Thursday, December 8, 2016

City People's Garden Store and Nursery, you'll be missed...

My stop at DIG on Vashon was part of a long weekend visiting friends in Seattle. There was another nursery I made a point of visiting while there, City People's Garden store on Madison. I've got a long history with this urban nursery. Living in Seattle in the 90's I began my plant addiction in earnest, never mind that I lived in an apartment with only window sills to "garden" on. During my time without a car City People's was walkable and I spent many an hour there dreaming...

Unfortunately the owners have reached the age where they too are ready to move on and do other things, factor in the land underneath the nursery has become extremely valuable, and selling it to developers was the logical thing to do. Some of the nursery staff are committed to finding another location to continue on — and I hope they do — but it won't be the same. December 31st will be the last day in business for this Seattle institution, so this was my last chance to visit and let the memories wash over me.

Most of the outdoor nursery stock had already been sold, in preparation for Christmas trees!

There were a few interesting things left...Selaginella braunii.

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

Hebe ‘Jewel of the Nile’

Inside the nursery stock was also rather depleted. Still, looking at these shelves reminded me of all the amazing discoveries I'd made here over the years. Long before I'd ever heard of Cistus, Xera, or any of the other specialty nurseries I'm now spoiled by.

No, I didn't buy a T-shirt.

Lots of festive holiday decorating options...

And houseplants, they always have had a wonderful selection of houseplants.

Smelly soaps and candles too.

And these! My aging eyes meant I frequently purchased a fun new pair of reading glasses during my visits over the last few years. I bought one this time too — a dramatic black and white frame — sorry no picture!

I did think to take a photo of the other purchases though....

I bought the Selaginella braunii.

Mainly because I really liked the texture but also because of it's common name. Arborvitae Spikemoss...I found that hilarious!

And since they had a larger version of the same container I bought at Pomarius I figured it was meant to be.

Not sure what I'll grow in it since it's sealed with no drain hole. I'm sure I'll think of something! Thanks for all the good times City People's, you will be missed...***

(***Update, evidently the proposed development of the site has been stalled and there's a chance a temporary lease may be signed, allowing them to stay in place for 2017 more here, TBC***)

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

13 comments:

  1. I love that they did a goodbye T-shirt. Three of my favorite mail order nurseries are gone and I still miss them. They were where I got some of my first plants and learned how to navigate catalogs with pages of Botanical Latin and no photos! You never forgot these special places that got us started.

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    1. That's what I'm hoping, the memories will live on, even when I can't physically visit any longer.

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  2. Hah, arborvitae spikemoss made me laugh too. Good news that they've gotten a bit of a reprieve. This post and your recent Dig post are making me yearn for a nursery visit. I might just hop down the hill to Windmill soon.

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    1. Do it! A visit to a nursery is always a good thing.

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  3. Although a relative newbie to this nursery, I truly enjoyed my visits there over the last five years or so. Great news that they might be open for another year. Seems like this trip to Seattle was a farewell tour of sorts.

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    1. That's what Andrew billed the trip "Goodbye tour 2016"...let's hope for no encore in 2017. (I visited Jungle Fever on my way to the ferry, I hope I didn't doom them)

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  4. I take heart from the employees who want to keep the torch burning.

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    1. Yes, that is a great thing. So much goodwill for this place.

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  5. Ok, I'm not normally into decorative pillows, but...fern pillow...want! And here I'm trying to downsize my houseplant collection, but even one shot of houseplants has me wanting to jump into the picture and shop. What is wrong with me? Sad to see another nursery closing.

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    1. Ya, me too. Things inside weren't on sale yet...so I didn't even look at the price of the pillow. We thought the green tag on the HUGE Staghorn fern meant it was half off, my friend Erin was ready to buy. Unfortunately that was just the sticker indicating it's preferred light level...

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  6. Looks like it was a great place.

    It is often the way of nurseries that the property is the owner's retirement fund. Which really is fair.

    A clever, careful person could drill a nice big drain hole in the pot. Search around for instructions--I believe it involves a piece of duct tape, a fresh new masonry bit, and drilling at a very low speed. Something like that.

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    1. I've drilled a million drain holes, no problem. But this piece is so thick, it has me worried. I may just expand my collection of carnivorous plants with these two pots.

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  7. It pains me to see a good nursery close. I hope the staff finds a way to keep its legacy intact elsewhere.

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