Ah
Far Reaches Farm, such great plants, so far away. Thankfully Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken (owners of Far Reaches) aren't afraid to hit the road, and have brought plants down to many a sale in the Portland area. I've also made the trek up to the nursery, first in
2012, then
2013 and again in
2018. They've not kept regular retail hours since COVID though, so getting to visit with the
Hardy Fern Foundation (and tour those off-limits greenhouses!) was a fantastic opportunity...
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| screenshot from the Far Reaches Farm website |
The group gathered in the former sales area of the nursery (Andrew dropped me off just inside the gate and I took this photo as I walked in) and enjoyed snacks and tables of plants available for purchase.
Gladiolus 'Ruby'
You'll notice there are a few of those gladiolus in the flats of plants our group had purchased in advance.
I remember a talk Kelly and Sue gave years ago and Kelly telling the story of a customer's spouse building this shade building so he'd have a spot to wait for his wife to shop. True? I have no idea, but it's fun to imagine.
Crambe maritima
Under the shade structure...
Once we were all gathered Kelly and Sue spoke and then turned things over to Silas Zoeller (collections manager for
Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy) who shared his thoughts. After that we toured the crevice garden (that will be Monday's post) and then walked to the new shade house, which you can see in the photo at the top of the post on the far left (although I think that might actually be a temporary structure, pre-lathhouse).
Inside the shade structure...
Looking the opposite direction...
And a few close ups, this gorgeous thing is labeled as Drynaria sp. MD 12.
You'll see similar throughout this (extremely long) post. MD is for Sue
Milliken and Kelly
Dodson. They are very upfront about not being fern experts and never setting out to collect and grow ferns. It just happened, cause ferns are cool. They are still trying to get proper ID on a lot of the ferns they've collected in their travels.
This one is Drynaria sp. MD 17-69. It's actually
available for purchase and I almost took the leap, almost (questionable hardiness being the issue, and money, of course).
The first drynaria from another angle. The hypertufa wall was inspired by a talk given by Remko Beuving for the
Hardy Fern Foundation last winter. Free talks as part of the
HFF + BPS + DFS Winter Lecture Series are a great benefit of HFF membership!
Lepisorus cf. macrosphaerus MD 15-09, it's worth mentioning this plant lived through last winter in my garden with no protection.
Pyrrosia sheareri - Doonan Collection
Check it out! A ginger blooming at ground level, possibly
Zingiber mioga 'Crug's Zing' BSWJ4379.
And a beautifully variegated Fatsia polycarpa...
Time to walk on to one of the greenhouses (scanning the treasures as I go)...
This fern-heavy avenue had been set-up for visiting experts from Dutch and German fern societies.
If this area was all I saw during this trip my eyes would have been very very happy.
The tall guy there is Pteris wallichiana.
There were a lot of pyrrosia, many with only tentative ID.
Selliguea cf. YuGu 373
Aeschynanthus tengchungensis
Lemmaphyllum microphyllum
Drynaria sp. MD 12-32
Labeled as Fern sp, I believe this is a neolepisorus sp.
The label had elaphoglossum written on it, followed by NOT! So...who knows, but it's HOT!
Handsome pyrrosia...
Another...
The tag on this one said Pyrrosia angustissima with a “?” but when I posted on Instagram Silas commented saying it was likely a Vittaria sp. not pyrrosia. Makes sense to look at it.
Pyrrosia lingua ‘O Kan’
Another possible elaphoglossum.
No clue, but wow.
A few dryland ferns, starting with Notholaena californica.
Bommeria hispida SBH 9550, collected by Sean Hogan in AZ.
Notholaena aff standleyi
I think this is Pleopeltis lepidopteris. I have no memory of taking this photo and I know I told someone that I didn't see any pleopeltis at Far Reaches. Huh.
Moving on to another greenhouse...
Bam! There's my love, Dryopteris polylepis! I've only seen this one previously at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, and the last time I visited it was not looking good. I am thrilled to see it here. Now hopefully spore will be collected and someday... plants will be offered for sale.
I did warn you this post was going to go on forever, didn't I? Well...
Maybe Lepisorus sp. MD 15-13?
Pyrrosia! Pretty sure there's a few Pyrrosia lingua 'Tachiba Koryu' in that mix.
Parablechnum cordatum / Blechnum chilense
Another shot of our group...
And more Drynaria, because I was experiencing some major fern lust...
At this point our walk and talk had pretty much wrapped up and we were all wandering around the sales tables and thru the oldest lath house (visible on the far right of the photo at the top of the post). Here blooms of Lobelia tupa mingle nicely with Melianthus major foliage.
