danger garden

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mr. Big gets a new home…

Last winter I promised my oldest and largest (although it’s in danger of losing that part of its title unless it puts on some serious growth this summer) agave, Mr. Big, a new home come warmer weather. Exactly what that home would be was in question until I determined what his root system was like. He’s been in the same tall metal container since 2007, it was starting to rust out in places so I thought getting him out would be an easy matter. I was wrong. Out came the angry tools, a metal handled flat edge screw driver and a mini sledge hammer. This project became serious.

About 10 minutes into the job I heard a voice, the voice sounded a lot like Heather (the most safety conscious and prepared person I know) “I see you’re being very careful to avoid those agave spikes…”

“…but have you even considered the rusty metal edges you could cut yourself on? And when exactly was your last tetanus shot?” Yikes! All of a sudden I felt like I was earning my blog name on this project alone...

So let’s just thank Heather and say I was very careful. No blood was drawn and Mr Big (Agave americana 'Variegata') broke free.

There were a few thick pup producing growths (see the fourth photo above) but all in all his roots were pretty minimal. I potted him up in a big black plastic nursery pot and placed him inside a tall green container I scored from my friend Bridget.

I’d planned to leave this container empty, you know, because empty containers make a statement. Evidently not in my garden. Empty just wasn’t possible.

He didn't get planted directly in the container because I very much want to keep Mr. Big alive over the coming winters and the pot with in the pot will allow us to easily (relatively speaking) remove him and keep him under cover when the weather turns. Now I had to come up with a way to hide the rim of the black plastic pot…I won't be able to put up with seeing that for very long.

Andrew suggested burlap. I liked the naturalness of it, and the color goes well with the fence. Plus I have several weathered (mildewed) pieces from attempts at winter protection. I can’t say I love it, but it’s better than the black plastic and I've sense added a bit of Tillandsia usneoides too, which is odd but fun. Do you have any ideas?

Friday, May 23, 2014

Trachycarpus fortunei is my favorite plant in the garden (this week)...

This week's favorite, my Trachycarpus fortunei, has been in the ground for 4 years, in a container for a couple before that. And why is it my favorite this week? It finally actually looks like it's becoming a palm TREE!

When we first moved to Portland, and I started to notice palms around town, their hairy trunks were a little off-putting.

But as I've become accustomed to the shag it seems perfectly natural, especially in the winter when it looks like they're wearing a warm sweater. For those who don't like the look you can strip them, as shown in this post from Mark & Gaz at Alternative Eden.

We planted our palm to mirror the one our neighbor John planted against his house...

Of course that was years ago and that palm (John no longer lives there) is now over the roof...

This is my only Trachycarpus fortunei, although I have two Trachycarpus wagnerianus, one of which you see in this photo...

The stats on Trachycarpus fortunei

hardy in USDA Zones 7-11
likes sun but is okay with partial sun, not drought tolerant
evergreen and reaches an eventual height of 15' -30' (depending on who you listen to, and no doubt the climate of where it's planted)
native to to central China, south to northern Burma and northern India
flowers are yellow (male) and greenish (female), with male and female flowers produced on separate trees - my neighbors tree blooms yellow, mine has yet to bloom

That's my fav...what's looking good in your garden this week? Please tell us about it!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Hover Dish planters from Pot, Inc. (how excited am I?)

The brightly colored Hover Dish hanging planters from Pot, Inc. have created quite a stir. They’re good looking and functional, two things that are surprisingly hard to find together in a hanging container, thus I’ve gushed about them repeatedly. I still can’t quite believe it but I am the lucky recipient of a Dolga pot (in limon) and a Flango pot (in nemo) courtesy of Pot, Inc…

Even though I’ve seen these in person I was a little surprised by how big they were when I unpacked them here at home. Like when you see the sofa in the furniture showroom and think “that’s about the right size” and when you get it home you realize your living room is not a furniture showroom. Clearly these were meant to hang in only one place and that was under the shade pavilion…

Perfect! The only problem is there isn’t a lot of light under there, so what to plant them up with? I chose painted ferns for the Dolga, a nice contrast with the lime green color and they’ll appreciate the bright shade. Just for fun I added a bit of Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), I picked up a whole bundle for only $5 at the pet store (meant to be used with your reptile tanks perhaps?).

