LET THE GAMES BEGIN! LONDON 2012!!

Another Olympic Games is upon us and with a nation of gardeners playing host to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, you can expect plantings and flowers all around the venues, important landmarks and, of course, the traditional victory bouquets presented to the athletes who stand up on the podium.

Over 20,000 flowers were precisely planted at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.

A meadow band of gold was planted on the south end of the Olympic Park.

Wildflowers by the stadium

The Victory Bouquet

I'm sure the bouquet will grow on me as I watch the games, root for my favorite athletes and teams and watch the victory ceremonies.


R

Take a trip to the Desert Northwest: Ian Barclay

DESERT NORTHWEST OPEN HOUSE: JULY 20-22

Drought tolerant gardening has always been a popular topic and amongst my friends and colleagues here in the Pacific Northwest, I couldn't be more thrilled, and relieved, that there's a "Next Generation Gardener" out there FOCUSED on such an endeavor by constantly seeking out plants that thrive in our Mediterranean climate (wet winters, dry summers) Ian Barclay has been a name I've heard time and time again. It wasn't until he surfaced at several local plant sales just a few years ago that I got a chance to chat with him and learn about his nursery, The Desert Northwest.

Euphorbia rigida.

Ian specializes in both native and exotic species that thrive with very little water once established. He's definitely one of those gardeners who like to push the boundaries in terms of plant hardiness. He was part of the whole movement to integrate plants like palms, eucalyptus, and a lot of Southern Hemisphere plants such as New Zealand Flax, Grevilleas, Chilean Monkey Puzzle and flame flower (Embothrium coccineum).

He and his family currently reside in Sequim, WA where he's built poly tunnels to house his ever-increasing and evolving collection of plants and the wonderful plants he propagates to offer to other avid gardeners.

Drought tolerant garden at Cistus Nursery in Sauvie Island, OR

This coming weekend, he's got his FIRST OPEN HOUSE that I'm hoping to attend. His selection is remarkable and I could definitely learn more about "xeriscaping" and being more aware of low-water use plants in the world. Being a plant collector, I'm sure he'll also have a mix of random things that will get my plant juices just flowing as well! I encourage you all to attend!

Arctostaphyllos (Manzanita) with with spiky Nolina nelsonii growing at the Miller Garden, just north of Seattle.

Another reason to visit Sequim this coming weekend, there's these other drought tolerant plants the region is known for!

LAVENDER FESTIVAL!!!

R

Gardening with Kayaks!

Sorry, I haven't had the time to post anything.

I'd like to share with you a recently installation I completed with landscape designer and a fellow "Next Generation Gardener", Jade Waples of Seattle, WA.

This was a very unique project that started with a donation of a used kayak from Seattle's popular Agua Verde Paddle Club and Cafe in the University District by Lake Union. They cut a kayak's end off so it would stand and it became a featured display for UW Botanic Garden's booth at the 2011 NW Flower and Garden Show. I planted it up as a vertical garden to showcase the plant diversity that exists throughout Lake Washington and the Arboretum and the proprietors at Agua Verde wanted a similar display in front of their paddle club and visible by diners in the cafe above. It didn't happen right away, but this summer, it was a go and I was so thrilled to work with Jade as she just finished her design degree and wanted more hands-on experiences.

Jade's husband is a landscape contractor so she has a bit of experience in the industry and moves rocks like a pro! Her true strength, however, lies in her work ethic, her experience, and a very keen eye for design.

We decided on high impact color and a Southwest theme. The cut end of one of two kayaks they let us use was put to use as Jade worked her magic in composition. We've included a cold-hardy Agave parryi v. truncata flanked with assorted Sedum and Sempervivum.

Two kayaks were erected by the awesome Agua Verde staff for us to plant up.

Here's a closeup. We decided to mix it up with both hardy and tender succulents for maximum impact since this kayak maybe need to be taken down for the winter months. It's doing incredibly well and is loving the exposure and heat it gets on site.

