Friday, December 5, 2014

Kuzma Garden 2014, Part 2

Picking up where we left off yesterday the water plants are looking especially wonderful...

Thalia geniculata 'Red Stem' glows...

And is foliage perfection.

There was another, smaller, container with a blooming lotus.

I should mention these photos were taken at the beginning of September, although I was back in late October and there were still many things blooming.

Looking back towards where you enter the back garden.

And one of my favorite parts of the garden...

Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea'

I'm never quite sure how I feel about the dark tradescantia, but here I love it...

Such a inspired combination.

Melianthus major 'Purple Haze'

Okay, it's finally time to venture into the upper garden...

My Acanthus sennii still hasn't ever bloomed.

The foliage is grand, but a flower would be nice.

Crossing my fingers that I'll have Caesalpinia gilliesii flowers in my garden soon...

Big dasylirion blooms would be lovely as well.

Another caesalpinia, this one C. pulcherrima.

The agaves were pretty severely knocked back by winter 2013/14.

Not that you can tell now.

So fabulous.

I melt.

Tiny green leaves, huge dark ones.

And of course we can't miss the gunnera.

Mine didn't bloom this year.

The colorful, empty, containers really do add to the garden, oh that I had that restraint.

Variegated daphniphyllum.

Hedychium coccineum 'Tara'

I can't wait to see what magic I'll discover in this garden next year! Thank you John, for allowing me to enjoy your garden over the last four years (2013, 2012, 2011). Also, I should note, to those of you unfamiliar with our climate, John goes to great lengths to protect many of these plants (he makes me look like a super slacker). There are some grown as annuals, that he'll replace next year. Some which are overwintered  as cuttings, and others that are wrapped or covered and heated to protect them from our winter wet and cold. Those of us with the zonal denial bug do what we can to see our passion through the winter months...

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

27 comments:

  1. That garden (and especially the crevice garden) fabulous indeed! And I'm liking the large urns/vases too, might pick up that idea....

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    1. I wonder if they are as effective in a more jungly (densely) planted garden? Just something I've been thinking about.

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  2. I really, really, really need to see this garden next year. I hope it's open. That Thalia is fabulous, and there are so many other inspirational plants and ideas. I'm not happy with my own gravel garden, and I know I will be inspired here.

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    1. I hope it is too, and yes...I think you will be!

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  3. Gunnera and agave in the same garden - what could be better?! I love that crevice garden. And now I'm wondering if there's enough sun in the back section of my front garden for a Caesalpinia.

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    1. Oh yes! You need to try it, that would be gorgeous.

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  4. I never really saw the 'specialness' of M. major 'purple haze' until your pic of it... I haven't seen it in person, and so nicely grown. Now I must have one.

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    1. I've been (casually) looking for one for awhile now, with no success...

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  5. I spoke with the owner about his efforts to keep all those zonal-denial plants alive in winter. He uses lots of Christmas lights and tenting - quite an effort!

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  6. So much nicer in sunlight! I'm still not convinced that the large pots/urns need to be completely empty in order to have the impact. I am convinced about the impact though!

    What is the plant with the bright green velvety leaves two below the 'Purple Haze' closeup? Want!

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    1. Oh I wish I could remember! I also wish the cutting that John gave me hadn't rotted at the base...

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  7. This garden really lends itself to dramatic photographs and I'd say you took full advantage.

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    1. Thanks rickii, I was hoping the cloud cover would stay put a bit longer but things worked out okay.

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  8. This post really brought back that vivid sense of the tight garden and plant community that exists in Portland. So many of the same cherished plants seen in the different gardens, the zonal denial -- a definite Portland Style shows through. I see a lot of Cistus influence too! That Acanthus sennii looks to have quadrupled in size since we saw it in July. And I do need to find that thalia for my little water tank -- great post, Loree.

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    1. Sean (Cistus) did the original design for this garden, and a lot of the plants came from Cistus so that makes sense. And I agree about the Acanthus sennii. Sadly the Acanthus syriacus I bought at Joy Creek during the Fling died...

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  9. I really enjoyed my brief visit to that garden back in July. Everything looks even better in your photos. And a new pergola at the back of the house?

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    1. No, the pergola was there in July. You must not have been on "my" bus that day, we all stood under the pergola waiting for the rain to stop.

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  10. Wow, what a difference from July when we were there! The winter damage was still quite visible then, now there's barely a trace.

    I can definitely see a kinship between your garden and John's, especially as far as the plant selection is concerned!

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    1. Hopefully this winter will tread lightly and next year will be even better.

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  11. Love the urns spread around the place, that acacia, the agaves, the fifth photo down that looks like a painting, the lotus, the type of gravel used as a groundcover, the melianthus, what else.. Oh just everything.

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    1. We are in agreement. It's everything for me too.

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  12. Beautiful photos! I love the 'Red Stem' and that lotus is absolutely other-worldly. I'm not so well-versed in plant names (and in a completely different zone), can you tell me anything about the plant with the indigo/deep purple flowers? It looks something like an agapanthus (strap leaves, the flower stems) but I'm sure it probably isn't one. Please excuse my ignorance, and thanks for a little mental time out as I perused that great garden from my desk!

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    1. Looks like Agapanthus inapertus Graskop or a similar cultivar.

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    2. All I would have been able to say was yes, agapanthus so a big thank you to tvojt for replying.

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  13. Wonderful!!! I was wondering what happened with some tender plants...now I understand.
    There are so many interesting blooms we weren't able to see in the fling!! It´s great you went later to take pictures!

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