Friday, November 10, 2017

A little tropicalisimo on the Portland Waterfront

There are three large planting circles in Tom McCall Park along the Portland Waterfront, and they're all chock-full of fabulous plants. I wrote about two of them in 2013, when I was on jury duty (here), and would have liked to visit those both again, however the senior dog was running out of steam and we only manged to visit the one closest to the South Waterfront Park (yesterday's post). Those banana leaves are a testament to our windy days...

Carex phyllocephala (?)

And the 'Sparkler' version.

Banana (Musa basjoo) and palm fronds (Trachycarpus)...tropicalisimo!

Plus a little Bamboo.

This is interesting. Are they trying to dig it out? Just control it's size?

Podophyllum pleianthum

And fruit...

And ginger, another layer of tropical!

An extremely fragrant white-blooming ginger.

I've got no idea as to it's name... it's Hedychium coronarium.

*Sigh*

Okay, time to head back over there, by those buildings in the distance.

Anybody care to explain what this silly looking Airbnb thing is?

Oh and look at that, National Geographic (Sea Bird) is docked at the Portland waterfront .

Hmmmm, stress relief tea liter. I'm not down with that.

As I picked up the liter Lila found something worth investigating.

Nice work Parks and Rec staff!

Back home Lila enjoyed some sun and then rolled right off her pillow to snooze in the shade. I think this was a successful outing.

Weather Diary, Nov 9: Hi 55, Low 42/ .29"

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

21 comments:

  1. The first image is a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a region where we can enjoy beautiful fall foliage and hardy tropicals. We can grow a dazzling array of plants here. Of course, the last picture is the best - She's so cute!

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    1. I am so guilty of loosing sight of just how wonderful our growing region is. Thanks for the reminder. And yes...she is so damn cute! It's a good thing because it helps her coast through the not so cute moments.

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  2. Definitely, a successful stroll! Lila looks pooped but in a good way. I'm amazed to see ginger in bloom up your way, in part because I so rarely see any here and our climate (if you exclude the rain factor) should be good for it.

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    1. Wore her out! Which is easy to do these days.

      I was surprised to see this ginger, 'Tara' seems to be common (which isn't a bad thing, it's wonderful), but this one looked so much more tropical.

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  3. I'd be ready for a nap too, after that walk. All those amazingly huge tropicals bring joy to my heart. My neighbor has a large banana that delights me. I tried a couple times to grow them, but can't seem to find the right spot.

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    1. I had to make a quick stop at the store on the way home, which is usually a battle because she SO wants to come with and hates being left in the car. Ha! She was so deeply asleep she didn't even know I'd stopped.

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  4. Beautiful! The ginger should be Hedychium coronarium.

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  5. That bamboo (a Chusquea, I think) might have gotten damaged last winter and the damaged culms removed. Or it might be to control the width, as you thought. I like the "sigh" photo. It's amazing how exotic that sword fern peaking in from the bottom looks when paired with that lush tropical-looking foliage.

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    1. Ah yes, winter damage. I suppose that's a distinct possibility. And ya I agree, even the the most common fern can look exotic in the right sitting.

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  6. Impressive. I am constantly amazed by your garden and the other photos of tropicals in the Portland area. I just never put the two together. Beautiful.

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    1. Thanks CLee R - we can get away with quite a bit here in Portland!

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  7. I'm not so much into tropicals but that white ginger is magnificent.

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    1. Indeed it is, and you haven't even smelled it!

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  8. It's hard to believe I've been gone from PDX for almost 5 years. Your beautiful photos really show how the southern waterfront area plantings have matured. The Taxodium (distichum?) have really grown since I left. They sulked for many years after planting. Their rust color in the fall is amazing paired with the yellows....see the pic looking south (above the AirBnB boat)....and near the end. I grew up in eastern Arkansas and they were native. They are underutilized in my book. A rare deciduous "conifer". I bet most folks wouldn't think they would perform in the PNW due to their native range. Wrong.
    There used to be some fabulous Magnolia/Michelia planted in a few of those planting circles you detailed. They bloom(ed) very early in the year...Feb/March and were a shock to see at that time of the year.
    Trachycarpus grow so well in the PNW...it's all the rain. They are planted here in Tucson but they look very very ragged and bleached out. Very sad.
    Always enjoy your photos!

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    1. The the cones on the Taxodium (thanks for the ID) were amazing. I tried to get a great photo but it was impossible. I remember seeing a Magnolia laevifolia in one (or both) of the other circles. Thanks for commenting and I'm glad you enjoy the photos. I hope to get to Tucson this summer, it's been to long!

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  9. If the "silly looking Airbnb thing" was a plant, you'd have an ID by now. It looks like a fun way to zip across the water though...
    I love that panoramic photo of the waterfront. Portland is a beautiful city!

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  10. That was a lovely little excursion--no frosts yet?

    Senior dogs, they sure can sleep. She's so cute.

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    1. No frosts! And yes, good lord that girl can sleep.

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  11. Love the white-blooming ginger.

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