Planting the Dolga was extremely easy because of the angle of the sides. I plopped a plant down in the center and then leaned others (evenly spaced) around the sides, fill it up with soil and presto!

So I'd figured neither of these would get enough sun for succulents to be successful, but watching the light move through the space I realized the Flango (in back) got substantial morning and afternoon sun.

What the heck, succulents!

I love these planters! If you’re in the Portland area I know Bob Hyland is carrying them at his shop Contained Exuberance, if you're not then Pot, Inc. does mail order. And if you’re a blogger coming to the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling here in Portland you’ll have a chance to take one home with you as a raffle prize...

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

One Word Wednesday, red...

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Rare Plant Research 2014 style...

I’m a sucker for tradition, especially traditions that involve plants. Last weekend was the annual Rare Plant Research open house, I haven’t missed a single year since my first back in 2006! This year I was greeted by a new gate…

Planted with opuntia.

Okay, let’s shop!

There were aeoniums…

Eucomis…

Colocasia…

Bromeliads…

This one was labeled as Alcantarea Odorata and I took note. I bought one last year but it wasn’t signed then and I’ve wondered what I had.

Canna (many others which I didn’t photograph, I was partial to this one).

In short many many fabulous things.

I was tempted by Echium Mr. Happy, but passed.

Several of my agaves have come from Rare Plant Research, but it’s been years since I’ve bought one here.

I found myself trying to convince other shoppers that this was a plant worth having. None of them took me up on it.

An acacia mash-up (the fine leaves).

I take this shot every year…

And consider trying another Furcraea every year (I’ve killed a couple, I resisted…again).

I almost bought one of these Aralia spinosa. Perhaps I should have…

Not tempted by these but love looking at them…

This one I almost bought, and wish I would have.

Look at all those blooms!

I was joined at the sale this year by the dynamic duo in their traveling plant-mobile from Tacoma (that’s the Outlaw and Bonnie Lassie in case you didn’t know). Here’s the Outlaw after deciding against purchasing one of those handsome opuntia…

His purchases (below) were on the less prickly and more colorful side of things.

After looking over the goods for sale we wandered up to the owner’s home on the hill, Villa Catalana. It’s been fun to watch it progress over the last 8 years.

This year there was a bit of vehicular eye candy parked out front.

All of us “zone-pushing” gardeners in the Portland area have losses from the winter cold. This poor Pineapple Guava lost a lot of foliage.

And this cordyline (maybe? on the right), looks like it might have been wrapped for protection what with that damage to the leaves. Or maybe they're bent from the ice storm?

Did anyone notice the long, hard, protuberance on the ground level? Alison noticed and pointed it out, with a giggle. Those of you that know Alison won’t be surprised (and that’s why we love her).

I'm not much for mixed planters but this one really had my attention.

The covered dining area off the kitchen has a view across the pond...

And they've finished the covered atrium between wings of the home. There was a wine tasting going on inside (as if running a nursery wasn't enough work now the owners have started a winery) but the line was too long and I did not partake.

It was fun to look around...and the haze you see was a cooling mist being circulated through the air.

Back outside...

And the view from across the pond.

So what did I buy? The photo below shows the assortment that was in my cardboard flat for the longest time, do you think I was stuck on dark foliage? Canna 'Australia', a pair of Ricinus communis (Castor Bean), and an Aeonium 'Silk'. I was the lucky recipient of a trio of seed grown Castor Bean from Alison at the spring bloggers plant swap but decided you can't have too many big leaf poisonous plants in your garden, right? Besides I have terrible luck with these plants (getting them to grow big) so why not hedge my bets?

I also picked up a striped bromeliad...

And an Acacia dealbata. Perhaps the best acacia for our climate? It can resprout from the base if it freezes back (when it freezes back?). Now where to plant it...