Sharp plants at the Kennedy School

I mentioned in a post back in June about a new garden area being created at my local McMenamins restaurant/pub/theatre/hotel, the Kennedy School. Evidently the surrounding neighborhood had been complaining about traffic and the solution was to close one of their entrances.

In typical McMenamins fashion they used the resulting space to build a fabulous new raised planting bed. And they didn’t just plant ordinary shrubs and a few flowering perennials, they planted agaves, aloes and prickly pear! I really admire the way that this company invests as much on the outside of their establishments as they do on the inside, their landscaping and plant choices are first rate. It makes each visit, for me, as much about the plants as the food and drink.

I would’ve loved to see the start of this project. I wonder if they completely tore out the old pavement or just broke it up? The first time I saw it was shortly after planting, they went to great lengths to make sure the soil was free draining, with lots of what appeared to be pumice mixed in.

Look at these fabulous plants!
Love this aloe and I will be watching it over the winter months, I live nearby and if it’s happy here then I can make it work in my garden!
An Agave Gentryi ‘Jaws’
And a Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha’ (in the middle sort of tilted out)
I believe a Yucca Rostrata
What are these flat plants? Anyone know? I would love to find out. Perhaps it’s time to contact their landscaper!
Here is a close up…I love them!
It was difficult to get a shot that really told the story as to how the beds are raised and “mounded” (I avoid using the word “berm” ever since I heard it equated to burying an elephant in your front yard). This shot with the vibrant, newly painted curb probably shows it best.
This yellow Callistemon is in an older, existing part of their landscaping, but it was so pretty I had to include it.
I am going to enjoy watching this garden develop over time, and of course watching the hardiness of their plant choices and how they hold up.

Agave love in the Pacific Northwest

Those of you who have visited ‘danger garden’ with any regularity know that agaves are a favorite topic. I originally planned a post about a few agave winter-hardiness experiments I was conducting. However after the comments on last weeks post about needing greenhouse space for the winter I decided to expand it to include information about all of my agaves in the ground, and those that will be spending the winter outdoors, in a pot. I can get rather wordy, and this being a subject I am very passionate about I couldn’t help but to ramble on and on and on. Consider yourself warned: this is not a brief post and if you don’t love agaves you will probably be bored to tears. Even if you love agaves I am pushing the limits of your patience…

The experiments: last January, when plant shopping was on winter hold, a High Country Gardens catalogue arrived in the mail. Lusting after their agave collection I decided to purchase a few of the cold-hardy selections and see if they would make it through our cool wet winters. I figured at the bargain prices of $6.99-$7.49 they would be small and if I planted them out early enough in the spring they would have 8-9 months to get established before the winter arrived. My choices were:

Agave parryi – Parry’s Century Plant, Flagstaff form, hardy in Zones 4-10, (on the right in the picture below). I am a little worried that I might need to move this one. Its flattened appearance seems to be saying “Sun…I need more sun!” poor guy. The acanthus ended up shading him more than I thought it would.
The small slightly deformed one on the left (above) is a pup from an Agave ‘Burnt Burgundy.’ Since it was a freebee, coming along in the pot with its mom; it went into the ground as an experiment. This will be its first winter in the ground; it should be hardy to just under 20 degrees, I am willing to loose this one, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

Agave havardiana – Harvard’s Century Plant, hardy in Zones 5-10. My finger tips included for scale, the other two from High County Gardens are the same size.
Agave toumeyana, hardy in Zones 7 4-10.
These are all planted in the ground, next to the retaining wall around our “sunken” patio. This location seems ideal because it receives little summer water (unless I purposely water them) and the soil is back-filled over a layer of crumbled cement block at the base of the wall, providing excellent drainage. I also suspect that during the winter months the sun on the concrete wall may warm the soil behind it a bit, but I have no actual proof of that. Just a theory. The soil in most of my garden is slow draining rocky clay, thus site selection and the ability to provide excellent drainage is key when planting an agave in the ground.

Those of you that live in more agave friendly climates are probably looking at these pictures and thinking…silly girl, those are going to get huge and she has planted them too close together and too close to the wall. I realize that I may have to move at least one of them some day, I will consider myself lucky when, and if, I have that problem.

This is my largest and most successful agave planted in the ground; Agave montana 'Baccarat' a beauty isn’t she? If you click on the link (in the name above) you may notice that the description includes these words: “slow to moderate growing agave forms solitary artichoke like rosettes that can grow to 6 feet wide.” Obviously I was concentrating on the “slow” part of that sentence rather than the “6 ft wide” part when I planted this one. I chose the placement based on getting it the very best drainage possible, I was quite skeptical that it would make it through the winter, but it did, and last winter was a real test! The only protection it received was a sheet of bubble wrap placed over it with burlap on top of that, the burlap to keep the sun from damaging the leaves through the magnifying glass-like bubble wrap. This protection was only in place during our arctic event where the temperatures were below freezing day and night for over a week (or was it two? I have tried to forget that horror).

