It’s a bit of a gloomy game…

But I can’t stop. I find myself looking around the garden and wondering which of my plants will still be alive come spring.

What about you Mr. Hardy Dyckia? Are you really? Or are you just another spiky poser intent on breaking my heart?And you Ms. Grevillea? You’ve claimed this area as yours, will you make good on that claim, or turn brown and retreat?What will the coming winter bring? Experiencing back to back horrid winters I’m a little gun shy heading into this one. This spring I started off buying and planting being very careful to stay on the low side of the zone scale.

While we are thought to be a solid zone 8 I vowed to stay with the 7’s and lower. Like my Manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Harmony'), it should be hardy to a low zone 7.

But naturally as the horror of last winter started to fade I started to lean back towards my usual zonal denial. For example I planted a Melianthus major knowing full well that it is only marginally hardy here. Will it make it through the winter?

As you enter the back garden your eye is drawn to its sharply toothed large blue leaves, it will be missed should it go away. The same for this Echium….

Naturally there are a couple Agaves that snuck into the ground, against my better judgement. Like this Agave parryi truncata….

And these Agave americana (from the in-laws in New Mexico). They were outgrowing their containers and I decided to free them. Have I also sentenced them to death?

These Puya were a bargain (cheaper than most annuals). I planted them knowing it wasn’t likely they wouldn’t live through the winter. But still a girl can hope. I hope.

Remember the Opunita that I got from a generous neighbor? They’ve grown! Several new paddles and a couple of blooms too! Will they live?

I’m not just going through this mental exercise in my own garden. I’ve also been watching things in new gardens being planted around town this fall. I see things going in that I know won’t make it through even the best of our winters, let alone ones like the last couple.

At first I wondered “what are they thinking!” And then I began to question how many new gardeners understand how to sift through the plants available at the local nursery and determine what’s hardy and what’s not?

Do nurseries do an adequate job of educating people on what should be hardy in their climate vs. what "might be", and what doesn’t stand a chance? Is that even their responsibility?

A few days ago I was carrying on (the things my husband has to put up with!), wondering why someone would plant a certain Echeveria in the ground in Portland in September; after all it’s just going to die! My husband pointed out that he would. If he walked into the nursery and saw that plant for sale he would assume he could put it in the ground here, not knowing that it may not be hardy.

Maybe he’s right, and it’s an unfortunate learning curve for new gardeners. But I should know better. I should be aware of the clues on the plant tag that tell me this could be another heartbreak. What’s my excuse? Why do I keep flirting with disaster?

Do you have cotton-mouth Mr. Caterpillar?

In my recent post about Verbascum I quoted from the book Weeds of the West..... “livestock will not eat the plant because of its woolliness” Well evidently caterpillars don’t have the same issues that livestock do. Damn caterpillar.

Fall 2010 HPSO Sale wrap-up

Well those of you who bet I’d come home with a few plants were correct. After all there were so many special plants to choose from! (incase you can’t read the print on the orange sign above it says “Special Plants for special people").

I wasn’t being disingenuous last week when I said I might not buy anything at the Fall HPSO Sale. I’m in a mood. Where others see fall and all its beauty, I sometimes forget that and only see that which comes next (WINTER). I didn't feel like subjecting new plant friends to the evil grasp of the Winter Warlock.

But the joy of shopping on a warm fall day took over and I bought a few things, five things actually: a test subject, a duplicate, an addition to a collection, and a pair of sexy new acquaintances. But before I introduce you let’s take a very quick spin around the sale.

The first interesting thing that caught my eye was this Shishi botan, Farfugium.

It looked like lettuce.

There were a few chuckles when we saw this Ratibida or Mexican Hat.

What beautiful color! My Mahonia infatuation continues. They have so many different looks.

And speaking of infatuation…my ability to resist the big leaved Rhododendrons is slipping away. Every time I see one I get closer to buying. The HPSO spring sale might be the final straw. For now I resisted.

And going to the other end of the spectrum this Rhododendron stenopetalum linearifolium is equally appealing.

