Friday, February 23, 2018

This finally! And then that, and all on the same block...

If this home and garden look familiar it's because last September I shared photos taken my friend Louis. He'd gotten just a little lost in North Portland, but managed to hone in on a great garden.

My calls for help in identifying the garden mostly just led to more questions, that is until Julie was finally able to pinpoint the location. Five months later and I finally found myself driving by with a few minutes to stop, it was just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

I don't think this Agave montana could be more beautiful. It's just gorgeous.

The plantings up near the house don't disappoint either.

And the hellstrip looks freshly tended, with dark mulch accentuating the Crepe Myrtles and my favorite carefree Yucca (Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard') making a nice yellow color-splash.

I wish my garden looked this tidy mid-February.

And I wish I knew the secret behind having such an impressive Opuntia clump.

Not to mention a flawless Agave parryi.

Sweet!

I guess that goes for the Opuntia too.

And this little Graptoveria (which I doubt is still happy with the weather we've been having: snow!)...

I wish I could remember the name of this one, although it never did perform for me so I suppose it's no surprise I've forgotten what it's called. This is the most amazing clump I've ever seen.

And that Trachycarpus isn't bad either.

Yucca schottii (?)

Cistus? (not a clue, just liked the dark stems)

Oh and that pruned Juniper is a delight. Love it!

Another glance as I walk back towards the car...

And notice the extra spiky Opuntia...with seeds!

I wonder if this is a naturally disintegrating fruit or if the gardener has assisted? I've assisted my plants but without any success thus far.

Sorry I couldn't resist, one more sexy Agave photo!

But wait!? What's that? Down the street I spotted something that seemed familiar...

Yes! It's Anna's lanterns in her ginormous Magnolia! I'd recognize them anywhere...

But all that time I was stalking the garden above a friend lived just down the street? And I didn't even know it? She didn't even know it? Crazy.

I was happy to see her fabulous corrugated metal planters out in, and near, the hellstrip.

Lucky me as I could study them for inspiration...

And double lucky me I've been invited to Anna's garden for a tour and maybe, just maybe, I'll get to meet the man behind the garden down the street...stay tuned!

Weather Diary, Feb 22: Hi 40, Low 28/ Precip .09" (snow)

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

38 comments:

  1. What a cool garden! So lad you found it, and what a surprise that it's close to Anna. I wish my Yucca 'Color Guard' looked that good. It's been in the ground in the same spot for three years now and never gets any bigger. Such a tiny, wimpy plant. I think I might pull it out and offer it at the spring swap.

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    1. At first I was shocked to read this about your Y. 'Color Guard' but then you got me thinking about all of my plants. The ones in the hell strip are vigorous, but there's one in the front garden that's hardly grown at all. The difference? Shade. Might your plant be getting too much shade?

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  2. The only thing better than it being down the street from Anna's would be if it were right around the corner from you! xD

    Very nice garden -- hoping you get a tour in the near future!

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    1. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live among like-minded gardeners. That would be a bit of heaven.

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  3. Lots of fab plants in that garden! So glad you were finally able to locate it. I love Anna's magnolia lanterns.

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  4. Wow - that Agave parryi is perfect.

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  5. That is a great garden and I love those Color Guard Yuccas with that yellow car. And I have to laugh at those green lawns of the neighboring houses. How can they not join the party?!

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    1. "gardening is too much work"...so say my neighbors with lawns.

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  6. I knew you'd find that garden eventually! Snow-less, it could easily pass for a garden here. However, I was most taken by Anna's wonderful lanterns. As I stare outside at the mostly bare limbs of my mimosa tree, I'm wondering if lanterns like that would help its scruffy appearance or just draw attention to it - and it lanterns could possibly stand up to the winds that rip through here daily.

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    1. Maybe you should try a couple just to see? If they work that would be a lot of fun.

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    2. Do it, Kris, do it! I used heavy nylon fishing line to create the "dangling length" I wanted, and then made hooks from easily bendable aluminum wire, that I looped around the branches, and squeezed them 'closed' so they can't easily blow off. So far, it's worked pretty well. The lights have been up since Halloween, and only two lanterns have come down. Their hooks are still hanging there, though, so one of these days, I'll get the ladder out and put them back up. :)
      https://www.paperlanternstore.com/nylonlanterns.html

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  7. You found it! How exciting! It is gorgeous. I hope you get to meet the gardener soon.

