Friday, August 23, 2019

Flashback: Alberta and friends...six years ago

Looking back at a blog post—Alberta and friends, happy in the ground—from 2013, I was shocked to see how small the featured plants were when they went in, and by comparison how big they are now. This is the spot I'm referring to, as it looked before we tore out the huge inherited rhododendron.

And after...

The namesake of the post, Alberta, is the trunking Yucca rostrata. The large mangave in the lower right of photo above died that next winter. The ornamental rhubarb, below, went to live with a friend.

What's most shocking is how short Alberta was, and how small the pair of Agave ovatifolia were...

Here's the now...

Alberta looks like someone grabbed her by the head and pulled, elongating her neck.

Plants can put on a lot of growth in six years...

I wonder what this spot will look like in 2025?

Weather Diary, Aug 22: Hi 75, Low 55/ Precip 0

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

21 comments:

  1. Wonderful. Nothing like "where are they today?", side-by-side comparisons. The buckthorn is looking great, I finally got one this year and I hope it will do well in a large pot. I notice Senecio grey is also gone from the "now" picture, replace by Euphorbia rigid and the chocolate color euphorbia (?). It's a gorgeous combination!

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    1. That Senecio greyi was looking so good, and then it wasn't. It's kind of a mystery as why, but I didn't sweat it because the dark Daphne x houtteana needed a home.

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  2. That is AMAZING, Loree. Gardeners, it seems, have the ability to appreciate what will come, not necessarily needing instant gratification (well, we do both, right?). Your vision 6 years ago was spot-on, just look at that perfect bit of garden you have created. I am in awe.

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    1. Ah, thanks Tamara and I agree! We have magic glasses that let's us see the future garden.

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  3. I was reading your blog back then and remember you taking out the rhodie. I may not have commented, but I was following what you were up to. Everything now is just perfection against your chocolate-colored house, including the chocolate-colored plant. Is it Daphne houtteana? I haven't forgotten that you recommended that I get one.

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    1. Yep, that's the Daphne x houtteana, hard to find and a little expensive but oh so worth it.

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    2. Sadly I never see them for sale. I did spot one growing in a Blue Ridge garden (along with a large loquat), which gives me hope that perhaps Swansons has stocked it in the past.

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    3. In the interest of full disclosure I got mine when doing an interview for the Oregon Assoc of Nurseries at Youngblood, a wholesale nursery. I've since been told that Briggs, who was the "official" propagator has pulled it from their inventory. So it's gonna get even harder to find...

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  4. Whoa, that Rhodie was a bit much. That last image is picture perfect on every level.

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    1. And to think I would hack back that rhododendron severely after it bloomed each year. That thing wanted to swallow the house.

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  5. This is a great reminder of the value of patience, Loree. My own Yucca rostrata, potted up from a 4-inch mail-order specimen just a few months ago, has a looong way to go but you've given my expectations a boost with this post.

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    1. I saw a few small one gallon plants yesterday and thought about buying and growing them on just for fun. If space wasn't an issue...

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  6. It is amazing to see how even 'slow' growers can bulk up fairly quickly. The Agave seems to really have grown a lot. When I look at photos of our house taken nearly 30 years ago, it doesn't even look like the same place!

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  7. Is the Tetrapanax on the left in the ground? I appreciate the flashback, my garden looks like a before photo for your before photo, complete with inherited rhododendrons...

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    1. Yep, it ran all the way up to the house from the big plants down in the corner by the street sidewalk.

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  8. It will no doubt look beautiful in 2025, providing you are still the gardener.

    That was a beautiful Rhododendron. Just too out of proportion for your garden.

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    1. Ya, it was remarkably healthy too, surprising with the lacewing pest infecting plants all over town.

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    2. That is a cool idea to look back and compare photos. If I did this, I would be saying, "What was I thinking?" I almost never correctly envision the actual outcome years later.
      Ray

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  9. Everything was so tiny ! The first time I visited the Danger Garden was 2012, so I had to go look back at my photos from that day---there was the Rhodie looking big and green.

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