One Green World, finally!

In conversations with Portland gardening friends it seemed inevitable that at some point the name One Green World would come up. Then, when I'd admit that I hadn't visited, they'd look at me with a mix of wonder and disgust, maybe a little curiosity too. Kind of like I look at someone when they tell me they didn't like agaves. Ya, like that. 

So you know what? I finally visited!

Why exactly had I not visited? Well in my mind One Green World was all about edible plants. I have nothing against edible plants—berries are one of my favorite food groups—but I don't need to buy edible plants. People kept assuring me that they were more than "just edibles"... yep. They are, and guess what, they have agaves!

Big ones! That's a huge Agave vilmoriniana over by the rocking shipping and receiving area...

...and they really were rocking. The music was up and the employees were singing along, it can only be described as joyful. That leads to another of the silly reasons that I hadn't visited. No not the singing, the shipping. Their website is really dialed, they have a very robust online sales presence. When I run across an online nursery like that I start to suspect they aren't really so much plant people, as they are an online sales machine. Sort of like an online business I recently discovered that's selling moss (it's horrific, and no I will not link to it). 

But you know what, I was wrong. This is very much a nursery with real enthusiastic plant people and great plants.

So many great plants!

And at really good prices too (I don't think they'll be shipping this one).

I was completely floored by their agave selection! Look at all of those Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'...

OMG... little Agave 'Mateo', and so perfect!

Agave parryi 'JC Raulston'

And a mass of Agave funkiana 'Fatal Attraction'.

These next few photos were taken in a small greenhouse that I think might have been off-limits, but hey—the door was open and there was no sign saying stay out, so...I went in. Looks like a propagation space. These Mahonia haematocarpa were absolutely adorable. It's not a species I'm familiar with.

Check out this bit of magic! That little green sprig busting out of a nut...

This one is ahead of the pack.

What are they? Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree. Related to the Araucaria araucana, monkey puzzle tree and Araucaria heterophylla, Norfolk Island pine. Pretty cool stuff!

There is also a small display garden in front of the home on the nursery grounds.

There were many healthy loquats at the nursery, now I know where to send friends when they ask.

The most humbling moment was when I met (or remet, it seems we had crossed paths prior at a party at Sean Hogan's) Sam Hubert (horticulturist/nursery manager) and he told me they carried my book. What!? Seems he's trying to get the edible gardening folks to embrace a wider idea of what a garden can be. Do you remember what I wrote at the top of this post? Ya, one of the reasons I had put off coming to the nursery because I thought it was all about edibles and I didn't need to shop for edibles. Hmmm. Seems I need to expand my ideas as well...

So here's a fun thing. If you search their website for agaves—here—not only do you find an excellent selection of agaves to purchase, but my book shows up on the second page of the search results. How cool is that? Don't worry that there's only one on the shelf, Andrew (who I also met during my visit), assured me more were on order.

So what did I buy? Ya, you guessed it. Two Agave 'Mateo' and an Agave funkiana 'Fatal Attraction', I was shopping on brand and I will definitely be back to One Green World.

All material © 2009-2022 by Loree L Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Masa fresh delivers, in more ways than one...

A few years ago I met with Trang Sharbaugh, she and her biz partner were looking to start up a business that has since become masa fresh. They call themselves the first "online farmer's market" and make it easy to shop the goods of over 500 farmers around the Portland area. They're kind of like plantlust.com, but instead of selling plants to go in the ground, they sell plants (and other goods) to eat. Trang recently offered to send me a box of goods from the PSU Farmer's Market, of course I said yes, here's what I saw when I opened the box...

This tamale didn't last the afternoon...

It was amazing! There's a family that sells tamales in a parking lot near us, we've bought from them occasionally, but this tamale was in a whole different realm. So good!

The strawberries were perfectly ripe and delicious (they're not quite all gone...)

Yum!

This lettuce and those carrots were almost too lovely to eat.

We haven't tried the cheese yet, but I'm curious if I'll be able to detect a difference from regular mozzarella.

Opening the bag I first thought these were eggplant, but they're peppers! Violet Sparkle Peppers grown by @farmerevanpdx who says "superior sweet pepper flavor! The color turns blue when cooking." We haven't eaten these yet, they're so pretty it's going to be hard to cut into them, but I will.

This was delicious!

These are gone already, I had fresh mozzarella left from another dinner so I made a salad to go with our salmon Saturday night.

Eggs!

Ya, I'm just odd enough to get really excited about the fact the eggs are brown and some are speckled.

Here's a little more info from their website: "Masa started in 2016 on a Catalina sailboat while two long-lost friends reunited and took an online class on human-centered design. Through countless interviews as homework for the class, we connected with farmers from all over the world who strive to produce the best goods, regenerate ecosystems and build vibrant local communities. Working with them brings back wonderful childhood memories with our mothers, a zoo manager and a biochemist who share deep passion for plants and living things. Like many Vietnamese moms, they buy fresh local produce and cook on a daily basis because to them, "freshness is king."

