Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Garden Bloggers party at Joy Creek Nursery


Two of our Portland garden bloggers group work at Joy Creek Nursery; Tamara who blogs at Chickadee Gardens, and Ricki from Sprig to Twig. Along with owners Maurice and Mike (two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet), they hosted our group at the nursery last weekend.

Joy Creek is not open regular hours until the end of February, but Mike and Maurice invited us out to talk about winter damage we've experienced in our gardens, and how they're going to approach "clean-up" — Mike is a skilled pruner who teaches a hands-on class at the nursery every year. We also got a look (via photos) at a fern-stumpery project Maurice, and his husband George, have created at their home on Sauvie Island. There were delicious treats, plant talk, and of course a few plants were purchased. It was a much needed opportunity to hang with my tribe...

It was also a great opportunity to see the nursery and it's gardens in a new way. Those bananas (above, by the palm) will rise again...but for now they're a soggy mess. A week after the snow melted, the snow-drops (Galanthus) are already appearing...

Here Mike is showing how he'll rejuvenate a badly damaged shrub (note he has his saw at the ready). Winter temperatures at the nursery had bottomed out at 11F and they had 18" of snow fall, as well as some ice.

Here's most of our group, it wasn't raining but was definitely a chilly day.

Poor Hydrangea aspera, split in half and partially uprooted. The still upright part will be salvaged and the other half is done for. I did stop to admire the bright green layer just under the papery bark.

Here's Matthew (The Lent's Farmer) standing behind a smooshed Daphne. The snow load took a good 2-3 feet off the plant.

I believe this was a black walnut tree, now it's an uprooted trellis for Hydrangea integrifolia.

The top of the tree, leaning on a friend.

Split trunks of Magnolia virginiana 'Moon Glow'...

Two of which crashed down on a Drimys.

Pay no attention to that alien ship above the Garrya elliptica. What I really wanted you to admire here is the somewhat damaged but still lovely Hebe cupressoides (? I think).

Love those Garrya catkins!

I have no idea which Oak this is, I just thought the brown leaves were pretty.

As were the Clematis seed heads. I can't believe they survived the snow intact.

Not so good over here though.

The fallen branches of the Pinus parviflora made it easy to admire the combination of blue and green on the needles.

Imagine what that bamboo looked like! It's popped up nicely.

Some seed-heads still standing, some where rather flat.

Euphorbia, not sure which one.

Lanky growth.

This is a Kniphofia! Mushy leaves, but old bloom spikes held tall.

I remember visiting one early spring and seeing their Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) with winter damage.

It seems to have escaped with none this year.

Their Schefflera delavayi looked happy and healthy.

Couldn't find a name on the Hamamelis.

Without the distraction of a big lush garden small details like this one jumped out at me.

Yucca nana, I believe.

And a Dasylirion, I'm not sure which one.

Agave neomexicana.

Nothin but beauty! (unfazed by the snow and cold)...

Here we we'd lined up to enjoy the tasty soup and other treats. Seems someone was picking flowers in the garden!

The various fern tables around the nursery all looked pretty wonderful, considering what they've been through.

More of those details normally overlooked...

While the tables were mostly empty there were still a few hardy plants tucked under and around, plus a nice assortment of things were brought out to tempt us! (I came home with a Drimys winteri)

Thank you Maurice, Mike, Tamara and Ricki, for a wonderful day! There was talk among our group about getting together again soon, and plans are already in the making. Our nation may be falling apart, but us garden bloggers are going to help keep each other sane...

Weather Diary, January 30: Hi 44, Low 35/ Precip .01

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

43 comments:

  1. Loree,

    This is a great post, full of delightful photos of seeds, weeds and fern tables. Full of hope. But the best thing you said is this: "Our nation may be falling apart, but us garden bloggers are going to help keep each other sane..." I find a lot of solace in reading garden blogs like yours, but I am still so sad about everything that has come out of the bleak, White House these past weeks.

    I've read that you are headed for more dreadful weather. Hang in there. Keep warm. Keep blogging.

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    1. Thank you for your wonderful comment Jane, indeed our weather is taking an ugly turn. And I vow to keep on blogging!

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  2. We do admire your relatively frequent get together there. At least we'll get to have a taste of it again later in the year...

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    1. Can't wait for that! (but I guess I'll have to...)

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  3. Loved this post since we all usually go to these places when all we can see are plants. Really enjoyed the shots of details. And those fern tables are fabulous. I think I may have to try that. My Hart's tongue ferns still look quite good in spring but most of the other types get flattened by the weight of the snow. That said, my autumn fern also usually looks pretty good because it is close to the house and gets lets snow on it. I had been thinking about a Daphne after hearing a talk on the best ones for us but I had not thought about damage from the weight of the snow, only cold temps. Always something new to learn and think about.

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    1. Always something new to learn and think about! I'd slated a portion of the garden for a fern-make-over this spring, I still hope to get to it...that is if the garden as a whole isn't too wiped out by winter.

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  4. What a fun day that was! It always lifts my spirits visiting a garden with blogger friends and buying my fist plant of the season (Scilla peruviana). Maurice, Tamara, Ricki and Mike of Joy Creek were wonderful hosts too!

