Wednesday, December 1, 2021

A trio of Portland drive-by gardens

Today seems like a good time to share some local garden photos I've collected—we'll start here, very near my home. It was the dark house and fence, backed by the orange/red house next door, that initially caught my attention, but then I noticed the rocky hellstrip.

Complete with an Agave ovatifolia...

Agave 'Sharkskin'

And so many friends!

The front garden isn't slacking either, there's lots to love there.

Not the least of which is the metal edging and it's angular corners.

This next drive-by visit was a long time coming. I'd gone searching based on a tip from an Instagram friend. I didn't find it that day (although I found another great garden) then several months later she messaged me with a specific address...

You'd be forgiving for thinking it was the palms I was there to see—after all, they had several.



Instead it was that bad boy...

A huge agave!

Complete with pups...

Many pups.

I might have driven by during my earlier quest, but the agave was cleverly hidden behind this bit of fig sculpture. 

Street-side view.

The last entry is the newest, one I spied just last week when we went walking after our Thanksgiving meal. I had just said to Andrew that I wished we were on a different street, I drive this one all the time and so I wasn't expecting to see anything surprising.

That's when I looked over to see three new (to me) Agave ovatifolia, what do you know!? 

My blogger friend Hover Boo recently did a post where she referred to getting out and seeing the (plant) sights in your own city local tourism. I whole-heartedly recommend it.

All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

17 comments:

  1. Very nice. The added benefit of checking out your neighbourhood is it doesn't require a car either. That fig is impressive. Wonder how much fruit they collect off it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true! Although the middle garden here did.

      Delete
  2. I think the word must have gotten out that agaves have a place in Portland ;) I suspect your own garden has major influence on local homeowners - and then the "heat dome" this summer may have been a factor too. As an aside, that fig tree amazed me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm thinking about another neighborhood excursion myself. It's one way to make up for another year of no vacations.

    That first garden is very nice indeed. Nice plant selection, well done. The hell strip stone looks somewhat treacherous to walk on. The owner of the fabulous xeric garden we caught outdoors and talked to on our last jaunt recommended 3/8" gravel for mulch, because it was the easiest to blow the leaves out of--larger and the leaves get caught, smaller and the gravel blows away. Another plus of local garden tourism--picking up tips.

    Beautiful ovatifolias on that 3rd one. An ugly ovatifolia is close to non-existent. Agaves and lawn always seem an unsettling combination--like cactus mixed in with hydrangeas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree about walking on the hellstrip stone, thankfully they put several paths in so you could get to the sidewalk. As for the lawn, it's still the default around here. At least it looks good in the winter when it's green. Summertime gold filled with green weeds on the other hand...

      Delete
  4. Choosing black for your home's exterior can be very dramatic. I love it here - it suits the architecture beautifully.

    - and that fig...wow. I wonder how long it took them to create the "sculpture"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder what my husband would have said if I'd suggested black for our home, rather than dark brown?

      Delete
  5. Some interesting front gardens shots Loree.

    It's interesting to see an Agave and Trachycarpus planted so close together. I have always read that their preferred planting medium is quite different. However, both of them seem to be doing really well.

    The fig training is pretty cool. I was womdering how they did it, but then I went back up and took a second look at your photo. When I did that I saw the wires.

    Some of those Agave look comparatively small. I guess that they must have been recently planted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Around here they (the agave and trachycarpus) seem to be fairly regular "bed mates"... they both like sun and summer water. Small agaves in the "many pups" photo? I figured they were recently reviled pups from the mama plant, but perhaps they were planted?

      Delete
    2. Interesting thoughts about about being "bed mates" and they do make sense.

      Sorry, I should have been more specfic about the smaller Agave. Knowing how big the ovatifolia can get, those ones don't look too big IMO.

      Delete
  6. That first garden ticks all the boxes for me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We can do a drive by when you're in Portland...

      Delete
  7. Oh, I really like the landscaping (and the plants, of course ;-) ). Thanks for sharing. My daughter is back in Portland after her Thanksgiving break.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so warm for this time of year, I hope she's enjoying it. Rumor is we cool off next week.

      Delete
  8. I've been walking my neighborhood streets for many years, multiple times a week, in all directions. Occasionally there are still surprises: as the seasons change there is always something to look at and I never tire of it. That third house could have been just down the street from me. I love the front door in the first house!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it interesting how the seasons highlight different things in gardens you see all the time?

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!