Saxifrage I believe?
Entering the lath house...
Phlebodium pseudoaureum
Adiantum aleuticum var. subpumilim
One of the painted ferns I assume, but I can't venture an ID beyond that.
Pyrrosia sheareri
Salix × boydii, I believe.
And I'll wrap-up with this, Coprosma rugosa.
Kelly gave me a small one of these on a previous visit. It grew slowly in my front garden, it wasn't until seeing this one that I realized it had disappeared (winter?). Did I buy a replacement? No. I'd already spent enough thank you. My haul and a look at the crevice garden on Monday.
All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Isn’t fern addiction a wonderful affliction? Now I have to go out into the garden and have a chat with my Dryopteris polylepsis. I won’t show it your picture, as mine is buried in Epimedium and doesn’t have that wonderful vase-like presentation. Maybe it is time to move it to a more appropriate setting? We’re making our way behind the greenhouse door later in September.
ReplyDeleteKeith, I have so many questions! Where are you located? Where did you find your Dryopteris polylepsis? What does your last sentence mean?
DeleteFern overload, in the best possible way. This is a great reference post for future use - not that I expect to ever grow 99% of them. But I'd love all the dryland ferns you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned before you can (and should) order the Bommeria hispida now!
DeleteWow. I look forward to seeing what you purchased. This post is one beauty after the next. I can see why you're drawn to Dryopteris polylepis, I've never seen one before but it is amazing. I had to laugh at your own photo evidence of pleopeltis. Glad I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's a good reminder that my memory and reality are not always aligned.
DeleteI've got some full shade to plant in the front garden, which means an order to FRF maybe next spring. Woohoo! Pyrrosia, maianthemum, so exciting...I think just like "Designing with Palms" we need a "Designing with Ferns"!
ReplyDeleteYes! That's a great book idea. I'm sure someone is probably working on it.
DeleteThat Pyrrosia-Vittaria is a very peculiar plant, in the nicest possible way - whatever it is I expect it'd reject the conditions in SoCal. And I wouldn't have recognized the Coprosma rugosa as as member of that genus if you hadn't identified it. You seem to be diving every deeper into ferns and fern-like plants, which is an interesting contrast to your deep affection for agaves and their kin.
ReplyDeleteFor sure, I am becoming even more divided in my loves, from one extreme to the other. In many ways though it makes perfect sense and works very well with the Portland weather. Our hot (it was 99 yesterday) dry summers make my agaves happy and our cool wet winters make my ferns happy. And since I'm not a major flower lover the fact there aren't blooms on either (most of the time) doesn't bother me at all...
DeleteA fern heavy post can never be too long, not for me anyway. Photo 48 has a close up of a variegated pyrrosia leaf that just made me weak in the knee.
ReplyDeleteThe lath house entry is a beauty: love that tree growing through it (Cornus? Japanese maple?) and the Saxifrage with rocks in the pot, crevice-garden like. Very cool.
Chavli
Glad you enjoyed, there was so much beauty to see that day.
DeleteI am particularly enamored of ferns with more palmate or triangular fronds, like Pteris wallichiana, some of the Pyrrosias, Notholaena, Bommeria. The Selliguea and Lepisorus, and the Pyrrosias with the dark orange/rust underneath leave me at a loss for the appropriate superlatives.
ReplyDeleteSeems the Bommeria hispida would work quite well in your open sunny garden...
DeleteI think that might be my favorite fern. I've killed it twice. Maybe three times a charm.
DeleteOh no! Yes, 3rd time... give it a try!
DeleteDang, I don't have any shade. Even the north side gets blasted with morning and afternoon sun for much of the summer.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures remind me of tramping in New Zealand in 2005. Ferns everywhere you looked, from the tiniest crevices, vining types climbing and clinging to trees, and of course also being the trees!
-artinnature
That must have been a fabulous adventure! I'm not sure I could be happy without some shade...
DeleteLoree, Wonderful post. Can you tell me about the interesting planting media that I saw? Some looked like cocoa shells, others acorns.
ReplyDeleteThe shells are only a top dressing on the pots to (discourage weeds and such). I suspect they're hazelnut shells as I know those are readily available here in Oregon at least. Maybe there are acorns too. I doubt there are any cocoa shells however as there has been some concern about toxicity for dogs and there are a couple of cute pooches running around at Far Reaches.
Deletefern heaven ! and that gladiola wow.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty fabulous, I *almost* bought one...
Delete