Friday, May 29, 2020

Visiting McMenamins Anderson School (Part Two)

Yesterday I started a tour of McMenamins Anderson School up in Bothell, WA, but I got all caught up in the—completely amazing—desert garden and didn't venture any further. Today we'll see the rest of the garden, or at least the parts I stopped to photograph...

Look at that mangave color!

Definitely a Eucomis, maybe E. pole-evansii (?)

Crocosmia on fire!

In my experience loquats, Eriobotrya japonica, are still pretty rare up in the Seattle area, hopefully plantings like this will help to change that.

Heading into the meadow garden...

I loved this indication that a hotel guest was out enjoying the garden.

No tidying up! Magical seed heads left to be enjoyed.

This!

OMG....I was transported back to a 2013 visit to Celestial Dream Gardens where I fell head over heels for this plant, Microcachrys tetragona. I tried it twice (purchased from The Desert Northwest) and it died both times. Here it is looking lush and beautiful (and yes, memory triggered I immediately started a search for places to buy this plant and try it a third time)...

Moving on to the edible garden, which does supply some food for the hotel restaurants.

Symphytum × uplandicum 'Axminster Gold'

Fatsia japonica 'Variegata'

Pseudopanax ferox

The much desired variegated daphniphyllum.

Sweet!

Just a regular old hotel right? Nope. What a paradise this is.

Eryngium giganteum

Ya...it is a gardeners paradise...thank you Riz for the time you generously spent with me talking about this amazing garden you've helped to create and maintain...


Weather Diary, May 28: Hi 91, Low 56/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Visiting McMenamins Anderson School (Part One)


This was my second visit to McMenamins Anderson School up in Bothell, Washington. The first was in November of 2017 and featured an unexpected (and unwelcome) snow storm. This visit took place in July and thankfully the weather was perfect.

I was there to take photos for my book, Fearless Gardening, and talk with Riz Reyes, the gardens manager there.

Agave parryi...

Can you believe this planting magic? (Aeonium some something...)

The plantings are botanical garden worthy, and yet it's at a pub/hotel venue...

Another Agave parryi...

McMenamins gardeners rock it! I mean really, look at the beauty!....

The blue-green trunking yucca is a Yucca rostrata.

Agave ovatifolia

A magical patch of sarracenia...

There's the man behind the plants, or flowers in this instance, Riz Reyes. I wish I would have gotten a better shot, but he'd just handed me a bouquet of flowers, that's it in the foreground.

Come back tomorrow to see the rest of the property. Today I got a little side-tracked in the desert garden, but there is more!

Weather Diary, May 27: Hi 84, Low 51/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Wednesday Vignettes; what's wrong with people?

With that title you may be expecting photos of people crowding together in public places, eschewing social distancing protocol. No, actually these photos were taken last July and are discouraging the trampling of plants and gardens. Sadly our fellow humans give us no shortage of opportunities to ponder the question of what's wrong with people...

These super stylish signs are at McMenamins Anderson School in Bothell, Washington.

The plant behind this sign is a Colletia, with sharp spines, so many spines!

More photos from this garden tomorrow...and there will be even more spines and spikes!

—   —   —

Weather Diary, May 26: Hi 72, Low 56/ Precip 0

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.