Agave Gentryi ‘Jaws’ is a new addition to this same well draining area, I saw him and fell in love; he went in the ground last spring. According to the San Marcos Growers website this is one of the most cold tolerant of the large agave, tolerating temperatures down to 5° F. There is that size issue again…they say this one will grow 4-6 ft wide, and possibly up to 8 ft wide. I am doubtful these plants will reach their full potential size in our Portland climate. I may be wrong, and again, I welcome that!

Agave Americana ‘variegata’ pups
One of these pups spent last two winters in the ground (upper left hand side) it was tiny, about 1 and a half leaves, when I planted it. It has received the same protection as described above for the A. montana.

A second pup (upper right hand side) spent last winter in a terra cotta pot with no additional projection other than going inside our unheated garage during the previously mentioned “arctic event.” I was basically sacrificing it to the winter gods, it went into the season looking pretty rough and I wanted to see if it would make it outdoors in a pot. It had sustained damage from the newspaper delivery person (three broken off leaves…I shouldn’t have had it on the front porch) and if it died I wouldn’t have been upset. But...it lived! Its reward was a place in the ground. As you might be able to see it still has a bit of decay on one of its leaves. I chose this location for a pup grouping because it is highly visible, right next to our driveway, and it is a raised bed that should have good drainage. That part is a little hard to see in the picture but there are two retaining wall blocks that build up a little height. Personally I don’t care for the blocks but we inherited them and until we tackle the long list of other home improvement projects we are stuck with them. This area gets direct morning/early afternoon sun in the summer and morning into the late afternoon sun in the winter, when the neighbor’s tree has lost its leaves.

Next up the big daddy of all my agaves (yes, I do call him Mr. Big), also an Agave Americana ‘variegata.’
This huge (4 ft "wing-span") specimen has spent the last 2 winters outdoors in this pot. He is planted in a mixture of soil and chicken grit (to improve drainage, I try to do this with all my potted agaves). During the winters I was religious about rolling him in and out of the garage based on the weather forecast, making sure he stayed fairly dry over the winter months. Yes I was a little overprotective, but I couldn’t bear the thought of watching him turn to mush. He had no winter protection other than the unheated garage on really rainy days and during cold snaps. This year will be different and he’ll be spending the wet winter under our shade pavilion. We will be constructing plastic walls to help keep him (and a few other plants) dry and hopefully a little warmer than in the outside air.

This pup might be this year’s sacrifice to the winter gods; I planted him adjacent to my small lawn, so he receives summer irrigation and is one of the least free draining of all my in-ground agaves.
He is setting in and on a gravel/soil mixture; I hope this will give him a fighting chance. There are a couple more pups like him tucked in other places with similar circumstances (minus the gravel); since I experienced a windfall of these little agaves from my brother I’m testing their hardiness in a few spots that are not ideal conditions.

The only other agave that I’m sure will be spending the winter outside is this Agave parryi (my toes included for scale). I had every intention of putting this one in the ground but just haven’t found the right place. Since he should be hardy to below freezing I’m hopeful he’ll be fine. He may get to live in the shade pavilion “greenhouse” or maybe I’ll just see if he can tough it out with no protection at all.

I do have mixed emotions on the topic of agaves in well draining pots spending the winter outside. I am willing to risk it if I know that the particular agave is hardy to around 10 degrees cooler than the predicted temperature. My theory has always been that hardiness ratings are for plants in the ground, and plants that are in pots have less insulation protecting their roots than those in the ground do (at 30 degrees the roots of an agave planted in the ground are going to be warmer than an agave planted in a pot, right?). I don’t have any scientific evidence to support my 10 degree theory; this is just me making it up as I go long. It’s this unknown level of “pot-hardiness,” and concerns about drainage, that keep me from leaving more potted agaves outside during our cool wet winter. Those agaves that don’t meet my 10-degree rule go inside for the winter, we are lucky to have a large basement with room for a couple of grow lights. I haven’t lost one yet doing it this way and it beats having to watch the weather forecast and play the in and out game all winter! The downside is that I have to be extremely careful when I bring them out in the spring so they don’t get sunburn. Seriously!

