Andrew and I have been talking about where our next home will be. We bought our current place back in 2005, we've been here 21 years. Back then our realtor wanted us to think of this as starter home, but gardeners don't think that way. We put down roots, real roots.
We probably only have one move in us, well one active move. Where do we want to grow old? While I love the idea of living in Southern California, I'm aware that's an expensive place to be, plus, I'm a Washingtonian by birth. I was born in Eastern Washington, but my heart is in the Western part of the state, Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area. This is a long way of saying that we've been talking about moving north. So, when we were up in Seattle for the
NWFG Fest, Andrew surprised me by saying something about how agaves don't grow that far north. I'm sorry, what!?!
He'd never seen an agave in Seattle, and he wanted me to tell him where they were growing. I started by listing friend's gardens;
Scott's,
Paul's, and
Michelle's. Plus there are a couple agaves at
the Amazon Spheres, and lots of them at
Tacoma's Pt Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. As I checked off locations I got to thinking that the northern most agaves I knew of in Western Washington were at
McMenamins Anderson School in Bothell, Washington, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Seattle. I hadn't been there since 2019 (
post here)... so I decided a visit was in order.
I made the trip up on a very rainy day, Saturday, February 21st. Thank god I had an umbrella, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pull out my camera. Check out those very happy Yucca rostrata...
And the agaves, oh the agaves. These sexy beasts are Agave ovatifolia, probably 'Frosty Blue'.
They were perfection.
As I walked around photographing I realized this visit felt a lot like I'd shown up at a botanical garden. I'd hit a few of my favorite Seattle-area nurseries earlier in the day, but now I was out walking among the plants...
Nolina hibernica 'La Siberica'
I do love it when a garden maker takes an element and runs with it. The McMenamins chain of restaurants, hotels, theatres and performance venues are also breweries and there are a couple wineries. They seem to have plenty of barrel rings and they're definitely making the most of them at Anderson School.
This was an unexpected bit of fun.
And speaking of fun... there's a pool and tiki bar on the premises.
Of course nobody wanted to brave the rain and sit outside.
Same Nolina as before, just from the other direction.
Lots of February color.
Yep, same Nolina again, but from yet another direction. What can I say, I love them.
This one—also a Nolina hibernica 'La Siberica'—looked like it was blooming thanks to a nearby light pole painted the same green.
Strappy goodness...
More agaves, I think this one may be A. 'Baccarat'.
Agave parryi truncata
And maybe Agave parryi v. couesii.
Pulled back, wide-angle shot.
Spikes! Colletia, maybe C. hystrix.
More barrel ring art...
Loquats (Eriobotrya japonica), are something else you don't see a lot of in the Seattle area. I tried to find one at a nursery once and that was nearly impossible. This one looks fantastic.
Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata', I believe.
Magnolia laevifolia flower buds.
The wild meadow garden...
Cyclamen coum
Fabulous Schefflera delavayi and fun metal potted "plant".
Another S. delavayi and a blooming Edgeworthia chrysantha.
Daphniphyllum macropodum
Wow, a nice patch of Mahonia eurybracteata.
The stacked urbanite walls and wiggly metal work is such a warm custom touch.
As is this experimental succulent planting.
There are at least two Sarracenia bog plantings, I only managed to photograph one of them.
Oh my gosh! Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart' positively dripping with runoff from the roof, it seemed happy in those circumstances.
Okay time to wrap up the visit and head back to my car...
Just for the record. Agaves, growing happy at approximately 47.76° N latitude...
The Bit at the End
Check out
this beautiful video of blooming agaves and the bats that seek out their nectar.
Bat Conservation International is a group of folks who see agave restoration as an important part of ensuring the worldwide survival of bats—they're such interesting little mammals.
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I hope that relieves Andrew's concern that there couldn't be agaves in your prospective new home. Looks like all the usual Portland suspects can be grown there -- and those nolinas! And I'm seeing a metapanax next to that ivy...
ReplyDeleteYes indeed... all the good things!
DeleteHa ha, I would've loved to have seen your reaction to Andrew's agave statement! You quickly proved it wrong. Was he trying to nudge you to S. CA I wonder. Now I'm wondering the differences in climate Portland vs. Puget Sound. Does The Sound get as cold? I love Nolina - so graceful.
ReplyDeleteWell as we are in the midst of a cold VERY rainy period, Ventura has been mentioned more than once. The greater PS area is generally not as hot in the summer, and not as cold in the winter. Although I believe it's thought to have more grey rainy days...
