Holiday Greetings from the NGG!

I hope everyone is doing well, taking it easy and surrounded by the warmth and hearts of loved ones nearby.

It's already Christmas Eve and I'm just now starting to feel the grind of the holiday season as I've been so immersed in work. I went shopping today and almost cried as I didn't know what I was getting with my measly gardener's salary. hahah I've pulled off some creative, last minute ideas for Christmas, but it's certainly stressful.

As I really dislike giving people material things they probably don't want or need, I wish I could afford "experiences" for people such as a trip to the spa, a gym membership, tickets to a show or event, or dining out. Someday should my efforts lead to something more lucrative and something grand the horticultural world has never seen before, I will make it happen.

I've got a few more "Best of 2010" coming up before the New Year takes hold so stay tuned and my sincerest thanks for showing your enthusiasm for plants and gardens by following my blog!


Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas,

Riz

Forever the Bridesmaid...

With my cousin at another cousin's wedding where I somehow ended up with a bouquet of Callas.

Check out this lovely idea for an evening arrangement:

Please someone ID this Hydrangea for moi!

A lovely hydrangea from a friend's garden. Kicking myself for not asking for cuttings (though it was getting late in the season). These are flowers all from the same plant! Starting out a pale blue, aging to pale green and then into a bright crimson red!!

Any thoughts on which one this might be. I'm assuming it's a serrata type??

Weekend California Vacation

I went down to LA for an extended weekend to kick it with my family and see one of my cousin's tie the knot. It's been probably almost 10 years since I've been in the LA area and it was surprisingly chilly, especially at night, but the landscape there was just as I had expected.



Seeing bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) all around was captivating and I've regained my love for Phormium as I've been so fed up with their unreliability as a perennial here in the Pacific Northwest.


Aloes and other desert plants are simply amazing. These were in full peak bloom and required a reminder from my uncle to hustle or else we'd miss our flight back to Seattle.


Checking out the Hollywood Hills was pretty awesome (though I was kind of disappointed at how small the Hollywood sign was). Dodging the bright sun and the view of downtown LA covered in smog, I looked down and admired these variegated Agaves on the slope of the Observatory.



My uncle's house, blocks from Sunset Boulevard, yielded some wonderful fruit trees in his back yard. A deliciously crisp and sweet pear (didn't think they would grow in a warm mild climate) and a fruit from our childhood, the tart and tangy Guava.



Call me silly, but I was so impressed with the number of citrus trees people had down there. I was so excited to see them with so much fruit, I started taking so many photos, but the one I selected is of my aunt who went after a tangelo in my other aunt's yard!


One of my most favorite images of the entire trip, with the exception of a hottie I couldn't keep my eyes off of during the wedding reception hee hee, was the red edged Crassula aka Jade Plant! Yes, they're very common, but seeing hedges of these things is remarkable to me and when the light hits them, they just glow and command attention.


I've been on such a Schefflera kick lately, these totally caught my eye. Someone on my Flickr page identified it as S. pueckleri or Tupidanthus calyptratus. It seems to be fairly common around the LA area. This photo was taken in Long Beach.


FALL COLOR?? I was a little surprised that warm, mild climates produce fall color in plants. I guess if it's naturally deciduous, it still picks up on day length and temperature drop in order for those pigments to be expressed. Tree's gotta lose it leaves, right?? This is a Sweet Gum, btw (Liquidambar styraciflua)

I thought this was pretty hilarious

Not quite dead, but a definite setback

<

I was actually quite surprised that this Schefflera taiwaniana I planted at a client's home in the View Ridge neighborhood of Seattle endured this much damage compared to my plants in Shoreline, which is typically colder.

The terminal buds seem to have been sapped, but the base, for the most part, looks quite viable and able to regrow barring any more serious drops in temperature this coming winter.

The Damage Done...for now...

So, I went back to Landwave this past weekend to check on things and assess the damage done by our early season winter cold snap.

Temperatures plummeted down to the mid teens (possibly lower) and we had about 5-6 inch accumulation of snow the week of Thanksgiving. Luckily, and THANKFULLY, things began to really thaw on Turkey Day and people were able to get out and about. Seattle drivers are THE WORST when it comes to driving in snow and ice. ugh


I did my best to bring in the most important things, while others I just figured:

1) They'll be okay just grouped together or under this sheltered/protected area

2) Oh, it was cheap enough, I'll just buy it again next year

3) This plant has to prove it's worth and hardiness. I'm not babying it.


