100 Desert Wildflowers in Natural Color

I love discovering a good vintage gardening book at a used book store, especially when it has great images. This one is small but full of vintage styled photos. I love discovering a good vintage gardening book at a used book store, especially when it has great images. This one is small but full of vintage styled photos.

Originally published in 1963 by the Southwestern Monuments Association there is a paragraph on the back cover that alludes to the novelty of color photography in that era “Captured by the magic of the color camera….Every color, from brilliant to delicate, is faithfully reproduced. This book will be a treasured photo album for those who have known the desert in bloom and a splendid introduction to the not yet initiated.” Remember the days when color photos in books were rare? And (gasp) the days of film, BEFORE digital photography?

I scanned a few of my favorite plant pages, hopefully the fact that this book is 47 years old means nobody will be coming after me for that. Maybe if I include a link to where you can buy a copy that will make it ok.

Soaptree yuccaJoshua-tree and Torrey yucca

Giant yucca and Sacahuista

Sotol and Agave. The Dasylirion wheeleri (Sotol) is also called Desert Spoon. I never stopped to wonder why it’s called that but the text points out that the stiff leaf bases, when pulled from the cluster, form “desert spoons.”Parry agave and Lechuguilla

I found it interesting that in this text the Agaves are said to be part of the Amaryllis Family. I am certainly no expert but I know them as part of the Agavaceae family. Consulting my old stand by 'Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants: A Gardener's Guide', By Mary Irish and Gary Irish I found a lengthy history of the various families and the botanists that have sought to define them. They say that in 1911 Johannes P. Lotsy decided that the family Liliaceae needed “significant subdivisions,” it was then that the Agavaceae were separated from Amaryllidaceae and expanded upon. Reading the lengthy history I see that two different systems are currently in use one of which includes Agave, Beaucarnea, Beschorneria, Calibanus, Cordyline, Dasylirion, Doryanthes, Dracaena, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Nolina, Polianthes, Prochnyanthes, Sansevieria, and Yucca in the family Agavaceae. The other restricts Agavaceae to the genera Agave, Beschorneria, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Manfreda, Polianthes, Prochnyanthes, and Yucca. Confused? With uncertainty like that it’s no wonder that the plant professionals have trouble agreeing on names!

Blue palo-verde and Bird-of-Paradise-flower. Notice the infamous “person for scale” included in the palo-verde picture.

Saguaro and Organpipe cactus. For the longest time I thought the Organpipe was actually called the Oregonpipe, yes, I can be a dork.

I love that there is a page dedicated to “Hints for Flower Photographers“…these include “Too many flower photographers fail to get really CLOSE UP PICTURES. A single blossom or a small cluster of blossoms provides a much more attractive and significant picture than an entire plant.”

There is also a list of suggestions for additional reading. Perhaps I’ll try and track down a few of these.

Magnolia laevifolia

The sun came out yesterday afternoon; this was all the encouragement I needed to take the dog for a longer afternoon walk. We headed out thinking we were only going around the block (yes I took my camera) instead we headed towards the Kennedy School, never mind that it was only 45 degrees and I didn’t have on a proper coat, the sun was out! As we circled the KS gardens many things caught my eye but the most interesting was a smallish shrub with amazing brown/rust furry buds. I am disappointed that my camera was unable to accurately capture their magic as they were positively glowing in the sun.

As I snapped pictures I looked for clues as to what this plant might be, but finally had to concede that I had no idea. I figured I’d end up sending off another email to the kind and helpful Kennedy School gardener, Erich, asking for identification.

However as luck would have it I ran into Erich working in the garden! We’ve been exchanging emails for over a year now but never met. I finally got to meet the man responsible for the garden I enjoy so much! Naturally he knew exactly what plant I was trying to describe (when in awe of someone’s plant knowledge I seem to resort to using words characteristic of a 5 year old and saying things like “you know” – I’m sure he was impressed). He not only knew its name but also knew its former names (evidently this plant has had a bit of an identity crisis)…a true plantsman.

Here is a description of the same Magnolia from Cistus Nursery, although I’m unsure if the Kennedy School plant is a “round leaf”…

Magnolia laevifolia - round leaf
Stunning plant! Recently called M. dianica and previously Michelia yunnanensis but this plant is always fabulous with its graceful, ropey foliage; profuse, intensely fragrant white blooms in spring and summer; and first rate cinnamon indumentum on the buds in autumn! This form has pleasingly rounded leaves and a more compact habit than the straight species, reaching only 6-8 ft in time. Easily accepts sun to half shade with regular water. Frost hardy in USDA zone 8 and very possibly into mid zone 7. Magnoliaceae

For more pictures including a look at the flower click on over to plant lust (where by the way you will now find over 1600 plants in our (growing) database!).

Erich said this particular plant had been in the ground for 3-4 years, so it’s had no problem with our last two bad winters, and he also mentioned that he’s just too busy to protect plants so they have to tough it out on their own. The overall shrub is so much better looking than this photo makes it out to be.

Guess what’s now on my lust list? I have to have this plant!

wine rack…or succulent planter?

It’s no secret I do enjoy a nice glass of wine…but if I were lucky enough to receive this CB2 galvanized wine rack as a Christmas gift there is no chance I would actually use it to house bottles of wine. No this baby is just begging to be used as a succulent planter.

Can’t you see it? Turned so the “tubes” are vertical and the varied heights could accentuate the different colors and types of succulents I would plant in them.

Of course since the open “back” would now be the bottom there would be a little problem-solving required to cap the tubes so that when I picked it up the soil didn't all fall out. But I’m up for the challenge (and I do have a secret weapon…the super clever husband). Or…maybe I could place it in the garden and not worry about capping the tubes! That way I could plant hardy succulents which would stay outside and get excellent drainage.