We believe in a world where anyone can have access to fresh wholesome goods and farmers are equipped to be profitable. Masa is the result of continuous efforts to answer a question: "How might we build an economy around local and regenerative agriculture?"

If you live in the Portland area you can pick and choose from their multiple vendors online, order by 11:59 PM on Wednesdays, and your order will be ready for pickup or delivery on Saturday—pretty sweet right? If you're not in the Portland area check out their Instagram feed where you'll get inspired by gorgeous photos and inspiring stories. Thanks masa fresh for the tasty treats!

(Disclaimer: I received the box of farmers market goodness free of charge, but of course wasn't required to say nice things if I didn't want to... )

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Weather Diary, Sept 7: Hi 91, Low 61/ Precip 0

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

Wednesday Vignette: tomato hand salad...

As much as I love to plan dinner recipes based on our Sungold tomato harvest, I like to snack on them when I'm working in the garden even more. Recently—as I reached for a dark orange pop of flavor—I heard my friend Laura whispering in my ear "hand salad...pick a hand salad..."

Laura is at heart a teacher who never misses a chance to engage a passer-by. She's long encouraged those tempted to snack from her Vancouver, Washington, hellstrip garden to do it up right and pick one of those, a bit of that, and make a hand salad. Hearing her voice in my ear I realized I was only getting it half right. I mean those tomatoes warmed by the sun are delicious, but why not pick a sprig of basil—growing in the same container—and double the flavor? Yes, it is really is a bit of summer in my hand. Thanks Laura!

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Weather Diary, Sept 1: Hi 88, Low 59/ Precip 0 

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

August walk-about...

It was one of those afternoons where I just could not sit at my desk any longer. So I walked...

Look at this cute pumpkin sling!

A wide shot of the garden.

I'm not a huge fan of the coneflowers, but these...perfect.

I love the row of sunflowers gone to seed all lined up for the wildlife...

This garden is about a half-block from mine and I keep coming across devoured sunflower heads dropped in my garden.

I wonder if this is where they're coming from?

Their nasturtium were on fire! (in a good way)

I've never grown tomatillo, looking at these I think I might need to.

A parting garden shot...

A flower from another neighbor's garden where many of my Opuntia came from

Earlier this spring I met a nice couple who were walking past my garden. They told me where they lived and invited me to come by. I cannot believe how many weeks have passed since that day. I did however finally make it by, and really loved what I saw. A carpet of Muehlenbeckia axillaris!

And this fabulous Agave ovatifolia backed by an arctostaphylos (I'm not smart enough to know which one).

I really wanted to knock and say "hi" and get a peek of what's happening behind that attractive door, but it was also mid-day on a Tuesday and I was pretty sure if they were home they were probably working, so I did not. Another time!

Moving on I came across another fabulous wire vine (Muehlenbeckia axillaris). This plant is tenacious, but where it has the room do it's thing it is pretty spectacular.

Oh this is a good fence...

As long as you don't need complete privacy.

The pruning and shaping of this shrub was fantastic. I'm not sure I can convey it via photos, but I'm going to try. Here I'm standing on the public sidewalk looking straight at the trunk which is swept back as though it's growing seaside.

The base, where it emerges from the rock "wall"...

Looking east from the west side. So good!

Moving on. This modern home is on a very busy street. They seem to have found a balance of looking approachable but also maintaining a bit of privacy. The shiny galvanized fence next door is interesting as well. Here it's mainly metal with just a thin section of wood at the top.

This section is almost half and half (half wood half metal)...

The section with the thin wood topper features a bit of gutter as planting space.

That's not a lot of soil and I bet it can get pretty hot out here with the reflected heat from the sidewalk and street. I applaud their efforts.

A peek-a-boo cut out.

Here's a closer-up look at the sleek modern house.

I love these hebes as Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' hardy replacements.

Oh my! I think there must have been a bit of foliage leaning going on here. A drastic cut back seems to have happened.

Enough time has transpired that the bamboo is fluffy again, in some spots.

But others still have the freshly shorn look.

Culms for ID, if you're interested.

Crazy floating bamboo balls...

I saw the sign before I saw the tree.

But I can understand how people might be tempted to pick an apple or two, don't those look fabulous?

Finally, I'm almost back home, and I came upon this construction site. There was a small house here that sat empty and neglected for years, then it was torn down but the lot sat empty. Now there is action... 

That's a big old tree, it's nice to see the city tries to take it's protection seriously.

One house, replaced by 3, or 4? That's the norm now.

At least the lot wasn't scraped clean, there is still green. 

Weather Diary, Aug 26: Hi 82, Low 57/ Precip 0 

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