Friday, November 6, 2015

Discovering the Pat Calvert Greenhouse at the Washington Park Arboretum

Oh the magic of the internet! Sometime back I stumbled upon the fact you can buy plants near the visitors center at the Washington Park Arboretum, in Seattle. I didn't even know there was a visitors center, let alone a greenhouse. I filed that information away, should I ever have a few extra minutes in Seattle, and finally made use of it during a recent visit. Pulling into the parking lot look what I saw...Agaves! They made a nice welcome...

Agave parry var. couesii

Looking a little rough, but alive and reproducing.

There was a small display of plants available for purchase in front of the visitors center.

And it turns out they were 25% off too!

I bought this little guy for $4, or actually $3 - what a bargain.

This blooming Correa was tempting.

Zone 9 though...

Photos from around the visitors center...

Wandering on toward the greenhouse...

Nice sized Grevillea victoriae.

I felt an irrational desire to own that cement pipe.

It seemed rather perfect to discover this place on a misty October day.

More plants for sale!

I guess there was a big sale back in September (FallAbundance), judging by what was still available in October I bet the sale was amazing.

Tiny Daphniphyllum macropodum...

Little Trochodendron aralioides (Wheel Tree)...

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

And a Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’, only $7!!!

Great plants, great prices.

Although the greenhouse was looking a little empty.

A perfect Sciadopitys verticillata aka Japanese Umbrella Pine.

And finally, as I went in to pay for my little tree heath, check out the color on that fern! (Woodwardia radicans perhaps?)

It was great fun visit to the Pat Calvert Greenhouse area, I think I'll be back.

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

19 comments:

  1. How cool! I didn't know there was a greenhouse there, or that they sold plants. The arboretum hosts two big plant sales, one in spring and one in fall. I've often tried to convince people that the spring one rivals Hortlandia, but no one believes me.

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    1. I would love to make it to one of those sales, I wish they had the spring dates up in their website...guess I will just have to remember to check.

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  2. I'm always torn between wanting to garden in the desert and in the PNW so I can grow cool plants like these. Talk about extremes!

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    1. Me too! However since I'm currently living one of those extremes I guess that means I need to make plans to move to the desert someday.

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  3. Oh, cool! And open year 'round. I should check that out.

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    1. Yes you should...the prices are amazing!

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  4. Like Alison, I'd no idea that one could buy plants there any other time than the sales. The arboretum is one of those places that everyone says is great to visit in the winter. Your post reminds me that I should visit since it's so close.

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    1. I wish I'd had more time to wander around the park, next time...

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  5. We visited this garden in 2000 and I clearly remember the visitor center with those spectacular triangular hanging planters. We never saw the greenhouse; looking too closely at the Japanese garden and the Arboretum trees, I guess. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed your visit, it really is a beautiful place.

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  6. I feel the same way about that cement pipe!

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    1. Thank you, I was so fixated on it that I began to wonder about my sanity.

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  7. What a lovely find! I'd have snapped up the ivory Correa, which seem to be increasingly hard to find here. I love those hanging triangular planters too.

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    1. There were a couple more of them, over in the greenhouse area. Very tempting...

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  8. Discovering a new plant sale is one of the better things in life.

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  9. Woodwardia unigemmata... It has better color than W. radicans, gets essentially as big, and is actually hardy!

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  10. Another vote for the concrete pipe. And ay caramba, those beautiful hanging pots...!

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