The first thing I saw that I had to share with you was this huge Rhododendron tree. Not a mere shrub!
When I see a large specimen like this I remember my mother’s struggles to keep the Rhody’s alive around the house I grew up in. The climate in that part of Eastern Washington was not very Rhododendron friendly. Yikes! Maybe my tendencies toward zonal denial were born of exposure at an early age!There are a couple of large Melianthus major in containers near the front entry to the building.
I wonder if these are the same plants that I watched grow bigger and bigger last fall? They were planted on the south side of the building and I hoped to watch them over the winter to see how they responded to the cold weather. Unfortunately that didn’t happen since my spying activities were curtailed with the broken ankle in December. Melianthus major continues to move higher and higher on my lust list, zonal denial rears its head again.
And speaking of the lust list meet Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fern Cottage’ (name confirmed via the Asst. Corporate Gardener at McMenamin’s) which I have been admiring for a couple of years now. 
Why oh why can’t I find this Euphorbia in a nursery?
It is so so so orange and sexy!
And speaking of sexy…look at this Ceanothus and lime leaf combo!
Seeing this I’m so happy that I’ve finally found a place to include Ceanothus in the danger garden. 
What amazing color! Now I need to work on getting a little lime color up close and personal to those electric blue blooms.
And I can’t wait until I have Callistemon branches like these left behind after the blooms fade…
A happy mass of fern fiddle heads…
And back in the spiky plant area I was excited to see a few new plants meeting up with and softening the spiky art. Isn’t the rusted metal more interesting with these peachy flowers next to it? I can’t believe I’m saying it but I really like the combo.
And another cement cylinder has added interest here; combined with the chartreuse Euphorbia blooms this area is coming alive!
The always sexy Agave parryi…
And another picture of the mystery thorn-in-my-side plants, what are these? Soon I hope to have a name (the power of email) and I’ll share it as soon as I do! **update** the mystery plants are Echium boissieri from Spain! 
And look! A new Manfreda macho mocha has taken the place of the sad specimen that melted last winter. 
Just between you and me I’ve learned that the freak cold of last winter isn’t going to modify the future plant choices of the gardening powers at McMenamin’s (or rather I mean the dg annex) too much, and I was very glad to hear it, I love the fact that they embrace a little danger gardening!Another visit to the “dg annex” leaves me wishing some of these plants would follow me home.
The remaining orange orb has the smallest little opening, just about the size of the Agave Shira ito no Ohi I bought at the 
My other container is also an IKEA purchase from a few years back, it has a much larger opening and I thought it would be perfect filled with small succulents and aloe babies.
Some of you are probably thinking the container is way overplanted right? It is…but that’s my style. I wanted instant impact….summer is to short here to wait for months for it to fill in.
Shortly after planting I brought them outside to enjoy a sunny afternoon, but since the temps are still dipping into the mid to high 30’s and low 40’s at night it will be awhile before they assume their permanent positions outside for the season.
In another month these leaves will be nearly all eaten, or at least more disfigured than they currently are. As new leaves emerge they too become a slug snack. But I figure if it keeps the slimy creatures away from the other plants then I can sacrifice this one.
A year ago when we 
Hard to believe that the Acanthus has normally filled this entire area with its large glossy leaves isn’t it? I should have made the labels on the photo larger. From the upper left they are: dead palm, Aloe was here, this is the Acanthus and dying Agave montana...
This is shortly after the Acanthus had been removed and divided into two plants. Looks like I was pretty careless with the roots doesn’t it? I tried.
Here they are after planting in their new homes, hopefully I managed to get enough roots, and move them early enough that they won’t wilt on the first hot day this summer. I’ve heard the warnings, that when you move an Acanthus you’ll be doing it forever, and after digging this one out I really believe it. The roots! They are thick and very long…luckily since I was reworking most of the area I had the opportunity to remove most of them, hopefully. 
In addition to the palm death a couple of Aloe striatula also died over the winter and my much loved Agave montana 'Baccarat' had to go, it didn’t look like it was going to pull through and I was tired of being saddened every time I saw it.
This is the area after all the deceased plants were removed and the new ones were about to be planted. 
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