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    1. First plant of the season! Congrats, it was fabulous to see you.

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  5. That was a great day. It got me all fired up to start gardening and plan more garden visits. I want more winter garden tours. Cold be damned! That loquat looks perfect (aside from a little snow droopiness up top) after the 11F cold. It didn't click in my mind until you pointed it out, but it got just as cold at Joy Creek, with more than twice the amount of snow I got, and there's that loquat, no damage at all. Maybe I need one after all...

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    1. There's a nice big loquat at the nursery with your name on it.

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    2. You do! (and it looks like Ricki's got you covered) Ask Paul about the Loquats in Eugene. I think it was him, who had stories of how great they looked after the horrid winter of 2013/14.

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  6. That hydrangea was planted on me. No pun intended. I was framed!

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    1. Not believing that, not for a second.

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    2. Ha! No - Amy is telling the truth. That lovely little flower was beckoning me from the gravel. Given that Amy's bag was already a flowery bouquet, I thought it fit right in. :) It was a wonderful day, and I can't wait for our next get-together, whatever it will be!

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  7. Sorry to see the damage, happy to have a look at Joy Creek's winter face. :)

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    1. Me too. It's a whole different world out there in January.

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  8. Well, this is a cheerful post, all you guys meeting to talk plants and repair winter damage. I remember standing at those tables picking out acanthus to take home (syriacus and spinosus, both RIP) -- such an incredible nursery.

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    1. My Acanthus syriacus (bought that day because I saw yours) was doing good last summer. Hopefully I'll see it again soon.

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  9. Thanks for coming and for this write-up. It was so great to get everyone out to the nursery. I was suffering from JC and blogging buddy withdrawal...better now.

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    1. Hopefully you'll be back out at the nursery getting ready for opening before too long. (may this week PLEASE be our last shot of winter)

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  10. All those damaged shrubs and trees! I did find some perverse delight in seeing that my garden is not the only one with musa mush and kniphofia piles. Those fern tables are pretty outstanding. There's a large couple of rosettes on the first large table; anyone know what they are? Big saxifrages?
    Those Agaves! Swoon.

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    1. Yes indeed, Saxifrages. Although I can't begin to guess which one.

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  11. What a good gathering. I hope it helped everyone's spirits. It is amazing what crumples in a brown heap and what looks like nothing happened. I love the pictures of rushy metal objects and the fern!

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    1. I think it did lift all of our spirits. Just in time for the next round of winter.

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  12. Looks like everyone had a good time and who wouldn't? Great company in a beautiful setting!

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    1. It would have been fun but I wasn't paying attention to the computer for a while and missed the group announcement.

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  13. It's been so much fun seeing the posts about this garden party and seeing all the pictures of what the gardens at Joy Creek look like after winter damage. I wish I could have attended that class, I bet it was great information, although I doubt I would have retained much.

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    1. But you still would have had a great time, retention or not. We missed you too.

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  14. I love this place and it is even better with UFOs :) Great post and photos Loree! I somehow missed the agaves. They are spectacular.

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    1. Those Agaves are hidden behind the house, I know they're there so I made a special trip around to see how they were looking. I'm glad I did too, because that's when I ran in to Michael and got to chat with him.

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  15. I'm happy that you had an opportunity to commiserate, share approaches on revitalizing your gardens after the harsh winter you've had, and just break away from the relentless misery associated with the news out of DC and its impacts. I hope that, like your gardens, our nation is going to spring back and cut away the dead and diseased stuff so its beauty can be seen again.

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    1. That's (our nation is going to spring back and cut away the dead and diseased stuff so its beauty can be seen again) so beautifully written Kris, I hope so too and have confidence that it will. Just when though is the question.

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  16. What fun in a winter-bedraggled setting, yet in a few months it will be gorgeous again. Spring is magic.

    The Agave neomexicana--wowza!

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    1. Spring is magic. And it could show up any day now. Please.

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  17. One of my fave nurseries to visit, and it's fun to see it in it's winter ensemble' ..I think I need to pay more attention to the fern tables the next time I visit - I am easily distracted by the gardens around the house and the Clematis trellis area in the back.

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    1. Oh yes you do! I wish I'd photographed the fern tables in the summer, side by side comparisons would have been fun.

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  18. Thank you so much Loree, for the post and for coming out. Mike and Maurice and Ricki and I loved having you all, it brought joy to our souls to see one another. We will stick together and promote growth, love and solidarity. That's what we're all about :)

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    1. You're right...it is what we're all about! I'm so glad to have you all in my life.

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  19. Wow. Great photos. Amazing that the Agaves look so good. They must be planted in the perfect spot.

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    1. They definitely are, well draining soil, heat from rock and cement and as much sun as our climate can through at them.

      Wish you could have joined us Grace.

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  20. So nice to hear about Mike and Maurice and Joy Creek. Brought back memories of my first nursery job there. Always untangling the Clematis. And wandering the wonderful design gardens where there was always something to learn.

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    1. Yay! So wonderful to read your comment, thanks for stopping by.

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