Another trip to Cistus

It’s true; I found yet another excuse to visit Cistus. My parents were in town last weekend and they’ve never been, so we decided to make a day of it on Sauvie Island.

There are several small farms on the island that host fun fall activities including pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and hay rides. We visited one, enjoyed a tasty slice of pumpkin pie, watched a 500 lb pig and a chicken “share” a meal and bought a few crisp tasty asian pears to take home.
We also stopped at one of the beaches on the island (above, it was a little too cool for even the bravest sun worshiper) and saw this evidence of why Horsetail Rush has a reputation for being invasive. Look at this…
It went on forever along the beach. Scary.

Last but not least we visited Cistus. Naturally there were plenty of new things to see, and want. When we were there in July this wall of Canna’s and Ginger next to the parking lot was not nearly this tall. Begonia luxurians, or Palm leaf Begonia, only hardy to zone 10. Otherwise I would have taken this one home.
This Eryngium pandanifolium, or False Screw Pine, was HUGE, and eventually gets over 8 ft tall. I wanted it, I really really wanted it.
Here are a couple more. Dramatic!
Pyrus pyrifolia ‘Shinko’ or Shinko Asian Pear. These are hardy to zone 5! I wonder if we have a place for a pear tree? I love asian pears!
Oh and they had Pomegranate trees too!
It has been forever since I’ve seen a Woolly Bear…
It took him awhile but he eventually relaxed and started crawling around Andrew's hand.
Aren’t these yellow flowers amazing? The petals are so thick, and soft. Almost like felt, really thick felt. The vine was huge, we searched and searched and never could find where it was actually planted. It trailed through several plants at the main entry.
I’m sure I’ve walked under this tree fern many times. Somehow I’ve managed to miss it. Aren’t the patterns on the trunk interesting?
So you are probably wondering when I am going to cut to the point and tell you if I bought anything? Well of course I did. Just look at this Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor' even though it means another borderline hardy agave to add to my collection it was just way too beautiful to pass up. My parents bought this Rubus parvifloris ‘Ogon’ Thimbleberry, it’s hardy in their zone 5 winters. And they bought me this Agave bracteosa ‘Calamar’ which is hardy to 10-15 F, so it will be going in the ground! Although since it’s so late in the season I’ll wait to plant it out until spring. Two new agaves! Yippee!

Trouble with Tribbles

I am not a “trekkie!” Lets get that cleared up right away; I haven’t watched a single Star Trek movie, ever. Not that there is anything wrong with them, it’s just not my scene. As a kid however, in the days before cable television made it to our rural address, the viewing choices after school were limited; Gilligan’s Island, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Bewitched and Star Trek. My brothers and I watched a lot of Star Trek. We all had our favorite episodes and I recall the The Trouble with Tribbles being an all around favorite.

For the last month or so I have been picking Euphorbia seedlings all over the garden. For some reason that name “the trouble with tribbles” pops into my head every time I see one of the seedlings. Maybe because they multiply just like the tribbles did. All of a sudden they are everywhere!

When the Euphorbia characias ssp wulfenii are in bloom (picture from spring below), towards the end of the bloom life, you can sometimes here an audible POP when you near them.
It took me a while to figure out where it was coming from. My theory is that the popping sound occurs as the seed is propelled away from the plant. I find these little guys everywhere. This one is a good 15 feet from the nearest Euphorbia.
I just spotted this one last weekend. Evidently it’s been growing for awhile as it is getting big.
Luckily they are easily identified and easy pulled. No tools required. Unless of course the make you feel good, like the tribbles did, in which case you can just leave them be.

Edgefield

Last Saturday evening found us at McMenamins Edgefield, in Troutdale, Oregon. It’s about 20 minutes from downtown Portland; yet I’ve only been there once before, for a summer concert on the lawn. There was no time to explore the grounds then, and with daylight fading fast I only had a few minutes to explore this time. Let’s pretend the dusky lighting was intentional, to enhance the mood. Careful….dangerous plants ahead!
This Castor Bean seals the deal for me. I simply must grow this plant next year. Grace has been tempting me, with the pictures she’s got on her blog, and standing here looking at this beauty, gotta do it. As a nod to its evil reputation it will go in a stock tank, out of reach from curious dogs. The squirrels and raccoons are on there own.
This white Cleome has me planning to include more white blossoms in the garden next year. The way they reflect any available light is just beautiful. Huge Gunnera! Husband included for scale, he’s 6”2.
Gunnera bloom… I needed to see this Sambucus to remind me just how big they get, note to self…look at this picture before you pull that plant out of the container and put it in the ground!
Seeing a sign like this makes me wonder what incident caused its creation. Something unfortunate for sure. It’s always surprising to see a relative of our Clifford out and about in the world. So tall…our baby is going to get tall! I appreciate the open branching, hopefully it will still allow for sun on our patio when Clifford is this tall.
With the frequency that I seem to post about McMenamins I should issue a disclaimer. They aren’t paying me, at least not directly. They are long time clients of the firm I work for, Ankrom Mosian Architects. I don’t actually work with them myself, but I hear fabulous things from those that do and they have my never-ending praise for their attention to the gardens. Why spend your hard earned money at a restaurant with bark mulched covered planting beds with a couple of sickly shrubs planted amongst the weeds when you can support horticultural fun?

