Visiting the other Rolling Greens, and rediscovering plantlife

Even now, three and a half months later, these photos seem otherworldly to me...

On January 16th I left this...

And just a few short hours later was walking around and looking at this.

Giddy does not even begin to describe how I was feeling.

My world had been white and ice covered, now I was walking (in cloth shoes, with no socks!) among green, living plants. California might as well of been heaven, that's how I felt that afternoon.

I had just a tiny window of time after landing at LAX, to get the rental car and speed off to meet Andrew and company east of LA, in Montebello. I scanned any possible location to get a bit of green and came up with Rolling Greens in Culver City. Just 7 miles from the rental car pick up...YES! Plus I'd visited the other Rolling Greens last year, so I had an idea what I might find (high end, well cared for plants).

Centaurea ragusina, icy, yet very much full of life.

Agaves!

Prices didn't matter, I walked around dazed and confused. Not thinking about what I might take home, because how could I subject any of these beauties to the horrors of winter in Portland? (yes, I quickly got over that the next day)

Agave desmettiana...

Agave desmetiana 'Joe Hoak

Agave attenuata, maybe 'Kara's Stripes'...

Oh how I wanted to live here. Part of me still does. Part of me is happy back in Portland.

Aeonium 'kiwi' (I think).

This crazy thing! See the label on one of it's spikes?

Agave 'overgrown'...that's not a commonly seen botanical name, the price indicates it might be fairly rare.

Great spikes though!

Oh, and its sibling was blooming...

I'm convinced these are weeds in this part of the world.

Building? What building?

They had a few containers.

Oh good lord no. Glossy glued rocks? No.

Time was getting late, I needed to be leaving and they were about to close (only open till 4pm), still I had to peek inside...

FAUX, behind the sign...

Lots of FAUX...

This however, not FAUX.

So many Bromeliads...

And more containers.

Lots of them.

But my heart was about to burst at the thought of it all. I hopped in the car, window cracked, sunglasses on, and joined the rest of humanity on the Santa Monica Freeway, headed east to see my husband...

Weather Diary, May 1: Hi 54, Low 41/ Precip .01"

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

In a Vase on Monday, where oh where has my inspiration gone?

I blame winter. Oh and our miserably cold and wet spring. Maybe you've noticed, I just can't get inspired to put together a Monday vase. Initially I thought it was because so much of my garden was in distress, but thinking it through further, and running out between showers to cut for this vase, I think it's because it has been so wet. We had more rainy days this winter than ever before, and when it comes to spring? Well..."Since Mar. 1 — the start of meteorological spring — Portland has seen rain 47 of 57 days"... so when there is a freak dry day who wants to spend it cutting and putting together a vase? I've got REAL gardening to do.

So I made myself pick a vase, grab some clippers, and make it happen...

This gifted NOID Lewisia has been blooming its hot-pink (impossible to photograph) flowers for a few days now. I do see them when returning from a dog walk, but still thought it would be nice to admire them "up-close"...

There are acid-green Euphorbia blooms all over the place, I cut a few of them. And then washed them to get the icky aphids off.

The new growth on on the Mahonia x media 'Charity' is outstanding.

I cut a couple of leaves that were a little further along.

I also cut stems of Ceanothus 'Dark Star'...

Persicaria runcinata 'Purple Majesty'

Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'

And Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Hindwarf'

The naked stems of Sophora prostrata 'Little Baby’ (hopefully leaves will reappear soon...) were going to provide structural interest, but I couldn't quite make that happen. Instead they became a natural "chicken wire" to hold everything in position in the vase.

So much color! It's a little unnerving actually.

But I like it.

It's good to flex the "vase" muscle again.

The Ajuga didn't make it into the main vase, so I pulled out my green "frog" and did a secondary arrangement with just those stems.

Both small vases are on the dining table...

Our weather has been playing much nicer the last few days. I've actually spent back to back days working in the garden. Hopefully I can get back to putting together, and sharing, inspired vases again. In the mean time you can always find them over on Rambling in the Garden, where Cathy hosts all those who post about their vases on Monday. Play with your plants!

Weather Diary, April 30: Hi 60, Low 45/ Precip .01"

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