It's only an experiment if you don't interfere...

Q. What's even worse than having temperatures suddenly drop into the low to mid 20's when you haven't even had a proper freeze?

A. When those temperatures are predicted for when you'll be out of town.

So it went for our Thanksgiving holiday away. As you know I've already moved most plants unable to tolerate an average Portland winter. Still there are a few experimental plants I chose to let be, knowing that if something drastic were to occur I'd jump into action and dig/protect them, or not - but of course that kind of last minute decision (based on the actual temperatures rather than the forecast) is not possible when you're not home.

In some cases - such as with this Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' - I planned no digging, but to let them live, or die, in place, on the off chance that things would be mild and I'd be rewarded with a bigger plant next spring. I took this photo before we left town last week.

This photo on Tuesday, December 1st. It's not as lush, but is hanging on.

Did you notice the Grevillea 'Ivanhoe' snuggled up against the Echium in the photos above? I seriously considered digging at least one of my three, but since they're theoretically hardy to 25F, and the lowest anyone was predicting was 23F I decided to just leave them and see what happened. Here's another one before...

And after...

Looking good! So just how cold did it get? According to the official temps we bottomed out at 24F on both Thursday Nov 26th and Monday Nov 30th - however my thermometer recorded a low of 28F. We are so close to the airport that it's rare for our temperatures to not match up, and I'd noticed some issues with the accuracy of our device last summer. I suspect it was probably closer to 24F here, if only briefly, and thankfully there were a couple of prior nights at 32F, or slightly lower, to help put things to sleep.

One of my major concerns were the many Echium wildpretii in the front garden. The temps were right on the border of potential life or death - I couldn't wait to see how they did. Before....

After

Before

After

Before

After (a few singed tips)

Before

After, well, one of them. This one shows the most damage, interesting that it's a first year plant as opposed to the others which overwintered last year in protected containers.

Grevillea 'Superb', before...

And after...

I came close to digging this one but just honestly ran out of time.

Acanthus sennii, before...

And after...so much for seeing those blooms open.

Leucadendron 'Silvan Red'...I meant to write about this guy over the summer but never did. Something I picked up at Cistus and put in the ground just because I wanted to. Hardy to Zone 9.

It was unfazed by the cold.

As was the Melianthus major 'Antonow's Blue'. although it did look a little deflated early Tuesday morning.

I did completely forget about this Begonia luxurians ...

And the Passiflora jamesonii 'Coral Seas' foliage is toast, although perhaps the roots are still alive?

What remained of the Passiflora 'Sunburst' vines were already looking bad even before the cold, I'd cut them at the base and dug the plant to overwinter inside (it's only hardy to Zone 10).

I did however leave behind the volunteer that came up from last year's roots. It still looks good! And yes, that's a Echinocactus grusonii (Golden Barrel Cactus) in the basement, visible through the window.

Another Echium (E. fastuosum), I completely forgot about this one, not that I would have dug it anyway.

Parts aren't looking good, but overall I'm impressed!

That lush little Saxifraga, dead center of the photo below (S. taygetea 'Rotundifolia') was labeled as USDA Zone 10, I planted it out anyway and look! It's okay.

Bottom center, Echeveria secunda - bought at Cistus Nursery, they say: "This high elevation collection has been frost hardy so far to as low as 12F!"...

And so far so good! (this is just one of multiples in my garden, they all look this good)

I neglected to do anything about the plants in the stock tank pond, the Peltandra virginica should be hardy to USDA Zone 5, and only the top inch or so of water froze. We shall see...

The Asparagus densiflorus 'Myers' I thought might be a gonner looks fine...

Finally there is this...one of my Tetrapanax made it through the cold still threatening to bloom. The next week brings much milder temperatures, maybe???

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Wednesday Vignettes - A chilly holiday weekend in Spokane, Washington

Sunny skies and cold temperatures made for a beautiful backdrop to a long Thanksgiving weekend spent with family in Eastern Washington. While out sightseeing on Friday Andrew and I stopped for a walk along the Spokane river as it runs through downtown...

I'm usually a stickler for my Wednesday Vignette posts being a single vignette, so I'm cheating big time by sharing more than one image. I didn't want to stretch the visit out longer than necessary - so just think of this as multiple vignettes in one blog post!

