Reminiscing of Summer: A Danger Garden

With our temperatures dropping into the teens this past weekend, I'm trying to accept the fact that some plants may have suffered a bit of damage or may be totally toast. At times, no matter how much you try protect or bring in, you'll always endure a bit of damage, but how much depends on just how far below freezing we get and how soon. Luckily, we didn't have a abrupt cold snap like a few years ago, but rather than whine and complain about how cold it is, I'd like to look back and be reminded of a most awesome summer and a wonderful trip down to Portland, OR (which, sadly, endured snow and much colder temperatures the past few days).  One garden was an exceptional treat and also one I'm a tad bit worried about after our freeze, but should it pull through this season, it is one fine collection by a woman who's getting quite a readership on her blog, "Danger Garden".


This is the garden of Loree Bohl:


Driving by, it's very apparent which is Loree's garden. Beautifully kept with interesting plants and big, bold textures dominate the space and, immediately, you know you're looking at a plant person's garden. Various cacti and succulents are dressed carefully with a layer of gravel  giving each specimen importance and aiding in much needed drainage. The ginormous 'Steroidal Giant' rice paper plant is a true "indicator" plant of a plant nut in the Pacific Northwest.

Growing it in somewhat of a dryer area may be smart for the plant as it has a tendency to really run. The pavement and gravel probably help it to wake up in spring much earlier as it often takes a full growing season to get this size of leaves!

 I came with plant friends Justin Galicic, Preston Pew and Matt Berberich to see Loree's remarkable garden and all three have heard of her blog and were so eager to meet her in person and see her amazing garden. She was so very welcoming and had a wonderful time dissecting the many elements of her fine garden. Not only were there cool plants, there were interesting combinations and a wonderful use of space (especially in the rear garden).

Loree is a gardener who likes to experiment; texture and dramatic form captivate her and her selections and it truly shows. There are rare plants and there are common plants as well aimed to complete a striking look. It isn't wild and over the top. There's room for plants to expand and grow and I sense a wonderful pacing of edits along the way.

A striking Agave in the foreground (left) and the beautifully placed Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffins' with its peeling bark backlit.

A young Yucca rostrata

A striking combination of Nolina nelsonii with Canna 'Australia' backlit in the background.

  

Hardy prickly-pear Opuntias are abundant

Make your way to the back and a treasure trove of wonderful plants await! I loved the sense of a welcome by one of my most favorite broadleaf evergreen shrubs of all time, the rare Fatsia polycarpa with its long petioles and deeply, palmately lobed leaves.  And then everywhere you eye looked was a great plant. The square pavers and even the lawn was a very important feature of this space as it allowed the visitor to enter the space, give it a sense of grandeur thus allowing the eye to rest while it transition through another room.

 

 

The use of containers in this garden was quite affective. There may be too many for most people's liking because of the tedious watering some may require, but the fact that more are succulents or air plants, they lend themselves to being forgotten while they look spectacular as accents all summer long.

 

A series of sitting areas makes this garden wonderful both as an intimate space where one can decide just how much exposure they'd like and as an entertainment space to spread a crowd out so the details of each element can be appreciated and admired. 

Our sincerest thanks to Loree for sharing her wonderful garden with us and may the rest of winter be kinder until next spring as we determine what's made it and what we'll have to purchase again. =(

I'm sure all the containers came inside, but the majority of her garden should be alright knowing the lengths we (including Loree) go through to protect our "marginals", we refer to them as. 




Oh, I must throw in that she's also a Tillandsia freak like myself. I adore her compositions and, yes, even an arrangemnt in the bathroom captivated me!

Well done, Loree!


Riz

EMERGENT comes together: A new group bringing young horticultural professionals together

After the issue of Organic Gardening magazine (that had me in it!) came out, a group was formed on Facebook to help connect young horticultural professionals online and the name "EMERGENT" was introduced and we've begun to explore who we are, what we can do, what we're promoting, and also, "why?"

There have been  multiple discussions online via Google Chats, Facebook Messenger and texts and we've all been suggesting that we have a get together in person should the right opportunity present itself.

So, the Farwest Show in Portland, OR was right around the corner. This industry trade show brings in people from across the US for meetings, seminars, and the ever popular "schmooze fest"! Realizing that a handful of people would be there, we started to organize an informal "meet and greet".

