Introducing The Point Pot "A Modern Planter for Modern Times" — from Potted

You know I love me a great container and I've been watching this one take shape on Instagram — via the feeds of Potted, as well as that of the designer, Dustin Gimbel.

Naturally when Annette, at Potted, emailed me info on the official release, well I pounced! I missed visiting Potted when I was in L.A. (so sad, but I have been there several times before...2012, 2014, 2015), but I happen to know this very cool pot is made right here in Portland (keeping it West Coast local!) and Annette hooked me up...

Even better I learned it's pre-drilled to be hung. I mean I like the tabletop use, but I'm always on the lookout for a clever hanging design...

From the official press release: "Dustin walked into our shop 11 years ago with a laptop full of his amazing gardens and an enthusiasm for his craft that was infectious," says Annette from Potted. "Then when he started experimenting with ceramics, we knew he was on to something. So over a very good Italian dinner we all played with the prototype he had brought Mary and I of The Point Pot. As we talked (and drank) our enthusiasm over all the ways it could be displayed got so boisterous it carried over to the table next door. But instead of being annoyed, our neighbors were soon also convinced that this was the coolest planter they'd ever seen." Can't you just picture it?

And don't you love the speckles in the Vanilla Bean color option? (it also comes in Pacific Blue and Sea Spray Green)

I must admit though I was a bit stumped when I paused and thought about the fact it is still winter. A very cold and windy winter. This baby ain't gonna be hanging outside anytime soon and there's no way the other owner of this house is going to let me put a hook in the ceiling. Where to put it? Ah, bedroom window corner to the rescue!

Fancy! (it's temporary right?)

Initially I wanted to plant it up with some nice bright "sticks on fire" (Euphorbia tirucalli, to play nice with the orange bed linens) but of course I couldn't find any locally. I settled on Kalanchoe tomentosa 'Chocolate Soldier'...

I think it was a good choice.

It was ridiculously difficult to take a photo into the bright outdoor light and not have the room itself be a dark cave. I tried.

I like this view of the Point Pot, with Clifford's (the Magnolia macrophylla) bare branches just outside the window. Especially since that's where it will be hanging in a few short months. And since the only drainage hole is located roughly 8" up from the point at the bottom that means this can become a hanging vase too. I'm very excited about the possibilities.

Want to know more? Here's the listing on Potted's website (while you're there be sure to check out this sneak peek of their new book from Timber Press). If you're curious to see more of Dustin Gimbel's work click on over to these posts on A Growing Obsession: here and here, hmmm, maybe next time I visit Los Angeles I can get a tour of his garden...

Weather Diary, February 5: Hi 46, Low 34/ Precip 2.04" rain

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The Green Goddess, a nursery visit

Just up the street a couple of miles (from my brother's house in Phoenix) is The Green Goddess, I managed to pay a visit last October...

They're on a very busy street (6 lanes worth of traffic), but still have a sweet little display garden out front.

As you enter it's container madness!

Funny most of the glazed pots were under shade cloth, while most of the plants were not.

I saw these Pachypodium shortly after Alan had posted about his blooming...

They were gorgeous!

Agave bracteosa (5gal for $90)

I've never seen one with such a tight "up-do" in the center...(must be trying to shade the newly emerging leaves?)...

So many boxed Cactus!

The label said Cardboard palm, what a sad name.

Cycas circinalis (it was huge, with a huge price tag of $525).

Yucca rostrata ($425)

Agave bovicornuta? (couldn't find a label)

Aloe ramosissima (25gal, $500)

Furcraea sellowiana

Lest you think it was all spikes and thorns they had leafy plants too...

Like this Caesalpinia pulcherrima.

There was a humongous bird house in the center of the nursery.

Some of them looked great, while it was obvious others weren't doing so well. I'm not going to share the sad photos.

Hey guess what, birds bite!

Yep.

Agave geminiflora

Love the little blue guys with their arms up in the air.

This is not a happy Agave parryi.

Agave colorata, in the front.

Agave weberi, look ma...no teeth!

Did I mention there were plenty of Agaves?

Agave pygmae, quite attractive...

I think that's Agave desmettiana 'Quicksilver'...

Agave Ferdinand-Regis

No label, I think it's Agave gypsophila?

And now for something completely different.

Completely.

And not in a good way.

You were warned...

It seemed painted to match their odd metal flower sculptures. Ugh.

If you must have "garden art" maybe just stick to the rusted metal?

Weather Diary, February 2: Hi 39, Low 32/ Precip trace

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias, a book review

Boy can I procrastinate! The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias, by Andrew Bunting, came out last spring — which is when the fine folks at Timber Press sent me a review copy...