    I love the lanterns in your friend's garden. How do they survive? Her containers are an inspiration. I had some corrugated metal circles in my old garden, and I have had my eye on some at the city works yard where we dump debris. I am motivated now to ask the city boss if I can snag a few of the old rounds that look like they are just a junk pile. Oh but wait...NOOOOO! They bulldozed that area and I don't know where the junk pile ended up. I'll be nosing around the whole lot now. I hope they did not go for scrap metal!

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    1. Her lanterns (I believe) are fabric, not paper. Plus the dense canopy of the Magnolia much protect them from rain (and snow). Good luck finding those metal pieces!

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  8. Go Julie! So glad you found the mystery garden with her help. I feel like I should have known it, too, since I have visited Anna’s garden several times. Must have been the opposite direction from my route... That Agave montana! For some reason, I thought they were not hardy here; time to liberate mine into the garden!!

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    1. I had an A. montana in the ground for a few years here, it did wonderfully until it died a mushy death when I covered it for our 2009 snow and cold and then broke my ankle and it remained covered for a couple of weeks. So sad...

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  9. Your city has the best gardens, hands down!

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  10. Gardeners in Portland certainly garden outside the box. The colors of the house are just a perfect foil to the planting. A wonderful winter garden. Guessing the opuntia scale and bugs have not made it to Portland. I don't think those are the seeds of opuntia which are very tiny. Those look more like pepper seeds although there are probably lots of plants with seeds like that.

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    1. I believe my friend Anna helped the homeowner chose colors, they are wonderful! Now that you mention it I have not seen Opuntia scale here...hopefully I won't! And odd that the seeds are larger than what you've seen. They are exactly the same size as my Opuntia's seeds.

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  11. Some creative use of hellstrips there. With all the amazing treatments people share on blogs and garden tours, I almost wish I had one. That garden is nifty! I'm glad you were able to find it and share your great photos with us.

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    1. No hellstrip? Does that mean no sidewalk?

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  12. All I can do right now is laugh. I was wondering if you'd found that place and to think it is next to Anna's! Too funny. Looks like a nice street to live on if you ask me.

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    1. Yes indeed, the other houses/lots seemed quite well cared for and with interest — even if they weren't gardeners.

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  13. SOOOOOO impressive for winter! that blows me away! I'm so glad the mystery is solved :) Ill make sure to get lost next time too!

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    1. Ha! Careful, we may start expecting a great garden discovery every time you come to town.

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  14. Do you think they would be willing to spare a pad of that glorious opuntia if you knocked and asked politely?

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    1. The super spiky one, or the not so spiky one?

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  15. Good morning from chilly Tucson where it's 31 this morning. That's my 4th night below freezing with a few close calls for this winter. We had an above (way above) normal January and start to Feb and now this!
    That garden in N. Portland is great. Very tidy with great plants.
    Also the mystery plant you were referencing is Othonna cheirifolia.
    Hope that helps. Here's to a fast arriving spring for us all.

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    1. That weather pattern sounds familiar (above normal warm, followed by cold)...the poor plants! Yes, Othonna cheirifolia! I kept thinking it started with an "O" — but that's as far as I got. Thank you!

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  16. The red house is a beauty, and the galvanized pots are cool. I'm waiting for the complete tour of both these gardens.

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  17. Beautiful mix of succulents, grasses, and woody plants. I like the hellstrip especially.

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  18. Haha - the immaculate tidiness of Don's beautiful garden, and my muddy, bewildering madness in one post - what a great contrast! The contents of all my corrugated planters all settled. Just lifted that poor whales tongue up to the surface so it can breathe again, last week. See you Thursday, Loree!

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    1. Pam mentioned plants settling in her corrugated culvert planters (did a post about having to pull out a plant and raise it) so you're in good company. something I will keep in mind should I make them someday. See you Thursday!

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