With plants being the common bond we all share, I immediately thought about Xera Plants's new retail site in Portland and asked if they would host us. Greg and Paul warmly welcomed our group and had our informal gathering!

There were many familiar faces and a few I met for the very first time in person that I met via Facebook. Western Washington was well represented with my buddies Matthew Berberich, Preston Pew, Justin Galicic, and Meagan McManus Haskins.
 

Matt, Justin and fellow plantsman Erik Peterson from Oregon

Kelly on the right and Jared on the left checking out succulents at Xera

Also in attendance is the remarkable Kelly Norris who is the Horticulural Manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden in Iowa. He is a very well known speaker, published author (which reminds me, I need to plant my Bearded Irises very soon!) and such an advocate of the up and coming generation of gardeners. Then there's Jared Barnes, who we've dubbed "The Reverend Doctor Barnes", that I finally had the great pleasure of meeting in person. This is a young man studying floriculture at North Carolina State University and is quite a character! Super nice guy, too!


Check Jared out as "SuperSeed!"  Now, you'll have to think back to your basic biology/botany classes to find it really funny, but WOW, what a courageous and enthusiastic guy!




Another young "EMERGENT" I met and actually helped me get this meeting together is a young lady named Crystal Johnson-Cady from Salem, OR. She was a busy woman coordinating speakers for the Farwest Show for the Oregon Association of Nurseries and is a proud graduate of Oregon State University studying botany and plant pathology. Her venture, Sunflower Acres Farm and Garden, is shaping up to be another busy, but exciting endeavor!

It was incredible meeting everyone this this group. I gave a little speech and acknowledged just how incredible it was to be a part of such a talented and hard working group. Each person had their own specialties, their own personalities, and I mentioned just how important their contributions are to the future of our industry. I'm so glad that I'm not alone in my aspirations.

This was just a small gathering of who's out there as there are many more across the nation, but I hope these types of gatherings continue to occur in all the different regions of not just the nation, but also around the world. We have the technology and resources to send out information much quicker than ever before and it's vital that these meet-and-greets IN PERSON events are held.  It's great to know who's who, who specializes in what and also just learn from on another to keep us driven and motivated!


Riz

Building a Show Garden: Gathering of Plants!

Days leading up to the show we begin to gather up plant material from all of our sources

Here's my buddy Matt helping load up the car with plants from Ian Barclay at Desert Northwest.

They were probably the prickliest plants we had to deal with. Luckily, there was no blood shed!

Here I am selecting a specimen of Rhododendron fulvum at Chimacum Woods. It may not be flowering, but the foliage undersides are absolutely stunning and will add a lot of interest to the garden.











Friends Jeff Benca and Pete Macias load up Pete's truck to get a HUGE Norfolk Island Pine and the hardy banana, Musa basjoo, over to the convention center! My thanks to Linda at Edmonds Community College for letting us use these spectacular specimens!






So, let's get pumped up and ready for Move-In,




R

Garden Shinanigans in Oregon Part 4: Doing the Dance of Oaks

It has been a real plant guys trip as we next hit up the boys over at Dancing Oaks Nursery.

I've heard so much about this nursery, purchased many of their plants and I met Fred last season at a North American Rock Garden Society meeting where I purchased some awesome things! So, it was really quite a treat to be able to see (AND SHOP at) their remarkable nursery and extensive display gardens. I also got to meet Leonard, a true plant fanatic!

From left to right: Fred Weisensee, Matt, Leonard Foltz, and Erik soaking up the sunbreak and chatting plants before we raided their nursery and scored some wonderful plants!

Much like the O'byrnes, they have excellent bones and structure in their landscape. They have this stunning plot of land in the Willamette Valley that's just so rich and it really is an excursion to get to, but WOW.

Though most of the wonderful herbaceous collections they have are dormant and marked only by blue flags to denote their location, the paths and the existing structures really help define what really is a remarkable garden that is really diverse in a way that people can re-create a lot of the elements in which they integrated in their landscape. With a basic bedding scheme like this simpled edged in stone, you can create an extravagant woodland garden just PACKED with treasures!




They also use conifers effectively and I love the simple stonework of the formal path that leads to a future focal point, which, I believe is a grand stand of HUGE Gunnera manicata aka DINOSAUR FOOD!









There were more Hellebores to be found and this patch growing amongst a grove of crook-stemmed bamboo was quite attractive.