DeleteOh, the panic that sets in when you mention moving - I have nightmares about that occasionally. I often wonder where I/we would like to go next. I like Bellingham (WA), but I suspect that it will be somewhere in the desert Southwest.
ReplyDeleteThe McMenamin's garden is beautiful, but the barrel rings are too disorganized and messy looking for my taste - like too many cars, kids, and drunks have fallen into them and tried to pull them up. Nui nui is one of my favorite tiki drinks!
Yes, panic is the right word. I cannot even fathom the work involved, and how would I say goodbye to my garden? Bellingham huh? I wouldn't have thought that. Being so close to Canada sounds good though.
DeleteI see your problem with the barrel rings... I wonder why they don't bother me?
Was Andrew impressed? I hope so! Perhaps that just helped to extend your eventual search for a new home. What do you think about the SW desert? It intrigues me but I think the PNW is really home. Though England sounds pretty good these days, too.
ReplyDeleteHa, no. He just nodded. The desert was a huge draw for me, once upon a time. But as my brother in Phoenix has lost agaves due to the heat (seriously) it just sounds too punishing. England would be VERY tempting if you can swing it.
DeleteWow, those plantings look so good in the rain! Love A. ‘Frosty Blue’. I need to add that one. A. Vanzie is cool too! Thanks for braving the rain for a lovely tour around Anderson School. Hope you went in for something warm to drink!
ReplyDeleteAgave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' is the best! No warm drinks, I had to go pick up Andrew in the U-District.
DeleteWhen I was in Denmark last summer running about the countryside, I passed by a large property that had 3 immense agaves growing in what looked to me like the huge square wooden nursery "boxes" for planting big trees. The boxes had been painted green. It took me a minute to process that, so I have no pictures. It was a large rural property, so I assume they used farm equipment to move them under cover for winter. I guess if there's a will, there's a way.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly understand wanting to move back to Washington. I've been considering what we want to do as well. Moving back home into Seattle where I grew up is unfortunately unrealistic, unless I win the lottery. Bellingham has also gone up ridiculously. As much as I love the SW and Colorado I think I've ruled them out due to water issues. So I don't know what we will end up doing. It's hard.
Agaves in Denmark, yay! Thanks for sharing that. Deciding where to go is hard, I know we can't afford Seattle proper, so we'd end up in the suburbs somewhere. Water is a huge consideration, as is (for me) the heat of the SW. It used to be hot but doable, not anymore. The extremes are crazy.
DeleteWonderful array of plants at that garden. Ovatifolia is such a gorgeous species! The Y. rostratas look fabulous, too. Aloes would be a bit of a stretch that far north, but they may be in Portland as well.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew was in Bellingham for a few years...now he's in Spokane. My Mom & Dad came to California from Vancouver (B.C.) back when California was not only affordable but really affordable. Times change...
There are only a couple aloes we can grow here in Portland (A. aristata and A. striatula), and I guess technically those aren't even aloes anymore. Times change, indeed. Even Spokane is getting expensive!
DeleteMcMenamins is in a league of its own. What they do makes the lack of decent landscaping in most commercial establishments even more glaring. I'm so glad they've stuck to it. I wish we had a few McMenamins down here!
ReplyDeleteSomeone (not me) should organize a McMenamins garden tour, wouldn't that be fun? And you could stay at their hotels while you're making the trek!
DeleteI imagine the only thing that would prevent agaves from thriving in the PNW would be poor drainage. Having said that the McMennin's agaves are positively glowing in all that rain. Surprised to hear you would consider moving based on all the effort you have put into your garden. Gardens are like children for serious, dreading the day when they leave home. I've told mine I'm only leaving feet first.
ReplyDeleteRiz Reyes for the win at the Anderson School : ) He's now at Heronswood. It was where we stayed for the Hardy plant weekend several years ago and it just keeps getting better and better...
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time that the topic of a move came up on your blog. Like other commenters I think moving would be exciting, but leaving your treasured garden behind... unfathomable!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Andrew's comment regarding the Agave intended to test the water, to see how far and wide to cast the home shopping net. If you go north, is a fabulous greenhouse in the back garden be part of the equation?
Nolina. Sigh. It's looking so good. I remember the one you lost a little while ago, one I uncouthly called 'pineapple'...
Chavli