Driving to work one cool morning I noticed the owner of these bananas out wrapping them in bubble wrap*. My first thought was “OMG, what does he know that I don’t?!” Turns out nothing, there was no freeze predicted. Maybe he’s one of those lucky birds that fly south for the winter and he was preparing to depart for a few months?
The next day I saw the end result with the bamboo wrap covering the plastic. Nice! So many times winter protection for tender plants ends up looking trashy. Not this one…it actually looks like a tropical themed party might break out at any moment! 
*If you’re unfamiliar with overwintering Musa basjoo in Portland typically the “trunk” or pseudo-stem is wrapped in bubble wrap, burlap, insulation or some such material to keep it from dying back to the ground. That way you start out in spring with some height already on your bananas. I typically wait until after the leaves have been killed by a frost to wrap mine. Last year I must have done a poor job on one because it flopped over in a pile of mush in January, however by mid summer it had re-grown to its previous height.
The next day I saw the end result with the bamboo wrap covering the plastic. Nice! So many times winter protection for tender plants ends up looking trashy. Not this one…it actually looks like a tropical themed party might break out at any moment! *If you’re unfamiliar with overwintering Musa basjoo in Portland typically the “trunk” or pseudo-stem is wrapped in bubble wrap, burlap, insulation or some such material to keep it from dying back to the ground. That way you start out in spring with some height already on your bananas. I typically wait until after the leaves have been killed by a frost to wrap mine. Last year I must have done a poor job on one because it flopped over in a pile of mush in January, however by mid summer it had re-grown to its previous height.
While in Santa Barbara I was able to visit 
Walking in I was a little intimidated, like Dorothy walking up to the great and powerful Oz. Please your Excellency, grant me my request to walk through your fields of Aloes, Agaves and Cordylines, (oh my!)
Agave 'Joe Hoak' is pretty much my latest obsession.
Agave ghiesbreghtii, you’ve got a love a plant this determined to grow. Look at the little pup peaking out the bottom!
And this one is no slacker… although it must have bloomed recently as the mother plant is dead.
Furcraea macdougalii, in the middle
This is one of those plants that I should be able to identify by now, is it related to Sonchus acaulis? 
Can you imagine filling up one of these and having it pull up in front of your house?
Or even one of these little vans? 
All of these gems were in an ‘off-limits’ area marked sold. Some lucky person…
Agave 'Blue Glow'…handy that I actually got to see it glowing 
Look at this Agave attenuatta mess. My made-up explanation is that somebody called and asked if they wanted to rescue a field of agaves that was going to be dug up for a construction project.
Agave cupreata, in mass...
Agave franzosinii
And a group of little Agave franzosinii
Sharkskin Agave
Aloe barberae, Tree Aloe
Aloe 'Hercules' (who named this plant?)
Aloe plicatilis, Fan Aloe
Aloe speciosa, Tilt-head Aloe
Boophone disticha Oxbane (I think)
Flower of the Erythrina crista-galli, Cockspur Coral Tree
Kalanchoe luciae Paddle Plant
Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta Sport' - don't these leaves look like they would be soft, like a Hosta? Nope! They are more "agave-like"...wishin' I had one...
Aloe or Agave? I am not sure. 
Cordys and Flax
Not sure what this beauty is, amazing though...
Looking towards their planted gardens 
Agave franzosinii
Agave franzosinii with a 6’2” husband for scale
Another huge specimen 
And another of my new fav’s….which since I do not know their real name I am calling Agave 'marmoleum' 
And I’m not proud to admit I pushed the limits of their kindness and asked to buy something. Remember the little aloe that got away from me at 
How cute are they? My heart was heavy with the idea of walking away from them again. I asked and they were kind enough to sell me one. I’m sure I was testing their patience, and dealing with me was taking away from what they should have been doing, after all they are a wholesale nursery and do not sell to the public.
Of course the bad person in me was thinking….”uhm, well, why stop there! Maybe I should run back out and grab a few more things….”
But that would have been wrong.
If you’ve visited danger garden before you might recognize it from one of my 
Aren’t they pretty? I found these "mellow" poinsettias so much more attractive than the ones we usually see. Their colors are subtle; they hint at the season, not scream it. 
Still I couldn't bring myself to buy one, not yet. Not until Friday November 29th. Then LOOK OUT...it's Christmas twenty-four/seven for me! 
The objective of the trip was to acquire more Yucca A. Purpurea. I’ve regretted only getting two of these unusual (and well priced, at $7.99) yuccas when 
(same plant, same place, same time...interesting change of colors in the photographs)
The coloring on this Euphorbia Excalibur also grabbed me, and since it’s hardy to -20 F if I don’t get it in the ground before winter kicks in it will be fine. For now it’s tucked in the top of a bamboo stock tank (pot and all).
Another distraction was this Cockscomb Cryptomeria; I love Cockscomb flowers and didn’t know there is a whole tree with such fun shapes! This is an advantage to shopping with a gardening friend who has different taste; she’ll pull you into parts of the nursery you wouldn’t normally go and you might find treasures like this! I didn’t purchase one, but I’ve been thinking about it ever sense (this is usually a pretty strong indicator of a future purchase).
Thankfully they still had the Yucca A. Purpurea available …I got four!
I was told the color range is because the greener ones were just brought over from the greenhouse, less sun = less color. They too are tucked in the bamboo tank for now…because I think I’ve decided where they’ll go (at least a couple of them, maybe not all of them), and it involves a project…a project called…
Yes, a project so ugly that deserves an all caps announcement. A smart person would have done this job last spring, when we planted