West of the succulent desert is a more conventional border utilizing bright, contrasting colors and seasonal interest. We had to utilize the sparkling globes of Allium schubertii and some perennial standards that will be easy to care for and take off such as Geranium 'Rozanne' and Sedum 'Matrona'. We threw in more exotics that absolutely love the heat such as Tetrapanax papyrifera 'Steroidal Giant' (yes, potentially thuggy, but we're aiming for WOW), Canna 'Tropicanna', Agapanthus 'Stormcloud' and an assortment of Eucomis comosa selections. We've also included wonderful ornamental grasses and the bright gold of Rhus 'Tiger Eyes' which Rey Lopez, one of the managers commented, "that looks expensive!". It wasn't really, not to worry.

The view from the Cafe is pretty tremendous:

 

And a lovely way to spend a warm summer afternoon of gardening:

 

My thanks to Rey and the rest of the staff at Agua Verde. I need to prepare a plant list for them as they're likely to get inundated with questions on "What's the plant there?"

Awesome!


R

A great season for greens!

Earlier this season, I thought of replicating a composition I saw online last year utilizing an assortment of lettuces and interplanting them with edible pansies.

I decided to use a cheapo window box from the hardware store and there was even one I got that fits perfectly over a standard deck railing. With that in mind, I planted these up and then took them to the house to share with my housemates who have been encouraged to help themselves with the abundant greens we had for weeks now. Such a tremendous year for them!



A simple and easy idea for those without much space and very little time!

Starting somewhere...

WOW, talk about busy!!  I'm sorry I've fallen behind on this blog. Luckily, I haven't quite hit one month since my last post, but I've got something special in store. It'll be short and sweet, just like my nephews:

This is little Pao. Jean Paolo on his birth certificate; dubbed Pao Pao at home; JP to his classmates. A few weeks back, I took him shopping at the garden center and we bought strawberries, tomatoes, bean seeds and a pepper plant. We prepared a little bed in their backyard to plant and here is after showing him how to take a plant out of a container for planting:

    

Yesterday, I came back to visit to hear and see how things were going. Pao said he'd been watering. However, I noticed that we forgot to plant the pepper. His big brother BJ: Benjohn in his birth certificate: Beej when we're lazy to say another syllable, joined us to plant. A neighborhood friend also came by that they invited and the three of them each took on a task. One was to dig, one was to plant and the other to water in. Pao immediately grabbed my hori hori knife once I got it from my car, but first, I asked him to demonstrate how to knock a plant out of a pot, but with big brother's help:

Couldn't be more proud! =)

Riz

PEONY TIME!

So we went shopping today to find peonies that will hopefully be in bloom come Sunday for the Seattle Chinese Garden's peony event!

 

Notice that I'm speaking that afternoon!!  I hope you can make it!

So while we're crossing our fingers for flowers, guess who's blooming at Landwave:

 

R

Gardening: A Career to be Damn Proud Of!

I can't help but get kind of teary-eyed that I'm not anticipating a flight to the UK and taking in the Chelsea Flower Show in person this year. I think by not going, it's really hitting me that I really did it; I fulfilled a dream and experienced an aspect of my career that truly helped define it. Part of me wants to relive it very badly, but reality is setting in and, in a way, I've got to earn that next trip.

With social media in full swing at these types of events, I get updates on the progress of the show gardens and relevant links on the RHS Facebook Page.

One of those links was this awesome video they posted about how valuable and fulfilling a career in horticulture is! Yes, there are cultural differences and a long tradition of gardening in the UK, but they address some of the same issues we deal with here in the United States. Horticulture is deemed as a career for those who failed to excel in school or the image of a gardener as "a grumpy old man coughing in a potting shed".




You might remember the garden designer I profiled last year, Sarah Price. She is designing a grand garden for Chelsea (for the Telegraph) and also took part in designing landscape elements for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Here's a video of her as crunch time nears for the great flower show and the plants are kinda temperamental:

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R