Favorites wrap up for May, 2015

I was going to be better this month. Post a few favorites during the month, rather than waiting until the end of month wrap-up and then marching through them all. But of course I wasn’t.

Earlier in the month I thought about featuring this little Melianthus villosus. It was a gift from Evan, The Practical Plant Geek.

When he originally asked if I would be interested in one of his seed grown plants I said thank you, but no. I didn’t know where I would put it (yes, I really did, crazy right?).

Of course then when I saw it I caved...(must have plant!). Since the internet has a better memory than I do I can tell you that I first saw this one at Dancing Oaks Nursery. They taunted...“Melianthus villosus, a plant for the connoisseur with persistence for the search to acquire”

Annie's Annuals says: "Everyone loves Melianthus major until -oops - it gets, like, 12’ tall x 10’ feet wide! Melianthus villosus has a much more realistic size for the average garden, quickly growing to 3’ - 5’ tall x 3’ wide. M. villosus is hardier, too, returning from the roots when it drops down to 10 - 15 °F The large, serrated, tropical-looking, blue-green leaves are invaluable for providing beautiful, evergreen foliage in the garden." Funny thing, when I look at the photo below I see it's surrounded by a Ginkgo from The Outlaw Gardener, Ajuga 'Black Scallop' from Bonney Lassie, and Moluccella laevis (Bells of Ireland) seedlings from Amy Campion. Have I got the best gardening friends or what?

The next plant I meant to write about was this Podocarpus matudae. I've "fav'd" it before, when it was new to my garden. This one was also a gift, from Sean Hogan.

It's slowly becoming a hint of the giant (20 ft tall) it might one day be. Cistus Nursery says: "From 5200 ft in the Sierra Madre Orientale cloud forest, our collection of this lovely and rare Mexican podocarp, one of the most beautiful hardy conifers for tropical effect. To 20 ft tall or so with weeping branches and a graceful form -- a large textured presence in the garden. Damp soil and dappled shade is best with protection from drying winds. Has tolerated temperatures below 10F, upper USDA zone 7, so far."


And the new growth still makes me think of a fake plant. It's just that bright and unreal.

Finally, while moving containers around on the patio this Agave xylonacantha was a standout, with its captivating blue color.

It was a purchase last September from Flora Grubb in San Francisco. An image search tells me the extreme blue isn't common to the species. Perhaps I got a rarity? Anyone with experience care to chime in? San Marcos Growers says; "Agave xylonocantha (Saw Leaf agave) Single or occasionally clumping plant with open rosettes to 3 feet tall by 4 feet wide with only a sparse number of pale grey-green lanceolate leaves with a lighter center stripe and broad light-colored almost papery irregularly-shaped spines on broad teats that run together along the leaf margin. Plant in full sun. Hardy to the low to mid 20's°F. This close relative of Agave lophantha comes from the drier limestone slopes and valleys on the desert side of the Sierra Madre Oriental..."

This blog post is my end-of-moth wrap up of favorites, plants that stood out in my garden, for the month of May. If you're a Blogger please share links to your favorites for the month in the comments. If you're not a Blogger then please tell us about what plants are performing extra well in your garden this month. We want to know!

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.