I should mention that I have lost a couple of agaves in the past. The first one was a gift that my then boyfriend (now husband) brought back from his parents house in New Mexico, hardy to the low 30’s at least. I left it outside our first winter in Portland, in a pot that didn’t drain well. I intended to bring it in as soon as the rains started but I wasn’t fast enough. So sad watching it rot. The second was an A. Americana ‘Aureovariegata’ that I purchased at Cistus on our first trip there, it should have been hardy to the mid 20’s and I thought I selected a place with good drainage. Not good enough evidently because by spring it was a pile of mush, never to return.

So how many of you are still reading? Like I said, I can get wordy, and I am an agave geek. Hopefully there was a nugget of information in there that at least a couple of you found interesting. I’ll update the status of all of these agaves if there are changes and then do a complete wrap-up when the rains let up in the spring and it looks like we are headed into warmer and dryer agave-friendly weather. Thanks for indulging me in my agave passion!

September’s Bloomday

The Canna lilies are blooming like crazy! There was a time that I didn’t care for these silly floppy flowers, they detracted from the leaves, and the leaves were the main show for my Canna lilies. But I’ve slowly warmed to the flowers; their bright happy colors have won me over. I am particularly taken with the bloom at the top; it seems so un-canna like in its “perfection”
And the orange ones. I love the orange ones.
Nothing says September like the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ blooming. I hate a love hate relationship with these plants. The bees love them and I can tolerate them, so for now they stay.
My Acanthus has finally had babies. I keep reading about how they tend to spread, but mine never had. Finally the 3rd year in (I think…I loose track of time) it has babies and the babies are blooming about a month after the mama plant. Maybe next year I’ll get brave and divide them!
The Nicotiana keeps pushing out more flowers, although it looks about done.
Love how bright and cheerful these Sedum ground cover blossoms are.
My mother gifted me two Sedum 'Chocolate' and although they weren’t terribly excited about the move to my garden they are starting to bloom. Maybe they are going to make it after all.
The split personality Hydrangea is, for the most part, pink now. Although there are still a few late blue bloomers to confuse things. The Eucomis Oakhurst are starting to fade and get this lovely purple/black center to the blooms. This plant is just simply wonderful and you really should buy a few.
The Eucomis Pole-Evansii is at the height of its show right now. I pray that this one multiplies like the Oakhurst. It’s a beauty!
Happy Bloomday to you all. Things are really starting to wind down and I have to admit that fall is (almost) here...but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what else is blooming around the world on this September 15th.

Hardy Plant Society Fall Sale this weekend!

As a kid I remember being upset because some “thing” that I was looking forward to (Christmas, my birthday, summer vacation) was taking forever to arrive. My dad warned me to not wish my life away, that when I became an adult time would move by way too fast. He was right.

It’s time for the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon’s fall plant sale at the Expo Center. I am not sure how exactly, it really seems like it was just yesterday that I was standing in line at the spring sale. But I guess that was 5 months ago! When I went on the HPSO website to check the date of the sale I started looking at pictures from the spring sale, the photo below was the very last one, labeled “volunteers in the Holding Area kept busy throughout the sale as shoppers stowed their finds, then went back for more”…
That shopper in the loud green and white coat is me…and judging by the looks of what I am dropping off that was the first of many trips to the holding area! I also looked at the vendors list for the sale is it just me or does it seem shorter? No Rare Plant Research! But Cistus and Dancing Oaks Nursery will be there, along with Xera and few other names I recognize.

If you are within driving distance of the Portland Expo Center, and are a fan of fall planting (I’m still on the fence regarding that one) then you should check it out. Just go late on Saturday afternoon or on Sunday ok? Sleep in on Saturday! I don’t want to stand line for over an hour again this time….

2009 Fall Plant Sale Saturday & Sunday, September 19 & 20
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. both days

Right plant right place

Typically the saying “right plant right place” refers to the needs of the plant. Put the plant where its needs (water, light, type of soil, temperature, etc…) are met and it will thrive.

For me the saying also fits for those times when you buy a plant you love, plant it where you think it will do, and look, its best. It thrives, but you find yourself liking it less and less. Then you see that same plant in a friend’s garden, or at the nursery, and you fall in love with it all over again.

That’s how I was feeling about my Euphorbia ‘Tasmanian Tiger’, I loved them when I saw them elsewhere, but mine, not so much. Last spring I finally tore mine out, gave a couple away, and replanted one in a different spot. Now, I love it! The white striped leaves brighten a very dark corner, that gets great morning light, but don’t hog the spotlight like they did when they were in a more exposed area. Have you found that moving an out-of-favor plant to another location in your garden changes the way you feel about it? Or once you decide you don’t like it, then its outta there with out a second thought?

