Smokin' and Boozin'...

First the smokin’…

I caught sight of that cotinus, or smoke tree, from my car, about a block away. It was so magical I had to turn around and take a couple of photos. Have you ever seen such a smokin’ smoke tree?

I love the contrast of the flat round leaves with the fluffy "smoke"…

These are usually seen as small to medium shrubs, it's so nice to see a tree...

On to the boozin’…I stopped in Hollywood Beverage the other day to grab a bottle of whiskey for my whiskey lovin husband (yes, here in Portland we actually have a neighborhood called Hollywood). As I was leaving I spied this in the pile of to-be-recycled boxes…

Of course I grabbed it, look at those beautiful agaves!

I couldn’t remember what the heart of the agave (from which the tequila is made) is called so I looked it up online (it's the piña) and that’s where I learned the harvester of the piña is called a “Jimador”…

“The harvester, or “Jimador” removes the agave leaves with a sharp curved tool called a Coa. He trims the 200 plus leaves that protect the heart or piña of the agave until the whole heart is extracted from the ground. Only the heart, or “piña,” of the agave plant is used to make tequila. Mature piñas weigh in between a hefty eighty and three hundred pounds; however, the size of the agave heart is not nearly as important as its sugar content. The older the agave, the longer the piña will have to accumulate the starches that will convert into fermentable sugars. Approximately, 15 pounds of agave piñas are required to produce one liter of delicious tequila.” (source - if you’re curious about the entire process and want to see pictures do click through!)

Here I am confusing my brands, two fingers is a different kind of tequila.

Of course I went back inside to see if the tequila bottles were as beautiful as the box…

Theses are the ones that really caught my eye.

You might think that’s it for the boozin, but you'd be wrong.

This bottle edging caught my eye outside Garden Fever...

Lest you think the staff is particularly boozy I should let you know there's a nice Italian restaurant next door (Lucca). Perhaps that's where the bottles originated?

And it's not all booze...

Here are a couple of new arrivals. On second thought maybe it's a group effort? The Garden Fever staff, the restaurant and the neighboring houses? They're all working together? That would be very Portland...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Aloe dorotheae is my favorite plant in the garden (this week)…

If ever there was a plant that requires nothing but gives everything it is Aloe dorotheae. I have three, bought over consecutive years at Rare Plant Research. All they require for happiness is a winter stay in the warm house and a summer vacation on the patio. Since they aren’t a large growing aloe that’s not a difficult thing to do.

So what makes this plant special? It colors up dramatically, in fact its common name is sunset aloe. This one’s my oldest, in a (rare for me) combo container on the patio table.

The white spots are an added bonus, unlike the spots on that baby agave to it's right. Those were caused by a powerful hail storm.

This one's in a lot more shade, and as a result it's coloring is rather subtle.

But still gorgeous.

The stats on Aloe dorotheae:

• hardy to USDA Zones 10-11, heat and drought tolerant
• prefers sun to light shade
• forms colonies which can reach 1' tall and 1-2 ' wide, individual plants stay quite small
• native to east Africa (Tanzania)
• blooms in mid to late winter, although I have had summer blooms on 2 of my plants

And a couple of "fun facts" from the Denver Zoo (not that's not a typo, the zoo, not the Denver Botanical Garden)...

• this aloe can be difficult to successfully pollinate in cultivation
• most all the plants available in the U.S. are clones of a very small gene pool

So tell us what plant in your garden it is you're enjoying this first week of July...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude

Hellstrip Gardening, by Evelyn J. Hadden

This book is a long time in the making, I believe there were at least two earlier versions which were shelved. I eagerly anticipated them both and am happy to report that holding Hellstrip Gardening in my hands, reading the pages and devouring the photos, well, the wait was worth it.

While I question why anyone needs a front lawn I do understand long held beliefs take a while to change. So I’m hopeful the “Lawn Gone!” movement will continue to gain momentum but I think this book is the perfect introduction to the concept. What is addressed as the “last frontier” (you’ve planted up everything else, why not focus on the hellstrip?) could actually be the gateway garden to an entire removal of front yard lawn. Just imagine!

The Portland garden of Lance Wright (the next 3 photos) is featured in the book

Hersperaloe, agaves, palms...oh my!

Who wouldn't want a hellstrip this beautiful?

The first part of the book (Inspirations) shares 12 examples of “Curbside Gardens from Coast to Coast” each with luscious images and the story behind the garden. This section alone is worth the cost of the book!

Laura Crockett’s Portland Garden is one of those profiled: “Destruction comes with the territory in public garden areas, and Laura is philosophical about it…One year just before Mother’s Day, all her flowers were picked. Though she felt very hurt, she chose to imagine that the person who picked them needed a bouquet to give his or her mother. “I have to let go of things out there,” she says, “and it’s hard, but because it is a public space you cannot get too terribly upset about what happens there.”

