Friday, August 21, 2020

For a moment I was in SoCal...

Driving home one afternoon I suddenly got it in my head to do a take a quick detour past a garden I've visited a few times. Wowsa!

Will you take a look at that Agave americana 'Variegata'!

I'm not sure when it was I last drove by this garden, but things were not nearly this heavily planted on the back slope. Way back in 2015 the owners, Dale and Marilyn Latham, invited my then plant lust partner Patricia and I over for a look see and discussion (blog post here) about exactly what they might do on that extremely steep bit of land. Here's an image of what it looked like then, I'd say they've made some serious progress!

Since I was there I decided to drive around to the front of the property and take a look. My first visit to this garden—in 2013—was so stunning I figured it was probably worth checking out. I was not disappointed.

Not many Portlanders have a sago palm (Cycad) this large in their front yard.

I appreciate their steps to camouflage the plastic pot by wrapping it with burlap.

Isn't this extraordinary!?

Aloe marlothii

That's a sizable street-side container collection. 

Nice to see there are still aeoniums.




A sibling Agave americana 'Variegata' to the one on the back slope.

So many good things! 

Surely you can understand why I might have been thinking I'd taken a step through some strange (but welcome) travel portal and ended up in SoCal? And to think most of these plants are lifted and moved in the winter. Makes my efforts look like amateur hour.

Seriously amazing... 

A row of flawless Agave attenuata at the back, Agave multifilifera in the lower right hand corner. Dale if you're reading this your garden continues to impress!

Weather Diary, Aug 20: Hi 84, Low 64/ Precip 0

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

20 comments:

  1. Wow, SoCal is right. Don't envy them having to care for that back slope. With so many plants to overwinter do they have a greenhouse? Would love to hear how they move and overwinter all those gorgeous tender plants.

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    1. Ya I still remember being a little dizzy standing on that slope. There are secure steps, but still. And yes, they turn their large back deck into a greenhouse with a custom cover. You can see some of it here: http://www.thedangergarden.com/2013/12/the-aeoniums-follow-up.html

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  2. "Makes my efforts look like amateur hour"? Not by a long shot. I read previous' years posts, specifically the protective winter enclosure. The plant migration is a common thread for all you "zone challengers", a massive commitment and extra work. Impressive changes to the terraced slop. I'm in love with the potted Cycad and underskirt of blue Senecio. If the Senecio grow in pots for winter transfer, it's very well camouflaged.

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    1. For quite awhile I grew blue senecio in the ground and took cuttings and potted them up each fall. Maybe that's what they do?

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  3. The house color alone qualifies as SoCal.

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    1. And you don't see much stucco and tile up here in the PNW...

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  4. I've rarely seen another spot where the plantings were so in tune with the house. Yes, a really fine match.

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  5. It does have a SoCal vibe. I certainly couldn't/wouldn't manage a seasonal migration of that scope. Of course, occupying pots and being moved during your colder winters probably keeps some of those plants at more manageable sizes than would be possible if they were planted in the ground here.

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    1. Definitely, things stay smaller when their roots are contained. That cycad though!

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  6. Those pops of red really heighten the tropical vibe. But how daunting it must be to move all this twice a year - yikes!

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  7. I kind of had a Thomas Hobbs moment looking at this house and garden.I wonder if his former home offered some inspiration ? The amount of stuff they must have to move in winter is daunting. Do they have a greenhouse ?

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    1. Indeed it did, and yes, sort of. The back deck is enclosed:
      http://www.thedangergarden.com/2013/12/the-aeoniums-follow-up.html

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  8. Kathy beat me to it -- I got Thomas Hobbs old house vibes too. That is an unbelievable ringer for SoCal!

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    1. The owner credited Thomas Hobbs as inspiration.

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  9. Every detail in these gardens makes the whole vision jaw dropping. I'm in lust!

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  10. I don't even know where to begin .. the tree growing out of the brick hill ?
    And so many have to be lifted and moved for winter ?
    This truly is absolutely stunning .. the care and work to create this city of plants that really don't belong in this zone .. amazing !
    And I think my garden tends to be needy ? LOL .. all joking aside .. this is so exotic and gorgeous beyond description really ... glad to see something that stretches my garden mind ? LOL

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