Anyone have greenhouse space for rent? (cheap)

I’ve added (considerably) to my agave collection this summer. When the weather is hot, and the rainy season is months away, I forget I live in Portland and that most of them will need to be protected over our wet, cool winter. Since we don’t have a greenhouse that means they’ll come inside the house and hunker down in the basement, under grow-lights. Not ideal, but better then getting soggy and rotting. I was thinking about this the other day when I stopped at Garden Fever to find a small pot for the Agave 'Blue Glow' I purchased at City People’s Garden Store.

I held strong when I saw these beautiful specimens. Aren’t the markings on the Agave hartmannii (top and below) gorgeous? And the Squid Agave was calling out to me; it’s long sinuous tentacles reaching out to caress my hand… Do you have any idea how much strength it took to just turn and walk away? Imagine finding a 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk and not picking it up...that’s how much.

Tsugawa

One last post from my August weekend trip to Seattle…
Tsugawa nursery is located right off I-5 in Woodland, Washington. I always mean to stop there on my way back from Seattle, but by the time their exit appears Portland is just another 20 or so miles down the road and I decide to just keep going and get home. Not this time! I was making such good time on the road (i.e. speeding…) that I stopped to take a look.

The one thing that I’ve known Tsugawa for was their Flax bargains at the 2008 Yard Garden and Patio show. My memory is a little foggy (and thanks to winter 2009 the flax are all toast) but I believe the deal was 3 qty 1-gallon New Zealand Flax plants for $20. I think I spent $40. I love a deal.

They are still at it with the Flax bargains…

They had many different types of Flax to choose from, not all $7.50 though.
I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I saw this sign in the parking lot. I’m not really in the market for any Arborvitae, and if that’s what you’re making signs about it’s not a good indication of things to come. Luckily it got better.The nursery is large and includes a water garden section. I don’t know what these are but I’m calling them Water Lettuce
A beautiful Lotus flower
These fabulous leaves with their little white flowers are called Water FringeBlackbird Euphorbia, simply stunning. I’ve bought two of these over the years, both have died on me. It pains me greatly that there is such a beautiful Euphorbia that I apparently cannot grow. Life’s not fair that way. These were so nice that I almost fell for them. But in the end I couldn’t bear to bring death to another, so I walked on by.
This blue and red combination is in several of their planters. I like it, I’m not sure why because I am also a little repulsed by it too.
They have a large selection of Bamboo
But there was not an Agave in sight. The most Agave-like item (ok I am really stretching here) were these Cordylines. I am definitely getting spoiled. It wasn’t so long ago that you couldn’t find any Agaves in Pacific Northwest nurseries. I remember my first trip to Arizona when I walked into a nursery and there were rows of them, wow! I was awe-struck, such plant riches! These days it seems just about every nursery has a few, I have even seen them at Fred Meyer, our local one stop shop for groceries, home-goods, and such.

Lest you think I left empty handed there were these…
Aren’t they gorgeous!? I don’t recall ever seeing them before, Yucca A. Purpurea. The tag had no information about their hardiness (I hate that) but at $7.99 I took a chance and bought two.

Searching to learn more about them on the internet has led me to only one listing: they were selling for $19.99 and are sold out. I got a deal! And the best part is they are hardy to a zone 7. Now where the heck am I going to put them!?

Lotusland here I come!!!

I’m going to Lotusland, and I am so excited! Ever since I first learned of this magical place, maybe 5 years ago, I’ve wanted to visit. Then after reading the Lotusland post the Germinatrix did, well, let’s just say it hasn’t been far from my mind.

We took the plunge and became members (after learning about the benefits from the Germinatrix), and just got our membership materials in the mail.
Level 1 membership is $75 and includes 2 passes, plus you get a subscription to their newsletter and 10% off in the gift shop. Regular old tickets are $35 ea so membership is only $5 more! PLUS with a membership you are allowed to wander the grounds on your own. Other visitors can only gain entrance by going on a docent led tour.

When I made our reservation they were pushing for us to go on the tour, and while the prospect of learning more about the lady behind the garden, Madam Walska, is intriguing I’m wondering if my time might be better spent taking in the splendor of the garden at my own pace. What do you think? You might be saying “why not do both?” well it turns out even if you are a member you have to chose between the 10:00 or 1:30 openings and you only get a few hours in the garden. Seems they are located smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood and traffic is highly regulated. I would love to hear from any of you that have taken the tour, regarding how you feel about the time you were allowed to stare at the plants in awe vs. the information you learned.

Of course either way it’s going to be FABULOUS! From the Lotusland website:“…after divorcing Bernard, Madame Walska changed the name of her estate to "Lotusland" in honor of the sacred Indian lotus growing in one of the ponds on the property. She thus began what would be a gradual transformation from well-known socialite to garden designer. Most of her energy and resources were poured into creating a botanical garden of rare plants using her natural artistic talents to create a fantasy world of exquisite beauty”