The book sat on top of the "read" pile next to the sofa for months. All spring and summer it seemed too decadent to page through such a lush, bloom-filled book — after all I had my garden to play in! I saved it until fall. Then I got busy...then winter happened...over and over and over again. Finally, during one of our ice-storms, I picked it up and quickly got lost in the pages. Just between you and me I started fantasizing about what Magnolia(s) I would plant if space were to suddenly open up in the garden because of the ice damage (there may even be a list).

So as I've written before, I have a serious case of Magnolia lust. I would plant a Magnolia forest if I had the space. Instead I have just two, Magnolia macrophylla, with the largest flowers and foliage...

And Magnolia laevifolia, with the smallest.

Thanks to reading the book I now know there are Magnolia macrophylla "used to great effect on the High Line in New York City" (gives me another reason to visit) and that it's native to "Ohio and Kentucky south to Georgia and west to Arkansas and Louisiana." Magnolia laevifolia (the garden rock-star formerly known as Michelia yunnanensis and Magnolia dianica) comes from China.

The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias is part of a series from Timber Press, each focusing on a particular kind of plant. So far there are twelve: Geraniums, Primulas, Clematis, Asters, Epimediums, Ferns, Tulips, Snowdrops, Dahlias, Salvias, Sedums, and of course Magnolias. The author of this book, Andrew Bunting, is the assistant director of the Chicago Botanical Garden — but it was during his 26 years at Scott Arboretum, of Swarthmore College, that his "passion for the genus really exploded."

In the "Designing with Magnolias" section of the book (other sections include Why I Love Magnolias, Understanding Magnolias, 146 Magnolias in the Garden, and Growing and Propagating) there are handy lists of Magnolias by flowering times ("Depending on the cultivar or species, and the area of the world where you live, you can find a magnolia in flower every month of the year"...tempting if you have the space, no?), and later for fragrance. This beauty, Magnolia foveolata 'Shibamichi', is evergreen and said to smell of canned pears...

Magnolia foveolata 'Shibamichi' photo credit Richard Figlar — taken from The Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias© Copyright 2016 by Andrew Bunting. All rights reserved. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher.

 
This "relatively new evergreen Asian species," Magnolia yuyuanensis, shows up on a list of good choices for specimen trees...

Magnolia yuyuanensis photo credit Andrew Bunting — taken from The Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias© Copyright 2016 by Andrew Bunting. All rights reserved. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher.

 
There are also lists of evergreen Magnolias for small spaces, those good for hedges or screening, tight spaces, those with attractive fruit, and on and on. But of course it's not just a book of lists! The lists are set apart from the informative (and easy to read) text in high-lighted boxes. Many reference-type books these days are eclipsed by the sheer volume of information available on the internet — but to find that data you need to know what your looking for. Picking up this book you're holding in your hands a wealth of useful information on Magnolias, many of which you've probably never even heard of.

In the section "146 Magnolias for the garden," you get detailed pages like this one on Magnolia 'Black Tulip' (on my lust list, by the way)...I love having all that info right there with a photo and being able to page back and forth and compare sizes, flowering times, and whether or not they're evergreen.

Taken from The Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias© Copyright 2016 by Andrew Bunting. All rights reserved. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher.

 
The book wraps-up with a list of "Places to Buy" (Oregon represents with five sources listed, including Cistus Nursery and Gossler Farms) and another of "Where to See" — gardens and arboretums around the world, ones that have a sizable Magnolia collection. On the list is our local Hoyt Arboretum, the first place I ever laid eyes on the massive leaves of M. macrophylla. I am thrilled to add this book to my library and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for these gorgeous trees and wants to learn more about them.

Magnolis figo var. crasspipes 'Purple Queen' photo credit JC Raulston Arboretum — taken from The Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias© Copyright 2016 by Andrew Bunting. All rights reserved. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher.

 
Here's something you may not have known...Hardy Plant Society of Oregon members and Pacific Horticultural Society members both get 35% off the price all books from Timber Press, plus all purchases over $50 ship free. Kinda makes you want to be come a member doesn't it?

Weather Diary, February 1: Hi 41, Low 35/ Precip .01

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude

Wednesday Vignette, ropes

Working my way under the (dead) Acacia dealbata, and around the (sideways) Grevillea austalis, to get to the Hamamelis x intermedia 'Rochester' (Monday's vase) I stopped to admire the stock tank pond. There was still a thin layer of ice, which caused all the rope-like stems of the Aeschynomene fluitans (Giant Sensitive Fern) up on top of the "water"

Kind of Octopus-like, don't you think?

Ropes, giant ropes. Perhaps reaching out to ensnare us...if we're not paying attention. But we're all paying attention. Right?

Weather Diary, January 31: Hi 41/ Low 33/ Precip.02
January ended as the coldest month since December 1985, and the coldest January since 1979

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.