New Hardy Schefflera taiwaniana survives first test:


On the LEFT is a specimen I potted up and placed under the eves of the house facing Northwest. I recall the pot freezing just about solid and the new growth it tried to put on was zapped. The foliage also seemed to be a duller green. A similar story with the one on the RIGHT, which was planted in the ground. The new growth was hindered, but these also took on a gray/purple cast to the foliage. Overall, they seem alright for now.


Another comparison: Potted vs. in the ground, Mahonia 'Soft Caress'


Both planted this spring and basically in the same location in the garden. The potted specimen (on the LEFT) endured some frost damage, but the one planted directly in the ground (on the RIGHT) had very obvious damage. Both are in part shade, but the one in the ground is a little younger than the one used in a container. I wonder if that just one of many factors.

Not quite mush, but pretty close: Kniphofia northiae


I mean, I knew this was coming. I'm just praying that it isn't too bad. These were 2 gallon specimens that almost tripled in size over the summer. Now, they've proven to be hardy, but just how much of a setback winter will be on these, we'll have to wait and find out. I may need to find another specimen for the front entry of Landwave.

On the edge with Edgeworthia:

So, I could never get 'Gold Rush' to bloom and then it eventually was reduced to one viable stem so I just took it out and now 'Nanjing Gold' and the usually fairly reliable selection from Sichuan (see a post early this spring about this one) are not looking so hot. They have buds, yet, my fear is because the foliage was unable to properly yellow and undergo senescence, the forming buds might have been affected as well.




Hardy Bananas...please oh please live up to your name!


Even with the cage stuffed with dry fern fronds and pieces of Miscanthus I chopped up, the trunk of Musa sikkimensis has mushed pretty much down to the base. Perhaps if I wrapped it in burlap like I had planned to do in addition, it would have been okay. Now I'm just praying that it comes back from the crown underground. Musa basjoo I left thinking that it was surrounded by enough plants that it would be protected, but nope! It's also mushed down to the ground and fingers crossed that it comes back vigorously. The key to these bananas has always been making sure to plant them deep and get them really well established as older stands tend to be hardier and able to withstand the winter extremes we occasionally get here in the Pacific Northwest.

Annuals: Until next year.


So, this will have to be replanted next year, but those in the ground have a ways to go as winter hasn't officially started yet, but it's all a waiting game now.

To see more photos, click here.



R

The Best of 2010: Part 2: Duets

My favorite plant pairing has to be the lovely Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' I mentioned getting a cutting of from the Dunn Garden last year. I planted it in a container with the ever popular "Festival Grass" - Cordyline x 'Jurred' and the duet is smashing:




Speaking of duets, here's a lovely one from the hit TV show , GLEE:

Winter Comes Early to Seattle!

So, I'm at work all by myself today. Not realizing that the UW closed operations due to snow, I took the bus and went to work. Luckily a fellow gardener came as well and we had nothing to do besides shovel and sand the pathways, but since I can't really do my regular tasks, I'm trying to get caught up on all sorts of stuff while I'm here in the office.

I've been moving and shifting potted plants like crazy and installing like a madman before this sudden onset of winter conditions. I feel like I have everything under control and things that didn't get brought in will just have to tough it out. The snow should provide some protection.

Yesterday, I snapped some photos from work and really enjoyed the effect of snowfall on plants and the wonderful shapes, patterns and textures that emerge with a light dusting of powdery white:

This is Helleborus argutifolius 'Silver Lace' covered in snow. Notice the overall globe effect and the texture the leaflets create with the snow covering them.

Forgetting to deadhead certainly has its advantages come winter as this Phlomis russelliana, or Jerusalem Sage, looks attractive with its tiered seedheads. That's rosemary in the back.

Containers right now, if properly designed with the appropriate plant materials, can looks absolutely fantastic.




Then there's plants like this Hosta 'Halycon' that just started to die down for the winter that got caught mid-freeze and makes for a really unusual winter display.



The winter landscape isn't complete without ornamental grasses. These Pennisetum look lovely with their dense spikes capturing a bit of snow to look as if it's suspended mid-air. They're so elegant and low maintenance plants almost all year round.



