A June visit to Cistus Nursery...

Earlier in the month, while I was away (playing in Toronto), things got hot in Portland. What's a gardener without an irrigation system to do but depend on a kindhearted and capable friend? Naturally there needs to a a suitable reward for such efforts and that's why Patricia and I were pulling into the Cistus Nursery parking lot one morning last week...

A bloom covered Genista aetnensis was there to welcome us...

Along with a gorgeous Bupleurum fruticosum, Patricia and I both agreed we need one. But only one of us actually has room in the garden to plant one (and I bet you can guess which one that is).

Dunno, but I want it.

Does anything say "summer in the sun" quite as well as blooming California poppies?

Romneya coulteri

There's no room in my garden for this one either. Good thing I can visit the ones at Cistus!

Stipa barbata

Not quite at it's most wonderful bloom state yet, but it's close!

Caesalpinia gilliesii, it turns out both of mine overwintered just fine last year. No blooms yet but they're alive and that's enough for me!

A sight that always makes my plant-lusting heart beat a little bit faster...

And it just gets better as we start to shop (SHOP!)....

Only $495 and this big, beautiful, Dasylirion wheeleri could be yours!

I always have to pay my respects to this big Schefflera delavayi.

And mourn the fact I don't have room for a Fremontodendron.

Here's what I was hoping to find! Aralia cordata 'Sun King'...

Do you hold little beauty contests when deciding which plant to buy? I got the one on the right.

Cornus alba 'Hessei'

This is paradise, right?

Patricia fell pretty hard for this Schefflera delavayi, can you blame her?

Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca', I think. And I want.

There were many blooming Yucca rostrata all around the nursery.

I know many people don't like Yucca blooms. I don't understand why!

Salpiglossis sinuata 'Royal Mix'

Agave gracilipes

We toured through a few of the growing greenhouses too. It's been a long time since I saw a blooming Phormium.

These little Eryngium flowers were perfection.

Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Atropurpureum', I believe.

This guy was not happy to be inside the greenhouse and was darting about wildly. I was sure it was going to land in my hair, which would have not been okay. Thankfully he did not.

Don't you just want to pinch these?

This poor guy got kicked out of the greenhouse, probably started a fight.

So much good stuff!!!

It's always a good day to visit Cistus! Oh and what did Patricia get? Well I gave you a hint, and if you're curious you'll want to read her post tomorrow over on the plant lust blog.

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

That certain “je ne sais quoi”...

Last winter, out on a long walk, I passed a garden with several of my "trigger" plants. You know the ones, they’re unusual and typically a sign that you’ve stumbled upon a kindred spirit. I lifted my camera and tried to frame a shot. The Edgeworthia, with its fat buds. No, no it just wasn’t right. But that Manzanita! No. I couldn’t make it work. And on and on. They were all healthy, nicely grown, but the garden was just lacking. I walked away with a puzzle. How could there be so many cool plants, but no soul?

I’m still at a loss, but at least I remembered a phrase from my high school French classes. The garden was lacking a certain “je ne sais quoi”...it had all the right pieces but as a whole it just wasn't speaking to me. While touring through the many gardens on the Toronto Islands I came upon a garden that, for a reason I can't quite put my finger on, had that certain something. It was small, but I could have spent an hour exploring it.

At the "streetside" (do you call it a street when no cars travel on it?) entrance to the garden there was a group of rusty chairs supporting bright green foliage.

Overall the garden had an abundance of foliage and just a few blooms...

I should have asked for ID on this little guy. Anyone know what it is?

And that bright green conifer on the right! It manages to convey the look of a Foxtail Fern but of course is much hardier.

Just a very lightly traveled path to the front door.

It looked like most visitors knew to go around to the side of the house.

That's where I discovered this structure that I immediately wanted to emulate. I believe they're rusted metal wreath forms.

How wonderful for growing a vine on!

I'm on the hunt!

I didn't think to ask about the origins of that concrete box on which all of those plants were growing. I just thought it was fabulous.

Yes, there were Alliums.

And a matching Azalea, at least that's what I think it is.

That's a big bench for such a little fellow.

This is a very Pacific Northwest color scheme, don't you think?

Which reminds me...in the gardening section of the used bookstores we visited there were always books specifically about gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Titles I hadn't previously discovered. Curious, no?

I'd already fallen in love with the garden when I spied that spiky houseplant collection through the window.

A stand very much like this one (if not exactly like this one) stood on my grandparents back porch for years.

Because I am absolutely horrible with names I've forgotten this lady's name, she is the creator of this splendid garden. Also - this is a better view of the cement structure I should have asked about.

If this were in my garden I can't help but imagine plastic animals and and cowboys would show up here on occasion. Playing out some seen that originated in my husband's imagination.

I final look at the front of the garden an I was off to see more of the island. But was very happy to have stumbled upon this garden that really spoke to me...

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