Laura has a great attitude doesn't she? This idea of public space is why I've only planted yuccas in my hellstrip (I inherited the two trees), they're plants that bite back! My part of town has very narrow parking strips, and there is a park at the end of the street, that means a lot of traffic and a lot of feet in my hellstrip. The yucca can take it.

My narrow hellstrip

After you’re appropriately inspired by the first section Ms. Hadden covers “Challenges to Address, Obstacles to Overcome” (working with trees, laws and covenants, road maintenance and utilities, etc) and “Solutions for Designing, Building, and Managing a Curbside Garden.” Finally she wraps it all up with a listing of “Curbside-Worthy Plants” and suggests further reading.

The hellstrip garden of Lucy Hardiman, complete with an area rug by Jeffrey Bale

Another Jeffrey Bale creation at Nancyland

Are you curious? Well Timber Press has kindly agreed to give away a copy of Hellstrip Gardening to a lucky reader. If you’re interested simply comment on this post and let us know what you're doing with your hellstrip, I’ll chose a winner on July 6th and get in touch if you're the lucky one (I'll need to contact you to get your address, Timber will send the book directly to you).

Also you’ll want to click on over to the Timber Press website because there you can enter to win a copy of the book (yes you need two, give one to a friend!) AND a $250 nursery gift card. Who can’t use 250 worth of plants!? Oh and if you’re one of the lucky bloggers coming to the Portland Fling you’ll get to meet the author when we visit the Timber Press offices next Friday morning!

***And the winner (drawn by random number generator) is #8, Fifi!***

The extra-wide hellstrip garden of my plant lust partner Patricia
(and actually she's moved so I guess it's her ex-hellstrip garden)

Timber Press sent me a complimentary review copy of Hellstrip Gardening but I was under no obligation to write about it. All photos (except for the book cover) in this post are mine and not from the book. All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Opening your garden...

I’ve agreed to open my garden to the 80+ bloggers who will be in Portland next week for the Garden Bloggers Fling. I’ve always avoided opening my garden to groups, it’s just not how I want to experience a very personal space. However these aren’t strangers, most of them are friends who I would happily invite into my private space, it just so happens they’re showing up en masse.

Since agreeing to open I’ve been thinking a lot about how gardeners prepare for an “open garden”…of course most of them are focusing only on the garden. Whereas with my open I’m also part of a small group planning for the tour stops and needs of 80+ people over three and a quarter days. All of this was on my mind when I read this article in our local paper. I loved reading about how this couple was preparing for their open garden and naturally I had to check it in person.

Walking through this garden I came to realize I have a lesser need for embellishment than others do. This is not a judgmental statement, many of my favorite people adore ornamentation, the more the merrier. But I have a different response, it keys me up and makes me uneasy. Less is more for me in that regard. Of course my style of gardening (affectionately referred to as "crammit") probably puts many more people on edge. They look at the plants, imagine their mature size, and start to twitch with the need to grab the shovel and do a little "pruning." Ah well, to each their own.

This combination was breath-taking!

Ditto here.

The homeowners obviously put a lot of time and thought into this pathway. I enjoyed it immensely, in their garden.

I do have a soft spot for a pair of mossy lions.

Am I the only one who sees an owl above a compass?

My Callistemon viridiflorus stopped blooming a week ago. How did they manage to get theirs to hold onto a few blooms for the open garden? I want to be able to freeze frame on my plants looking good right now!

Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' (the powdery silver leafed plant), I can't wait for my gifted little seedlings to grow like this.

I have no doubt this makes the gardeners (homeowners) very happy. I just don't get it, it's that need for ornamentation thing. I'm obviously missing a few genes. I see space where there could be plants!

Thankfully all I had to do was turn to my right and there were several beautiful Eryngium giganteum...

I wanted to ask but the owners were deep in conversation with other visitors. Do you think that round is a new paver waiting to be dug into place? Are all the pavers that thick? Wow. That's a lot of work!

This is my favorite idea to steal from this garden. Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' and Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop' massed together, love it!

The garden was perched atop a very steep slope. They've done a great job of laying it out in such a way that it's all very livable.

I eavesdropped on a conversation about moving this bad-daddy into place. Made me nervous just listening.

Next to the deck off the back of the house was a gorgeous tetrapanax and stacked stone wall.

The short runs on that fence should tell you just how steep the property is.

The gate is ajar to the side yard. I didn't actually exit this way but retraced my steps back the way I came.

Below is the view on the other side of the fence. Because of my particular mindset I'm sure I looked at the garden with an inspectors eye uncommon to other visitors. I want to thank the homeowners for leaving a few minor imperfections in place. They kept it real but yet managed to also look polished, it's a delicate balance and I came away with a renewed appreciation for making it work. So have you ever opened your garden?

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.