What a gloomy day yesterday and now it's bright and sunny but well below freezing. I don't dare drive in these conditions, even though I have 4-wheel drive and all. I've seen too many accidents occur and that's just something I don't need to deal with right now.

Gardener needs time to reflect, plan and rest..

Fall Favorites

I threw this arrangement together a few weeks ago when some of my fall perennial favorites were looking their best.



This fall arrangement includes: Chrysanthemum 'Apricot', Symphyotrichum 'Lady in Black', Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Panicum 'Northwind".

Showing a little Husky Pride

So, I work out at the UW's Intramural Activities Building (often dubbed as the "IMA") and each fall, I look forward to the new crop of young college hotties and the abundant fruit and fabulous color effect on a large scale planting of beautyberry!



Whoever planned and designed this planting scheme is quite clever as very few plants can ever match a school's colors so effectively (in this case, purple and gold)!!



This is Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion'
. Readily available and popular at nurseries at this time of year because of plantings such as this at the UW. They are easily grow in most well-drained soils in full sun or part shade and are perfectly hardy and suited for our area.

The Best of 2010: Part 1: Knowing the Knotweeds

I'm becoming very fond of many selections of Persicaria that are out there. Their bold and often dramatically marked foliage are so eye-catching and the spikes of bright red are fun and add a nice surprised come summer. I find in kind of unfortunate that they're related and often mistaken for their close relatives Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese Knotweed). The ornamental Persicaria (the most common being selections of P. amplexicaulis and P. virginiana), though known to also be quite aggressive and vigorous, are manageable and easy to maintain.


Here's Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Taurus'. A fine border plant for full sun that forms dense, almost woody clumps of lush foliage and abundant spires of red flowers that form in early summer and after that first flush which ends in mid-summer, the plants are sheared back to the ground for a second round of fresh foliage and then MORE flowers that often last until frost! Mature plants can spread 4-6ft. wide and the flowering spikes rise up to about 2.5ft. They're wonderful fillers in flower arrangements!



A brand new and exciting selection (at least to me!) I've acquired this year is one that seems a bit tidier and a smaller version of the above, but with glowing chartreuse foliage. This one was dubbed 'Golden Arrow'. I purchased a division from my friends at Far Reaches Farm in Port Townsend, WA and I've been very pleased with it's habit. Now, it's only the first year and it's not really in the richest or moistest spot in the garden, but I see this as being a very attractive and useful plant in part to full shade, although it gets its best golden foliage in full sun.



P. 'Red Dragon' is a selection of P. microcephala and TALK ABOUT FOLIAR APPEAL! As gorgeous as these leaves are, it is kind of a rambunctious plant, but the great foliage color and weaving habit and small clusters of white flowers late in the season make it a fun and welcomed addition in the garden. Should it get out of bounds, just whack it back to the ground and prepare for a nice flush of new foliage!




Here's one that we don't see too often, but it is quite striking. This one is referred to as 'Compton's Form'. The flowers on this aren't really that spectacular, but for foliage, it's quite dramatic. This photo shows off the early season color in full sun, but grown in shade, the leaves are bigger and you get this effect:



And finally, one I'm quite fond of, but not many local nurseries here carry it is this selection called 'Brushstrokes'. It's not as busy or overly dramatic in terms of color, but the painted "chevrons" and HUGE leaves are so bold and attractive.



There's way more out there that's available, but these are just some of my favorites in the garden this year!


R

Tree Alien!

In a recent mushroom foray, we encountered this amusing set of artist's conks (Ganoderma applanatum) mushrooms on a Douglas fir that reminded me of a character on the animated series, "American Dad".
So, Roger, the drunken, drug-using, drag-dressing, dimwit of an alien, came to mind when I took this photo:








I have NO IDEA what he stuck in there! LOL!!


R

'True Blue', baby, I love you...

Yeah, yeah. I fell for it: Gentiana 'True Blue', baby, I love you. Now if you'll just winter over, grow and flower prolifically. Oh, and keep coming back each year better and better. lol

A hybrid Gentian bred and introduced by Epimedium authority Darrell Probst. The color is so captivating and ethereal, I couldn't help, but just get it for my garden.

I also couldn't help humming the Madonna tune from when I was a wee lad.

Now a flash back to the 80's: