Friday, November 20, 2015

"We met in front of a dragon sculpture..."

I was recently invited to tour the garden of a Facebook friend. He reminded me that we'd met before, in front of a dragon sculpture at the Yard, Garden and Patio Show back in 2014. Indeed we did! He gave me his address then, and I had every intention of doing a drive-by, but never managed to do it. Thank goodness for second chances! This is the scene that greets you as you enter the garden. That forest of Canna? Wayne grew them all from seed, ditto for the monster Castor Bean.

I was sent home with a handful of seeds from that garden eating beauty, hopefully I'll get similar results next year.

Wayne lives on a huge corner lot in NE Portland, he's been gardening here for 8 years. I visited late on a drizzly-autumn day, the light was poor. Yes, that's my way of apologizing to Wayne because I am not showing his garden in the best possible way. I'll just have to go back next summer and capture it at its sunny peak.

Isn't this cool? Wayne is reworking it with different plants (hence the bare-spots). What a great focal point.

This combination stopped me cold. Who knew Podophyllum could be happy tucked under a Nolina 'La Siberica'?

And this Hebe is a beauty!

Tree ferns...

A mini-forest of them! I'll show you were they spend the winter in just a few photos.

Iris confusa

Some might shudder at this image (Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae) but I think it's rather lovely. Wayne cuts it back hard every spring (with a lawnmower) to keep it looking fresh.

Stachyurus salicifolius, its structure nicely highlighted by an under-planting of yellowing Hosta. Wayne was very gracious to let me visit in early November, many gardeners wouldn't dream of sharing their garden with a pesky, camera-toting, blogger so late in the season.

Wayne mentioned that his Schefflera delavayi was hit hard by a bad winter (must have been 2013-14) but it's rebounded nicely and now has multiple trunks.

We've only seen a tiny fraction of the garden so far...

What's that? A Monstera, in Oregon!? Yes, and no it's not hardy here.

Nor is that red flower real (although the plant is), Wayne obviously likes to have fun with his garden.

Another ginormous Castor Bean.

Oh that blue Abies, so beautiful. It's glowing...

If my memory is correct that white flower is also an impostor (I'm trying not to use the word fake).

Just think, back before the PKW's there were Phormium this big all over Portland. Not anymore...

Check out that Colocasia! It looks big right?

It is! That's Wayne, he's 6ft 2in...meet Colocasia gigantea Thai Giant 

That little door opens into a root cellar. Original to the property, it's where the Tree Ferns spend winter.

Canna 'Stuttgart'

Ah...Daphniphyllum macropodum, another great plant that you don't see often enough!

Farfugium japonicum 'Giganteum'

Okay...we've walked through a large vegetable garden with raised beds and are now standing at the side of the garden. The lawn you see here...

And here...is actually beyond what would be considered a hell-strip in some parts of Portland. Here it's just a nice wide buffer from the side-street.

A handsome Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice' (I think) ends this fabulous garden visit...thank you Wayne!

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

38 comments:

  1. And thank you for taking us with you on the tour. That is one fabulous garden and very inventive gardener. I'm voting his root cellar the coolest one I've ever seen. I don't even care what it is like inside. I love it!

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    1. Isn't it fabulous? Things like that have a disproportionate pull on me. Like (well this is "like" to me, to others it probably makes me sound crazy) our house has these weird Bakelite sections in the - already cool - metal doorknobs. Not something you would buy a house for, but something that is unique. Ya, I'm a dork.

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  2. I can only hope my own garden will look half as good once I've been gardening here for 8 years. I love that compass point creation!

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    1. How many years have you been there Kris? I should remember but I can't.

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  3. Wayne seems like my kind of gardener -- likes big plants -- except... where's the bamboo? ;)

    Beautiful! And those huge-leaved castor beans are 'Zanzibariensis'. I'm definitely growing that one next year!

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    1. Hmm...good point. I honestly can't remember any bamboo. Wayne?

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  4. Holy Crap... did you just take us on a tour of The Land of Giants??? Does Wayne have a magic potion he sprays over his gardens in the dark of night? That Colocasia gigantea Thai Giant would consume a great portion of my yard, add to it a few of his Castor Beans and my grandkids would never find one another in a game of hide 'n seek!

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    1. Ha! You made me spit my coffee just a little. I can imagine how much fun kids would have playing in this garden, although those little feet could also do a lot of damage.

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  5. Is that an abies pinsapo 'aurea' in the second to last pic? It's beautiful.

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    1. I claim conifer stupidity. Maybe Wayne can verify?

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  6. Wayne's garden is lovely in November! I like the combination of plants. Are you sure the white flower is fake? Looks like an Angel's Trumpet, they don't like cold but grow very fast in one season. My favorite was the Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice', just a stunning color.

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    1. No, I'm not sure. But I remembered him pointing out a second fake and I thought it was that one. I could definitely be wrong!

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  7. I know this garden! It is a couple of blocks from my daughter's house and on the way when we walk my grandson to school!! I take pictures every time I walk by! My daughter and family bought their house a year ago, and she is slowly transforming the garden. We stop and admire, inspect, ponder every time I am in town determining how she can get this look! And, the sundial is a favorite! Cathi from Spokane

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    1. Cathi your daughter doesn't live all that far from me then! I've been following the Spokane situation (downed trees, no power) via your FB updates. Thank you for that, and I'm glad you're okay. None of my people up there are active on social media!

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    2. I am the daughter :) and we do love love love this garden. A highlight all year round - you should see his Halloween decorations. I'm glad th know all the names of the plants but my garden will never be this cool.

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    3. Hi Klay! Mine won't either...he's got a definite thing going on there.

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  8. That is 1 awesome garden. Thanks so much for the visit.

    How exactly are the tree ferns stored? pulled out, tubed up? no light all winter?!?

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    1. They are still in their pots in the ground, so he just lifts them. I believe he said no light all winter. Who knew?

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  9. Yowsa, that's a great garden filled with so many impressive plants and in November no less. So glad that the pesky, camera-toting blogger persisted so that we could enjoy Wayne's garden vicariously through your post. Thanks, Wayne for your inspirational use of so many cool plants!

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    1. I do hope to be invited back for an update next summer.

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  10. You've got an amazing garden, Wayne. Thanks for letting Loree take us on a tour. Thanks Loree! Super cool. Like Ms. Wis, the root cellar made me come to a full-stop. What a great looking door. And two of my favorite plants together: Nolina La Siberica and one of the Chinese Podophyllums! How cool is that? At least I can and am growing the mayapples.

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    1. If I remember correctly (and I suppose it's obvious looking at the image) Wayne replaced the door, it is pretty cool.

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  11. Lucky you viewing the garden and beautiful photos as usual.

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    1. I am lucky! I wonder, have you ran by this garden in your NE Portland treks?

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  12. Love the door into the root cellar! And I can't believe the size of some of those plants! And some of them in one season, right? The Castor Bean plants? Wow! Thanks for the tour!

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    1. Yes, one season. Pretty amazing huh? Wayne must not be stingy with the water.

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  13. ah, you visited my favorite neighborhood garden! I'm crazy about his yard. So so glad you visited it!

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    1. Someday Fifi I'm going to drive by your garden, stop and photograph it, not even knowing it's yours!

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  14. OMG it's a garden wonderland! Awesome job, Wayne -- that colocasia alone is worth the price of entry. Thanks for the tour, Loree!

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  15. This guy is one of the very few gardeners with nothing to worry about from a November visit. When you follow up in summer I am fully prepared to be blown away!

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    1. I'll warn you in advance ricki, so you can be sitting down.

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  16. That Colocasia! Incredible! I love the river-like path of grass.

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  17. I'm glad you got a closer picture of the Nolina and Hebe. I was wondering what the silver leaves behind them were. I should move my Brunnera to a bit better location. Lots to love in this garden but the two blue conifers are my favorites. Both Abies concolor and Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice' are on my wishlist.

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  18. I have to have Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice'. OMG, that's gorgeous.

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  19. Ooooh, that would be a fun one to see in person.

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  20. Wow, really impressive, even more if he has raised many plants from seed.

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