Thursday, March 28, 2019

Around the Amazon Spheres, post Snowpocalypse...

It was during the 2018 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival that I first visited the "understory" plantings at the Amazon Spheres in Seattle. I remember walking around in awe of what they'd planted and hoping the coming winter would be good to them.


Fast forward to the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival 2019 and Seattle was just coming out of a very snowy and very cold couple of weeks. I took advantage of a sunny afternoon and strolled up 7th Ave to check things out...

Sinopanax formosanus and Schefflera delavayi, both looking fine.

I found this reassuring, since I've got one of these I haven't put in the ground yet.

There was another one nearby that had some foliage damage, I wonder what caused it?

Oh my! This looks like it might have been a Genista aetnensis.

There were several beschorneria looking just like this...

I'm not an expert on these, but I don't think that's happy new growth.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

The Agave ovatifolia looked good.

As did the Yucca rostrata and Agave parryi.

Even the Rhodocoma capensis held up pretty well.

Oh the poor pyrossia!

In some places it looked like they bore the burden of all the snow as it slipped off the dome and landed on the ground below.

The Mahonia eurybracteata doesn't appear to mind a little adverse weather, the tree ferns however were still wearing their winter coats.

On my previous visit I'd spotted several Fascicularia pitcairnifolia tucked into the trunks of the tree ferns. Looks like they didn't take them off before they wrapped everything up, you can see a few leaves peeking out.

From what I could see all their tree ferns got a wrap of bubble wrap and then burlap. There were also caps to keep snow and ice out of the crown.

Some of the foliage looks rather toasted...

But as long as the trunks are still alive they'll be able to cut off the dead fronts and a new flush will quickly replace them. Fingers crossed this is the case.

The burlap wraps—so expertly done—reminded me of Martha Stewart's posts about wrapping her shrubs every winter.

Oh! That's a happy astelia.

Sadly the Ochagavia carnea suffered.

They look like they'll be fine, just cosmetic damage.

Going to be hell to clean up though, all those barbs along the leaf margin...ouch!

The last bit of burlap drama...

All the Pseudopanax ferox and P. crassifolius were covered.

If you hadn't seen the plants before they were wrapped this would be quite the head scratcher.

Looks like there are bamboo stakes providing support.

We've left the Amazon campus now and I have one last example of Seattle plant protection to share, a volunteer effort. This tree fern has been growing at the open-air University Village shopping area as long as I can remember. Someone I know via Instagram made sure it was warm during the freeze. Aren't plant people the best?

I plan to revisit all these plants sometime this summer and file a follow-up report, I hope it will be a happy one!

Weather Diary, March 27: Hi 56, Low 39/ Precip .22

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Wednesday Vignette, why so green?

Leaving a private garden visit last summer I noticed this across the street. One lawn was so green, the other lawn was kinda brown and splotchy. Then I realized the green lawn was fake.

Cleverly disguised as real with weeds, real weeds!

The real lawn's weeds weren't nearly so lush.

Weather Diary, March 26: Hi 60 Low 41/ Precip 0

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Sammy got a haircut

Clipping the lower leaves on Sammy, our tallest Yucca Rostrata, is a job I do not enjoy but I finally tackled. I think I managed to avoid doing it last year, so once I got in there I was surprised at the thick coat of brown leaves hugging the trunk. Here's the before...

And an after. It's always surprising when another foot or two of trunk is revealed.

Once the growing season gets underway the older leaves will be pushed downward and hide the upper trunk once again, but for now Sammy stands tall.

Weather Diary, March 25: Hi 54, Low 41/ Precip .33"

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Cistus Nursery, in mid-March

I usually make at least one winter-time visit to Cistus, this year I went from the wreath making visit last November all the way to March 13th without stopping by. I was obviously long overdue...

This visit was such a mood lifter after a freaky cold and snowy February and early March.

Maytenus boaria 'Green Showers', the mama plant of my tree.

*sigh* another reminder that I need to add some Cyclamen to my garden.

And this! So wish I had room for a Garrya elliptica.

The promise of spring...

Yucca baccata

Arctostaphylos 'Pacific Mist'

Gunnera manicata

Ochagavia carnea

One of these really wanted to come home with me, but since I still get all weepy thinking about the last one I planted, and lost, well. I walked away.

That blue sky!

Edgeworthia papyrifera ‘Akebono Improved’

This looks so reptilian...

Fern magic...

And then there were spikes...

Every color and length imaginable...

"Not necessarily for beginners" a challenge if ever I heard one.

But I want them all!

Okay, must look elsewhere and then come back and make my choices.

Aloe arborescens 'Variegata'

Back in the greenhouses there were several fabulous Echium in bloom...

So lovely!

And then I made my purchases and made my way home. Here's what I left with...

Another Aechmea x Billbergia which I think is maybe a Cryptbergia.

My "not for beginners" cactus...

Echinomastus johnsonii

Echinocereus engelmannii

Aloe aristata, one is a birthday gift for a friend, and I "needed" another. Mine in the ground have done fabulous...

Xerophyta capensis

Which is great for its black coloring on the tips of each leaf and the violet flowers to come.

Finally a pair of Fascicularia pitcairnifolia. On the left is F. pitcairnifolia (Cotswold) and on the right Fascicularia pitcairnifolia 'Spinners Form'.

I'm already scheming on my next visit...

Weather Diary, March 24: Hi 63, Low 44/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.