Don’t plant this…

Earlier in the week a rare sun break in the nearly consistent downpour we’ve been enduring (wettest September on record!) had me on a leisurely dog walk around the neighborhood.

I was startled to see this…

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), have you heard of it? It’s not something you want to ever ever plant, or have a neighbor plant. I swear just last week these were not all here.

But they are very much here now, and will only be getting bigger.

This land is owned by Portland Public Schools, but has been sitting vacant for awhile. I see a forest in its future.

Want to learn more? Visit the blog Portland Tree Tour where Julie shares some frightening photos of this hideous tree.

What’s frightening you in your neighborhood?

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Finally a green wall I can keep an eye on…

A couple weeks back I opted for the quick and easy Thai take-out answer to the “what’s for dinner” question. After tossing the food in the car and heading for home I spotted this…

I imagine most people are probably over the concept of planting a green wall, but I’m still a little curious, mainly about how they weather the long haul. Since there aren’t any examples anywhere near me this was a welcome discovery.

It looks recently planted; things have yet to completely fill in.

Although the plantings are certainly lush as-is…

And it’s even lit for nighttime viewing! I’ll be keeping an eye on this one…

If you’re local and curious the installation is on the corner of NE Alberta and NE 26th, in Portland. The lone identifying sign was this…

Which points to this website, it’s not the most user friendly site but it is what it is.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Salvia discolor, my favorite plant in the garden this week…

Okay I cheated. I’ve been admiring the Salvia discolor for weeks and planned to feature it as “my fav,” but since I knew a big bad super-storm was coming over the weekend, and likely to destroy its delicate blossoms, I took these photos in advance.

It doesn’t look like this anymore. It, along with many other things in my garden, has been beaten into submission. But wow was it ever graceful, pre-storm.

Bought early this spring I’ve loved it since day one and honestly it’s only gotten better and better as it’s grown and flopped and twisted its way around the entire corner of this planting area.

Originally I lusted after it for the black flowers alone, however I’ve really come to appreciate the whorls of flower and foliage and their incremental placement up the sticky green stem.

The older stems are coated in white as are the undersides of the leaves.

This plant doesn’t shout for attention but just quietly draws me in. However if I want to enjoy it’s subtle charm s next year I’ll have to dig it and overwinter it indoors since it’s not hardy here in Portland. The stats:

• also known as Peruvian Black Sage or Andean Silver-Leaf Sage
• hardy to zone 9, it prefers well drained soil in full sun
• drought tolerant but appreciates occasional summer water
• grows to about 18” tall, 12” wide

I'd love to know what plant in your garden has caught your admiring eye this first week of October. Please share a link or story in the comments!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A visit to Sebright Gardens…

Last July when Andrew and I visited the Oregon Garden we drove right by Sebright Gardens. I really wanted to stop, but (1) There wasn’t time and (2) It was July, not the best time to buy a hosta! So when a friend suggested a visit in early September I jumped at the opportunity.

Blooming Caesalpinia gilliesii! (I hope mine blooms next year)

As luck would have it we ran into Thomas (one of the owners) who gave us a little behind the scenes tour. Have you ever seen so many hostas? And this was just a tiny part of what we saw!

Before we visited the sales area we had to wander through the display garden.

I wish I would have asked about the tree fern! How long has it been there? How do they protect it in the winter…

This scene gave me pause. If you look close that’s my beloved Clematis tibetana var. vernayi and it’s gotten a bit out of hand!

Those beautiful leaves belong to Quercus dentata ‘Pinnatifida’...

My current biggest plant crush.

Oh how I wish I could have bought this very one! (no, I don’t know how I’d get it home)

Okay, time to shop!

It wasn’t all hosta though, there were ferns…

Including this cute Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes).

And epimediums…

But the main draw is, of course, the hostas, no matter how ridiculous their names!

It figures ‘Andrew’ would be one of the expensive ones…

I’m usually pretty good at staying on task, but seriously…I was starting to get overwhelmed. I just needed two or three plants to replace a couple of older hostas I just didn’t love now that the hydrangea is gone and they’re more exposed.

Here’s what I’d come up with at this point. The two toned green leaves at the top belong to ‘Whirlwind’ – “Medium- Heavily textured, slightly twisted, very dark olive green leaves w/ white aging to lime green centers.” (all descriptions from Sebright) I wasn’t buying the white thing until I looked up this image.

The bright chartreuse leaves belong to ‘Little Sunspot’ – “Small- Thick, cupped bright gold leaves w/ irregular dark green margins & transitional streaking; Exceptional!” And finally on the right is ‘June.’ I fell for a sexy hosta at Wind Dancer last May, several commenters thought it was ‘June’ – thus when I saw it, I grabbed it. I hope this one grows up to be as remarkable. “Medium- Oh so pretty gold centers w/ blue margins & streaking; Excellent substance, truly outstanding! A Best!”

So that was three plants. But when I saw ‘Lakeside Cupcake’ I knew those thick quilted blue leaves (accented with that creamy center!) would look fabulous with my other blue-leaved hostas.

So let’s see that’s four hosta…and look! Two ferns also jumped in my cart… Pteris cretica 'Albo lineata' (White Striped Cretan) on the bottom shelf and that Phlebodium pseudoaureum (Blue Rabbit’s Foot Fern) was a steal.

You’d think I was done right? But then we wandered through an adjacent area and I started swooning over others…

I’m not a fan of the bright yellow/green leaf color; otherwise I would have bought ‘Jimmy Crack Corn’ just to say that name as many times as possible.

Big leaves!

Love the color variation on the sides…

Ditto.

After that little side jaunt I added ‘Dust Devil’ to my collection. A picture? No, sorry, didn’t take one and it’s raining too hard for me to go outside right now. Here’s the description “Large. Heavy textured, moderately wavy, dark green leaves w/ wide creamy yellow margins.”

So that’s how I came to buy 5 hostas (and 2 ferns, which are actually on marginally hardy side) when I only intended to buy 2 hosta. I am hoping by buying and planting the hostas now (rather than in the spring) they’ll be bigger and healthier come next year. How forward thinking of me! BTW if you’re in the area and thinking you might want to stop by Sebright do so soon and save 10%! (details here).

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.