Building a Show Garden: Representing the little guys: Small Specialty Nurseries

Specialty nurseries such as Mary Fisher at Cultus Bay Nursery are often far-off destinations for most Seattle residents and you'll only see them at a handful of early spring or fall plant sales.

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show can be a daunting endeavor especially for a small specialty grower. The chaos and logistics of move-in, the cost of downtown Seattle parking, and the long days dealing with hoards of flower show visitors have proved too much for the specialty grower and I had hoped to represent them through my display garden by borrowing their plants for my show garden.

The following specialty growers contributed and/or helped grow plant material for "The Lost Gardener":  


Bouquet Banque (Hardy Cyclamen, Dichroa febrifuga) Read about their nursery here  

Sparkling lapis blue Dichroa in fruit

Cascade Cuts (Forced Bulbs)


Chimacum Woods (Species and large leafed rhododendron) I've developed such a fondness for species rhododendrons and the people that raise them such as Steve Hootman at the Rhododendron Species Foundation and Bob Zimmerman and Beth Orling at Chimacum Woods. I went with my housemate Dave to select Rhodies for the display and found some wonderful specimens to really show folks the diversity of this genus.





Cultus Bay Nursery (Hellebores, clumping bamboos) Read about Mary and my history with her as one of my early mentors.  

Desert Northwest (Drought tolerant, succulent plants) Here's a little profile on Ian and his specialty nursery in Sequim, WA.  


Dragonfly Farms Nursery ( Assorted nursery stock including the large Schefflera macrophylla) Heidi Kaster is an absolute sweetheart and has the most random, but cool selection of various landscape plants from many sources! Here's her website: Look out for the stunning concrete eggs.

One of three large Schefflera macrophylla that will be on display. Unfortunately not hardy; however, there will be two other species represented that are for us in the Seattle/Puget Sound area: S. delavayi and S. taiwaniana

Pyrrosia sheareri

 

Far Reaches Farm (Assorted specialty nursery stock)
Kelly and Sue came through for me and let me use some of their fabulous plants including a rare and beautiful Pyrrosia sheareri.

Minter's Earlington Greenhouses (Saxifraga groundcovers)  Read my blurb about the guys!

Windmill Gardens (Official plant forcing facility for NWFGS)


There are a handful of other growers out there that I wish I could have represented in the garden, but I hope you'll consider learning more about them and seek out their wonder selections either at the major plant sales in the Puget Sound area or onsite on their property this coming season!

LIST OF WESTERN WASHINGTON PLANT SALES.



 Riz