So, luckily, Matt drove and brought his work truck so we could get as many plants in as we could. And boy did we PACK IT!!!

Complete with the O'Byrne's Hellebores, We strategically loaded it up! No, we weren't done loading yet! LOL!

As determined Matt was to get EVERYTHING in, he had to leave behind a few plants that Fred and Leonard would graciously bring up to Washington on their next speaking/plant selling engagement.

So, I thought this was their house. Nope. It's actually their guest house. Freakin' unbelievable.

They warmed up their guests with tea and baked goods in a most awesome kitchen that I'd want someday. Look at that open space and the island could also serve as a demonstration platform to give talks, lectures and even film a television show!!!

Fred kindly took this photo of us, but the group photo of all of us turned out blurry. I always strive to capture moments I want to remember, but all the more reason to return and pay the guys another visit and buy more plants for myself and client projects.

We were then treated to a nice rainbow that graced the nursery and garden making for a wonderful ending to a most awesome trip.

This is a definition of a true, retail NURSERY. It's not a garden center where you can find all your tools, composts, gloves, pots, fertilizers, aprons and other crap like that. It's an actual place where plants are grown, propagated, evaluated and truly take centerstage. OH, BUT THEY'VE GOT SOME OF THE BEST ORGANIC EGGS EVER!!  $3.50 for a wonderful dozen of assorted eggs, which Matt taught me how to fry them "over easy". Hhahhaha

Good times...good times....
 
R

Garden Shinanigans in Oregon Part 3: ID'ing the Unknown (Like, I'm suppose to know?)

So, here's a little clip I took of the guys wanting to show me something at Ernie and Marietta's garden at Northwest Garden Nursery in Eugene, OR.

This is just a hint of what happens when plant geeks get together and spend time in the garden.




Matt is always pushing me, I swear!

Next installment is where this pic was taken. Visiting the guys at Dancing Oaks Nursery!!

R

Garden Shinanigans in Oregon Part 2: Not just Hellebores

After the drool fest and automatic debiting of our bank cards, we strolled the grounds of Ernie and Marietta's garden and, again, were treated to something truly special and awe inspiring.

"Every great garden as great bones" Penelope Hobhouse once said. Their garden is certainly no exception to this statement; it's actually a fine example of it. In the dead of winter, a garden doesn't need to be flat and barren. Having structural elements and shapes, focal points and other objects which direct the eye make for a successful landscape. I included this photo with the guys in the rear so you get a sense of depth and scale. You see a pedestal as a focal point with a fluffy Carex that makes for a simple yet, very effective focal point and on the right, notice the strong, bold anchor that a columnar cypress creates.

I was taught that if you take a black and white photo of a landscape, you can better define these elements and you can really see what holds a landscape together. It's not just the pretty flowers, lush foliage, the color, the texture of it all, it's these bold lines and shapes that make for the foundation of a landscape.

 

Notice how the rare winter sunlight illuminates the form, structure, and then you get a bit of texture enhanced as the contorted branches become more evident. Notice the small mounds made up of conifers and, in the previous photo above, ornamental grasses.  With curving paths and simple rocks staggered about, it makes for a pleasant stroll during a cold, but bright winter's day.

Here are some more captivating scenes from their garden:

Look at this remarkable composition: the height achieved in the background with vertical elements set off by the bright winter foliage of a yellow-needled shore pine Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'. And in the foreground, you see their simple rock work with a few mounds of evergreen ornamental grasses and dwarf conifers.  THAT'S ALL YOU NEED and you can have a fabulous garden that looks this great year round!

Even with the remaining foliage of the hardy banana, this photograph illustrates another simple yet effective composition with the variegated yucca flanked by heaths and heathers. In a way, you almost don't notice how ugly the banana is at this time of year.

One of my favorite features of this garden is their spectacular bamboo screen. Meticulously maintained so it doesn't take over all of Eugene, OR, it is a remarkable sight to see. I love the contrast of the aging, multi-stemmed tree against the fine texture and vertical lines of the back-lit bamboo and having the empty containers there

Very important to have  a rest in the garden, both physically with the bench in place anchored by a large container as a "companion", but also a visual rest from everything else that's going on. It may be winter, but there are still a lot of things to see so these wide paths play an important role.

Levels are important especially in these large beds so there's a sense of depth, scale and each plant specimen or planting scheme is

And naturally, the woodlands are inundated with Hellebores!!