutilon megapotamicum

And the view across the back garden.

There were gingers, Tara (Hedychium coccineum 'Tara')...

And this! Hedychium aff. densiflorum...

I wish I had space for more gingers because I am in love with this.

There were two short pathways up to the garden along the back of the house, this the first. The tree on the left is a Franklinia alatamaha.

It's pretty sweet...

And I guess quite rare.

This is the other pathway.

Bordered by eucomis...

There was an interesting renegade stem-bloom on one of them.

Near a back door was this, Buddleia lindleyana.

As I recall the homeowner/gardener said he planted it there in order to enjoy the booms from the indoors.

Punica Granatum 'Flore Pleno'

And what I thought was fruit, but are actually flower buds. As it turns out this was my last HPSO open garden visit of the season...thankfully there will be a new open gardens book available in the spring...(spring, I can't wait...)...more gardens to visit then...

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

22 comments:

  1. Great garden with a lot of the plants I love too. It's going to be a long winter surrounded by freeze dried plants. Your blogs always make me feel warmer.

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    1. Happy to read that, I know editing photos with blue skies always makes me feel better!

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  2. Thanks for the memory of warmth on such a cold day! This is a fun garden full of lots of great plants!

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    1. It's amazingly near me, I've walked by a time or two but never really noticed it.

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  3. Oh man, I recognize that front garden. I really want to have a closer look -- thanks for sharing your visit. Could your mystery shrub be Erica arborea 'Albert's Gold?'

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    1. There's another commenter that agrees with your ID, looking at photos online I'm thinking I definitely need one of them, have you grown it?

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  4. What a lovely reminder of sunnier times! Gingers are gorgeous plants, just wished the blooms lasted longer and they sprout and leaf out much earlier than they usually do...

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    1. True, their flowers are fairly short lived. I always forget about that!

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  5. My hesperaloe has NEVER bloomed. Was thinking of coming to you for advice. Love that 'Tara' ginger, liking the spareness of the bloom better than the packed ones. The Franklinia is rare for good reason if my experience is any indication. I hope to take in way more open gardens next year. You found some really good ones.

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    1. Sean says summer water is key to a blooming hesperaloe. I'm already anticipating the arrival of next years open gardens book, without a Fling to plan/host I hope to take in even more of the offerings.

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  6. Such an interesting collections of plants. I loved the Franklinia and I covet that Punica but the mutant Eucomis made me smile - are you sure it wasn't a space alien in disguise?

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  7. Those open garden visits are really great. You get to see so many interesting gardens. Thanks for showing them to the ones that live far away.

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    1. Once again Portland lives up to the title "the city of gardens"...

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  8. Great garden. I like the hell strip, and the Eucomis path. Portlandtreetour is probably right. Definitely looks like Erica arborea. I don't think the owners have given it the annual pruning that most people give theirs to remove the old blooms.

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    1. Thanks for the ID confirmation, I see one in my future after all.

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  9. Those last flowers are different, the buds look like cherry roma tomatoes. I like that Buddleia and the little path under it.

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    1. It was a garden whose charms grew on me while I was there.

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  10. What do the gingers do in the winter? Are they pulled and stored? I think even here there are issues in the winter.

    Interesting plant collection. As a landscape, needs a bit more in the way of architectural shapes--a lot of billowy shrubbery needs some balancing with ? Wish we could grow Franklinia here--what a special little tree.

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    1. I've never pulled my gingers and they come back reliably, in fact I've never heard of anyone doing so here. I think your comment about it needed architectural shapes is why I didn't immediately fall for it, but the longer I was there I felt at home. All those ginger jutting out as they do (at an angle) certainly helped.

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  11. You can't imagine how excited I was to see that picture of a Franklinia alatamaha. First learned of it when I read a biography of John Bartram, then again reading a book called Founding Farmers. The story behind the original discovery, argument over naming, and then extreme difficulty in again finding this plant is fascinating. Thanks!

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  12. So much here, though I know someone nearby who would be adding a couple overstory layers in 1-2 spots! The Franklinia is amazing, reminds me of the Cordia boissierii some try here. That Lagerstroemia trunk is classic...

    Once I'm through some tough work deadlines, sunny pics are to be posted...stay warm!

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