While staring at the water (above) I noticed movement off to the side. Two deer came down to the grassy area and found something to feed on. There must be just enough of a natural "cushion" along the river to allow them to come and go as they please without walking on the city streets.

Like Portland, there are several bridges that connect the two sides of Spokane. Above we saw the Post Street bridge, below the Monroe Street bridge: "built in 1911 by the city of Spokane [it] was designed by John Chester Ralston with ornamentation provided by the firm of Kirtland Kelsey Cutter and Karl Malmgren. At the time of completion it was the largest concrete-arch bridge in the United States and the third longest in the world." (source)

And the Spokane County Courthouse. When I was a kid my parents led me to believe it was Mother Goose's castle.

Spokane was host for the 1974 World's Fair. This was the first "EXPO" with an environmental theme and Spokane was the smallest city to date to host a World's Fair. As a kid the event was huge, a big party for the world right in my own backyard. Below you can see the IMAX theater building and the framework for the former U.S. Pavilion. At the time of the fair there was a canvas cover on the pavilion, now it's open to the sky and underneath is a ice skating rink that's great fun in the wintertime.

There was a little snow left from an earlier storm. Since I was woefully unprepared (still wearing my canvas slip-ons) I was thankful it was clear and dry while we were there.

Finally, the image I intended as my "vignette"...Yucca on the river bank with downtown Spokane in the background. Wednesday Vignettes is hosted at Flutter & Hum.

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The Poinsettia Challenge is on!

As with my change of heart on ornamental cabbage and kale I remember the exact moment that I realized Poinsettias have potential. It’s when I saw this…

It's the work of Justine Hand, and it appeared on Gardenista last December. I was instantly smitten!

Inspired by this gorgeous display, it’s time to take the Poinsettia out of the grocery store, unbind it from the garish foil wrapper and let it shine!

Well, unless foil and glitter is your idea of beauty in which case….more foil! More glitter! Just no office-cubicle Poinsettia that has been (barely) living-on stale air and florescent lights for 5 years since that great office party when you finally hooked up with the, oh wait. Sorry. Family blog…

Anyway… like last time I’m counting on you to come up with your interpretation of a Poinsettia display done right…

Does that mean a cut flower arrangement? Great! (just make sure you read the tip about searing the stem on that Gardenista post! “A seared poinsettia stem will prevent the sap from bleeding, and still will allow the plant to draw water”).

Does that mean potted plants en masse? Super!

Are you one of the lucky birds who lives somewhere that Poinsettia can go outside? Do it!

The goal here is pretty much the same as last time, take the lowly grocery store "token Christmas plant" into the modern era and give it a new look, a designy twist. For a little Poinsettia inspiration I visited Marbotts Nursery in NE Portland, they've got a beautiful selection, every size and (natural) color...

(there's one in every crowd - that's a branch too, not a separate plant)

The challenge is on as of today! Send your image to spiky plants at gmail dot com (***update: please include a little info on your entry, a title if you want...a line or two telling us what it's all about***). The contest will close on Christmas Eve, I’ll post the entries during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. During that time the judges will get together (as schedules permit) and the winner will (hopefully) be announced the first week of January. I'm still trying to track down a suitable prize, I've got an idea but it's proving a little harder to find than I imagined....stay tuned for more on that...

And just in case you're wondering...the Poinsettia's botanical name is Euphorbia pulcherrima and grows to be a tall shrub/small tree (3-15 ft tall, 3-7 ft wide) in Mexico and Central America. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, poinsettia plants are not a poisonous plant. A Ohio State University study showed that a 50 pound child could eat 500 bracts and might have a slight stomach ache. However, the white sap can have allergic properties, especially for people who have latex allergies." Still - it's probably better to keep your kids, and pets, from munching down on your Poinsettia display, fix them a nice salad instead.

Oh, who are our judges you ask? The opinionated bunch from last time will be returning (Nathan, Heather and Wes) and (drum roll) the talented Kate Blairstone will be joining us this time! Kate (in her own words) creates "badass floral illustration and design" and she's also "a gardener, textile hoarder and printmaker" plus she's a social media whiz and a way cool lady. You really should click on this link to see her stunning work.

Now I'm busy purchasing my Poinsettias and dreaming up my mantle display which I'll share next week. I can't wait to see what you do!

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.