Surprisingly a couple of conifers tempted me. I’ve always loved the coloration on this one (sorry to busy talking to remember to get the name).

And this Himalayan Pine! Not only is it a beauty with its subtle yellow/green variegation but it is so so soft!

There were a few agaves in attendance. Not nearly as many as at the spring sale.

I meant to go back and pick up one of these. It’s obviously not a plant you want to carry around with you. I completely forgot about it until I saw these pictures!

Looks like I might be making a trip out to Hana Farms to pick it up. Which actually might work to my advantage (assuming he didn’t sell out at the sale) because he’s closing the nursery and as of the 23rd everything is 30% off. This is sad news, his booth was one I always enjoyed visiting at the shows.

Okay, the new plants….

the test subject

A small $4 Acacia pravissima. I’ll kep my larger one in a container where I can protect it during any freak cold snaps and put this little guy in the ground. We’ll see how that goes.

the duplicate

I had regretted only buying on of this gorgeous Dyckia hybrid, Burgundy Ice at the YGP Show in the spring. Now I have two!

the addition to a collection

An Eryngium proteiflorum (that’s it above with the Dyckia too). This one turned out to be a major score! And I just bought it because I love Eryngiums and didn’t have this one. Little did I know that the blooms look like this!...

Bloom photos borrowed from: http://jehuite.blogspot.com/

According to Annie’s Annuals: A rare, STUNNING Eryngium from Mexico that bears very large, silvery white, Protea-like blooms on erect, multi-branching stems, 3’ to 5’ tall. Lustrous, jagged-edged, silvery foliage, too. Thrives in poor, dry, well-drained soil & fab in a container. Incredible cut flower fresh or dried.

I may just put it in a container like they suggest. All the better to give it that “dry, well-drained soil” it wants.

the pair of sexy new acquaintances

Phlebodium pseudoaureum or Blue Fern. I first saw these in someone else’s hands at the sale. I was curious.

And very excited when I found them and saw they weren’t too expensive and they should grow here in the ground (zone 8-10). Crazy foliage!

That’s my wrap up. So if you went, what did you buy?

Another neighborhood walk-about

Returning from the first dog walk of the day my husband was full of enthusiasm about some small electric-blue flowers in a nearby parking strip. He was so adamant that they were worth seeing that when it came time for a later dog walk I remembered to head that direction and take the camera. Can you see them? If he had told me they were common little Lobeila the plant snob in me probably wouldn’t have bothered to have a look, I’m glad he didn’t know. They were worth seeing; little electric splashes in a dirt brown strip. The kind of unexpected surprise the makes me smile.Just up the street a bit is this tree, I love its cool cartoon shape. This is what my photo assistant does while I snap the pictures, it’s a tough gig but the pay is good (free room and board).
I’ve blogged before about a crazy haunted house with a brick planter full of Dracunculus vulgaris out front. Someone seems to have thinned them out a bit since my last visit, all the better to appreciate the colorful seeds. My friend Erin bought one of these plants at the HPSO sale over the weekend (yes I bought a couple of things too...more on that tomorrow) and a helpful fellow shopper told her she could very easily propagate more plants by planting the seeds from the pod in the fall. Have any of you had success with them?
I love these luscious large Datura blossoms. CORRECTION....make that Brugmansia (thanks for catching that one ricki!)
I missed them in the garden this year. Next year I'll be investing in a good size plant early in the season.
I did start Amaranth seeds this spring. Mine never amounted to anything. Seeing these makes me want to give it a go again next year.
Somewhere under the Ivy is the rest of this house. Yikes.
Verbascum seedlings taking hold between the street and the curb. Free apples! Oh wait...no only 'apple,' does that mean you can only take one?

I passed.

Lastly I tried to get a picture of this grass that would show you the beautiful shimmering patterns that I see every evening. I failed to capture the true beauty.

Still, looking through this post one thing is obvious. Fall is here. There I've said it. The calendar even says 3 more days of Summer! But I am conceding the loss now, besides I bought two new sweaters this weekend which I am excited to wear.