Fascicularia pitcairnifolia var bicolor

Have you ever lusted for a plant in someone else’s garden only to discover that you already have it in yours? Sounds pretty pathetic doesn’t it? Let me explain…

I’ve been watching this bloom take shape on a Fascicularia var Bi-color in Roger’s garden. Roger is a regular poster on the Northwest Palms and Subtropicals discussion board. I’ve never met him but I know he lives in Olympia, WA and has an amazing collection of plants. These pictures, with the vibrant red leaves are his.
Fast forward to last weekend, I’m looking through the book where I keep my plant tags, familiarizing myself with the tenderness of some of this years new acquisitions. That’s when I see the name Fascicularia pitcairnifolia var bicolor. A quick online check confirms that this is the same plant I’ve been drooling over online! I own it! The tag confirms that it’s the hardiest of the Bromeliads and the leaves at the center of the plant turn red upon blooming.

It all comes flooding back to me now.

I bought this plant during a January (or February?) trip to Cistus. They had one in bloom on display next to the counter, how could I resist? I had told myself the trip was to see how their plants were doing after the winter’s arctic event, but I left with a couple of new, marginally hardy, plants. Where’s the sense in that? Human psychology is an interesting thing...

Here is how the Fascicularia is looking in my garden. And my other purchase that cold winters day, these Aloe striatula. Supposedly the hardiest of the aloes, according to the tag (if you can trust that) the top portions have withstood the upper teens with the roots surviving to around 7 degrees, with mulch. They are planted around the grounds at Cistus and looked great, even then. Here’s hoping they’ll look great in my garden come spring.

Agave Identification

These spiky beauties came to me via relatives in warmer (and drier) climates. They came with out names, and I would love to know what they are. These two, below and at the top, are from my in-laws property in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. They grow like weeds there, and get huge! Bloom spike falling, house-destroyingly huge. The in-laws refer to them as Century Plants, which of course is a common name, I am hoping to find out their actual name. I saw a very similar specimen on Digging and asked Pam about it, she believes it to be “plain old Agave Americana.” For some reason I find it funny to think that there is a “plain old Agave Americana,” I am used reading about the different varieties and fancy names. I guess I assumed there would be more to it. Is that it?

The rest came from Phoenix, Arizona. They are pups of nursery purchased plants. The leaves of this one are very thin, graceful and a beautiful grey/blue. The research that I have done has pointed me to Agave americana var. glauca, could that be right? There are actually 3 plants in the pot. They were tiny just 2 months ago, looks like I'll be separating them soon.
The ones below have dark green, thick leaves. They have grown substantially since I planted them, and it looks like they are going to need to be separated soon too. Any ideas on the name?
I love the sculptural form of this one (same type of agave as the above).
So what do you all think? Any ideas?

More from the Portland Waterfront

We’ve walked south from yesterday’s location, along a boardwalk-style retail/restaurant row, and past a marina. I think of this part of the waterfront as The Strand Park, as the condo/restaurant complex located next to the park is The Strand, designed by my (former) employer Ankrom Moisan Architects, but the park is actually called South Waterfront Park. I remember first walking through this park on a visit to Portland with my mother, years before I moved here. I loved the multiple layers of grass and the patterns that they created. I don’t think many Portlanders actually spend time in this park. When I’ve been I only see people biking through on their way to somewhere else, or homeless people spending a few minutes relaxing in a deserted peaceful place. The park is a wonderful grid of walkways and ponds within a sea of grass. I remember hearing once that Walker Macy, the Landscape Architects that designed the park, used the undulating grass forms to mirror the waves of the river. The repetitive grass plantings run down the bank to the rivers edge and include paths that allow for river access. The bridge in the background (below) is the Marquam Bridge, I-5 as it crosses over the Willamette through downtown Portland.
Andrew would probably rather I wasn’t sharing this picture with the world but it shows the mix of hard-scape and grasses well. Plus I get to show off Lila; Andrew was trying to get her interested in the fish in the pond, but no luck.
They planted a lot of Sea Oats. They look so graceful here, I am starting to rethink the plant that I currently have in a pot, and it may need to go into the ground again.
This is perhaps the healthiest Euphorbia I have ever seen. I wish mine looked like this.
This bloom looks like a Witch Hazel but I thought they bloomed in the winter months, before the tree leafs out. What gives?