Do you see it too?

Recently I’ve noticed several creative succulent containers out there in the blogosphere, for example this post on Far Out Flora and this one on Sprig to Twig. I’m curious...what’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever turned into a planter?

Keeping Portland Weird

Out on a stroll with the dog the other day I experienced a “keep Portland weird” moment. Many citizens of this city in which I live pride themselves on living somewhere a little different. They resent the homogenization of our cities that corporate America can bring and strive to support the local and the offbeat thus (in part) keeping Portland weird.

I would like to think it’s in this spirit that an artist by the name of Scott Wayne Indiana is said to have, in the fall of 2005, tied his first toy pony to a one of the many horse rings embedded in our Portland sidewalks. The idea caught on and soon people were tying up toy horses all over town. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one, I thought the idea had ran its course and quietly died. I guess not.I have to say the sparkly gift tie is a nice touch.

And I realize this really has nothing to do with gardening but heck it’s my blog and I felt like sharing, hope it made you smile.

The Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park

The last attraction we visited on our trip to Vancouver BC was the Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park. I have somewhat mixed feelings about Conservatories. Done well they can inspire and transport you to far away, mysterious lands. Done poorly they seem like a zoo for plants (specimens behind bars and pathetically ripped from their natural environments), or worse. I’m thinking of that crazy office cube filled with a Poinsettias from the last 15 Christmases each with half a dozen leaves (and still sporting the red foil pot cover), a 50ft long stem of Epipremnum aureum that wraps around the cube 12 times and of course 3 Christmas Cactus that haven’t bloomed in the last 6 years (sound familiar to anyone?).

With that introduction I suppose I should say where the Bloedel ranked on my Conservatory meter? Sorry you’re going to have to wait until the end of the post for that. According to the Conservatory brochure they are located at the highest point in Vancouver and its geographic centre. It’s also billed as having three different climate zones under one roof…tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest and the desert zone. The park was deserted on a cool October morning and the view was beautiful.It was nice for this pair with the dog to stop in front of the huge Gunnera for scale. And check out that dome! Pretty cool eh!? (that's the Conservatory)

First thing inside the doors we have a beautiful False Aralia, or Dizygotheca elegantissima.

Which I read is technically now a Schefflera elegantissima, naturally I love it.

This tall Trumpet Tree, or Cecropia peltata was pretty spectacular as it reached for the sky.

And the Joannis Palm, Veitchia joannis, with its feathery fronds was also pretty gorgeous.

There were many colorful bromeliads...

Which were only outdone by the colorful birds.

Spiral Ginger, Costus pulverulentus.

I love the striped Bamboo.

Persian Palm, Alocasia x portidora ‘Portore.’

I was surprised to see this Screwpine, or Pandanus utilis in my photos from the Conservatory. TuesdayI posted a picture of an unknown plant in Hawaii and it turns out to be a Screwpine (thanks Mr Subjective for being the first to identify it).

I couldn’t find the name of this plant.

Flowering banana, Musa uranoscopus.

Papaya Tree, Carica papaya.

By the time we wound our way around to the desert zone I had completely forgotten that I had been promised it. What an unexpected treat! Nothing like a few large Agave attenuata to make a girl feel at home.

Bitter aloe, Aloe ferox.

Candelabra cactus, Cereus uruguayensis.

Agave Americana.

This one was labeled Dagger-tip Agave, or Agave macrantha.

Unknown Aloes.

And the last thing of beauty we saw in the Conservatory was this Hedychium coronarium, white ginger.

To respond to my introductory remarks I did enjoy our visit to the Bloedel, I imagine a young person who has not traveled to distant lands entering this space and being inspired and transformed by seeing the plants.

It was unfortunate timing that tree trimming was going on during our visit and the resulting safety precautions closed a segment of the garden, I wish things like that could be done during non-business hours. But that said the garden was well tended and the plants looked healthy. Stepping into the warm enclosed tropical environment on a cold winter day must be a treat. I remember that soul-warming effect when stepping into the Conservatory at Volunteer Park in Seattle (I’ll be sharing photos of a visit there soon) and the Gaiser Conservatory Greenhouses at Manito Park in Spokane. Come to think of it everywhere I’ve lived (and many places I’ve visited) have Conservatories…except Portland. What’s up with that? In such a gardening-mad and plant-rich community why do we not have a Conservatory?

Why do you blog?

Well, that’s making a bit of an assumption isn’t it? I know not everyone reading this is a blogger. So those of you who do blog (on gardening or otherwise), why? Why did you start blogging and why do you continue?Recently I’ve read about several bloggers who are turning off the comments function on their blogs. Some are saying that anticipating comments, and what they will say, is interfering with their blogging creativity. I guess on some level I can understand that. After all I’ve felt the questioning “but why don’t they have anything to say about this?” after I’ve posted on a topic I feel passionate about but that elicits very few comments. However I’ve also grown to realize that’s part of the fun, seeing what images and words will get a response and what ones will not, I just never know. For me, without your comments this blogging thing wouldn’t be half the fun. I love the interaction and the sense of community that the commenting function on my blog, and those that I read, allows. Without your comments I wouldn’t be having conversations with like minded gardeners in Florida, Texas, California and England let alone right here in Oregon and Washington, and that’s what I’ve grown to value most.So I’m curious…if you are a blogger why did you start? And what keeps you blogging? Would you ever consider turning off the comments function on your blog?

(A note on the pictures: I just couldn’t do a post without including a few images! I took these Euphorbia pictures earlier this month but didn’t have anything in mind to do with them. So often my camera fails to pick up the blue color in the leaves instead turning them green, the light that particular morning had them glowing extra blue and fortunately the camera was able to capture it)