Thursday, January 18, 2018

My September 2017 visit to the Kuzma garden, Part One

As some of you may recall it's been a yearly tradition (since 2011) that I visit, and document, this wonderful garden. My 2017 trip was even more special because I toured with friends Gerhard, Mark, and Gaz. They'd seen the garden before, during the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling, here in Portland, and asked to return when they visited Portland last September. Thankfully our hosts, John and Kathleen, were up for it and we had a fantastic afternoon.

Wait, weather whiplash!

The sunny photo above was actually taken later, in October, when I revisited on my own (the offer of Agave pups and Passiflora cuttings!). The photo below was taken during our lazy/hazy September visit. Back then the Columbia River Gorge fires were still burning, filling Portland with smoke.

That variegated Agave (the name has slipped my mind) is the one John gave me pups from.

It's a looker! (and not the standard Agave americana 'Variegata')

Funny I didn't notice in person how the Arctostaphylos foliage and the Agave ovatifolia coordinated with each other so well (or that the bottom branch was begging to be pruned, must just be the angle).

There's no shortage of places to aim your camera here.

Magnolia laevifolia

The front garden as seen from the driveway...

This is one of those flowering plants everyone but me can name. I haven't a clue...

Walking into the back garden now...

The view slowly unfolds and you begin to grasp just how large the space is.

Tempting to go up the stairs...

But instead I explore the lower garden first.

Palm being swallowed by a Passionflower...

A Passionflower that the bees positively adored.

This is the plant I took cuttings of when I returned in October. Sadly none of them rooted (I am a failure!).

We'll end Part One with a tease, and pick back up here, tomorrow...

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

20 comments:

  1. It looks so small in the last photo compared to the others. Any idea how large their lot is? Since I see another house it must just be a city lot, right? Love how they've used the black mondo grass.

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    1. It is a city lot, but larger than normal. I think I’ve researched it before...I’ll try and find it again.

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  2. Fond memories!!!! Thank you for arranging our visit in September!

    The plant everybody but you can name is Epilobium canum (California fuchsia).

    The variegated Agave americana might be 'Yellow Ribbons'.

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    1. ‘Yellow Ribbons’... I think you’re right, thank you!

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  3. The Arctostaphylos and Agave ovatifolia with the matching color make for a gorgeous picture. I can't help but notice once again the prolific use of black mondo grass, I just love that. I wish mine would hurry up and fill in.

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    1. This garden uses black mondo so well! It’s an inspiration.

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  4. This garden seems to have a leaner look than last year; did the tough winter do some editing for them? Haven't directly compared photos; it might be partly an effect of the smoke-filtered light.

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    1. Yes winter 2016/17 was a bad one, here too. Not that anyone would notice if they hadn’t been here before.

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  5. Such a fantastic garden that I never tire of seeing. It really showcases the incredible range of plants that can be grown in the Pacific Northwest with the right site preparation and (I imagine) a bit of winter protection here and there.

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    1. Indeed, that’s one of the reasons it was so great to share it with the GB Flingers, it really shows off our wide range of possible plants and styles.

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  6. Always enjoy your visits to this garden! Zauschneria?

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    1. Kinda sorta, see Gerhard’s comment above.

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  7. I love that passionflower! I don't know why it's so hard to remember the name of that flowering plant - Zauschneria really just trips off the tongue ;)

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    1. Oh that Passiflora, how I was looking forward to having it in my garden...

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  8. Just when I got Zauschneria mastered, it got changed (see Gerhard's ID). WHY do they keep doing that? I hope to see this garden in the sunshine one of these days.

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    1. Just to keep us guessing I think. So you’ve not made it to this garden on any of the sunny HPSO opens?

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  9. I hope to be able to see this garden one day -- I've so enjoyed seeing it in your posts & I love so many things about it! Thank you!

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  10. After a particularly long day at the awfice today, it was so nice to come home , pour a glass of wine, and sit back to visit one of my favorite gardens from Fling.Looking forward to the next installment .

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    1. Yay! I’m glad the Kuzma garden was there for you.

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