The event takes place on the campus of Spokane Community College. I'd perused the listings of the vendors and knew this was not an exclusively plan- related event. There would be stuff, other stuff. This is an example of the good stuff. My camera did not bother to point at examples of the bad stuff. There was a lot.
There were also a lot of plant vendors.
Many local...
And many not. Anyone recognize that face? It's Mark of Little Prince of Oregon Nursery, Portland represents! Seriously it's kind of weird how happy I was to see their truck in the parking lot and then see Mark's face. Glad to know Spokane was getting a little LPO love.
Lael's Moon Garden Nursery. Not Portlanders but a plant lust nursery! I wanted to go chat with them but they were constantly surrounded by the buying public.
In orange, and wearing a hat, is Linda Beutler of the Rogerson Clematis Collection, from Portland.
And that's Bruce Bailey, owner of Heavy Petal Nursery, from Moses Lake, WA.
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've driven through Moses Lake and did not stop there...of course this was before I knew about Heavy Petal...
Bruce took 40 hardy Hibiscus to Spokane, all but one sold. He pronounced the locals as hungry for great plants.
This Colocasia caught my eye, of course.
As did this Geranium maderense. I was thinking back to seeing them planted around the Coit Tower in San Francisco. Those of course can live on season to season, and get more dramatic as they do.
'Alba' though, it kind of turned me off. I'm not a great lover of white flowers.
Done with the Expo I backtracked to meet up with my parents, en route I spied a few plants growing near the SCC Greenery. Ones I missed on my previous visit, Sciadopitys verticillata - Japanese Umbrella Pine, love it.
And a few Rodgersia, looking oh so exotic.
After the expo we had a long list of places to visit. First up was Judy's Enchanted Garden, which I've previously written about here. It was wonderful, I loved it and I left my camera in the car. Oh well! Plants were purchased, I highly recommend them. Next stop (after lunch) was Green's Greenhouse. My mom had read something that caused her to be curious. It was a drive, but I always enjoy seeing a bit more of the area around Spokane.
That's my dad, checking out the offerings.
I don't think I was supposed to be in this greenhouse, oh well!
Mr. Goat wanted to say hi...
Look! An Echium, in Spokane!!! (this really is extraordinary)
There's mom checking out a Salvia, S. 'Wendy's Wish'...
I'm not a Salvia fan but I can see why she is attracted to it...
The last thing I spied here, before we left, was this Hibiscus flower, purdy!
Our final stop for the day was a nursery I frequented when I lived in Spokane. It's got a new name, new owners, and I wanted to check it out.
It used to be Hangman Valley Gardens, and now goes by the name Blue Moon Garden & Nursery. I was thrilled to see those gutters lining the greenhouses are still there.
They filled my mind with such ideas back in the day. And now again.
I was happy to see LPO Agaves here too...
Annuals, only $3.89...
And that includes these, Platinum wallaby, I considered the purchase, but you know my luggage was getting full!
All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Looking forward to seeing what other goodies you have bought :) Spokane isn't lacking in horticultural at all. And just love the name Heavy Petal, so cool!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? (Heavy Petal) I just know the nursery has got to be pretty cool too.
DeleteYou are VERY good at finding great plant sellers wherever you go!
ReplyDeleteHa! I guess you're right about that.
DeleteThat was a nice visit, I enjoyed seeing your parents go with you to the nursery :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a super fun day Lisa, I wish I were able to spend more time with them but at least I have memories of days like this one.
DeleteThe Spokane Expo sounds like a lot of fun and how cool to see familiar faces from this side of the mountain as well as some from the dry side. Moses Lake - who knew? So, what did you buy?
ReplyDeleteNothing at the Expo - in addition to the things I purchased at the SCC Greenery I hauled home a Eupatorium capillifolium 'Elegant Feather' from Judy's along with a small red Cordyline with big leaves (tropical) and an Artemisia 'Silver Brocade'.
DeleteWhen stuff is good, it is very, very good, but stuff is bad, it is...well, you know the rest. Thanks for pointing your camera in the right direction. Looks like your visit home was well-timed. Lovely to be able to share your passion with your parents.
ReplyDeleteIt's garbage?
DeleteThe timing of my visit was so that I could experience this event - usually I aim for the Friends of Manito Park plant sale in June, which is fabulous and I do attend with my parents, as well as my official "plant hauler" nephew. He's a teenager and yet gets up early to haul plants for his aunt, how cool is that?
You have been having fun! Good for you. Sometimes I think the nurseries that don't get blogged about are close to the best--too busy enjoying them.
ReplyDeleteYou may be better off leaving the Ptilotus behind. I had a Ptilotus, it died almost instantly, and I suspect, after reading this carefully worded comment at San Marcos...
"This plant replaces Ptilotus exaltatus 'Joey', a attractive but very short lived plant (annual) that we were encouraged to grow in 2008 and we are hopeful that 'Platinum Wallaby' will prove more durable though we have not had any long term experience with it."
...that it died instantly for a lot of other people, too.
Well good - plus the fact I'd been driving my parents crazy with the camera already and I've blogged about Judy's twice already.
DeleteGood to know about the Ptilotus. I won't waste anytime thinking about it!
More fun in the north country, and are those mostly outdoor plants? That would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteI remember Bruce Bailey / Heavy Petal from my former days on Twitter!
I like seeing your take on these travel nurseries, but the most interesting thing I just learned: you're not a fan of salvias. Ack!
ReplyDelete