Oh Marcia, Marcia, Marcia...

I've certainly heard of the name, but never really thought it would be a person I'd ever get to know or meet. Ken Druse persuaded and convinced me that this was a garden worth visiting since I was in the Berkeley area. Having seen some of her artwork in private gardens here in Puget Sound and also in Portland, the name Marcia Donahue seems to come up again and again and I thought, "I better see what the fuss is about."  Also, I got the feeling that I Ken might be mighty upset with me if I didn't meet her.

So hauled ass on a taxi from the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden to arrive at a home that almost reminded me of Sean Hogan's home in Portland. Densely planted with some really cool plants, I knew I was in for a treat and with 10 minutes to spare, I could at least say "hello" and introduce myself.

But then:

 

I was a bit bummed, but I did peak around the front and admired what I could see. At every corner, not only did you see her remarkable plant palette, but the artwork was whimsical, unique, and you can see the incredible attention to detail and inspiration from the wonderful plants she's surrounded herself with integrated into her sculptures and compositions. Even this note attached to what looks like bamboo, but uniquely isn't, was very eye-catching and blended with the dense plantings so well.

I left her a note and my card and walked back to the BART station to head back to Fremont, where I was staying. I started getting upset at myself again for not having planned ahead, yada yada yada, but then it wasn't really part of the plan to see her garden. The fact was, I DID see Marcia Donahue's garden, but I just didn't get to meet her. I told myself that I'd make the effort the next time I came down to the Bay Area.

As I waited for a ride from the station, I get a phone call and IT WAS MARCIA DONAHUE!!!   She had apologized for not having the garden open as she was out in Sonoma camping with her family and that she did hear from Ken Druse about my coming to visit and she had offered to show me her garden if I was free the next day. So I made it happen and I was back on the BART back to Berkeley to meet the infamous MD!

Walking through her jungle of a garden with art was really quite something. I'm normally not a fan of garden art, but somehow, it all works together in its own special way. I think it's because of her ability to capture the essence of a plant part whether it be the culms of a bamboo, the bracts of a Disporum or the spathe of an Arisaema, she understands these elements internally and expresses them in a very clever and sophisticated manner that's tasteful and can truly be appreciated by a plant geek such as myself.

The muscularity of this simple sculpture resembles a crape myrtle, but with the segments of bamboo and the pale pink and grays pick up the coloration of the young Begonia foliage.

One gangly plant caught my attention which lead to a phone call and a ride in her car to a nearby nursery that a colleague of mine actually recommended I visit as well!!!!!!

She insisted that I grow this fabulous member of the carrot family, Mathiasella bupleuroides:

So she whisked me down just a few blocks to The Dry Garden and introduced me to Richard Ward. The nursery itself was small, but the offerings absolutely mouthwatering! I kept reminding myself that I was only after one plant and it had to be a size I could pack in my suitcase. 

Of course, that all changed when Richard pointed out a most striking variegated Bromeliad that we all just gawked that for a moment and then I simply couldn't resist it.

This is Aechmea 'Aztec Gold'. Totally not hardy, but I convinced myself that it's too freakin' aw

So awesome that even Richard wanted to take a photo!

Two other plant purchases later, including my new baby Mathiasella and a Pachystegia insignis I've been lusting after since ours at work died a few years ago, we went back to Marcia's where I continued my tour and admiration of her remarkable and interesting garden. 

The chickens were a lovely surprise and each them were a work of art!

Mulching with bowling balls!

Not gonna lie, I want these!!

I can't tell you how honored I was to meet Marcia and see this remarkable garden. She is passionate about her work and so incredibly generous with the wonderful gifts she has as not only as an artist, but as a person as well. My thanks to Ken Druse for making the introduction. 

Until we meet again, Ms. Donahue:

I found this little video on YouTube of Marcia sharing her work at a local gallery:

Berkeley Excursions: The UC Berkely Botanical Garden

Ok, so now I have South Africa as a place I definitely want to explore and learn more about!!


My trip to the Bay Area included a little reunion of sorts as I met up with a former classmate of mine from the UW/Sichuan Program. Zeng Yu was my equivalent of the Chinese students we worked with when I spent a school year in China. His passion, however, was insects. But coming from the natural sciences, there was a natural respect and admiration for each other's work.

He played tour guide as we walked the campus and also explored some of the neighborhoods around the Berkeley Hills. There are some avid gardeners out there!

He's currently working on his PhD at UC Berkeley so, naturally, I planned a trip to the botanical garden, which, coincidentally, was also highly recommended by my UK colleagues, Dr. John Grimshaw.


I'll let the photos speak for themselves. It was a lovely garden that I wish I had more time to really soak in. The eco-geographical displays and incredible selection of plants was absolutely fantastic and being that it was the mild-climate Bay Area, they're just a little bit ahead of the game when it came to blooms. But then, of course, there's always something blooming!

This stand of Agave parryi was simply jaw-dropping!

A phenomenal display of South African flora!

Upon closer inspection, you see its many colorful treasures

...like this Helichrysum or "Everlasting"...

...and I'm a sucker for blue and this Babiana pulchra fits the bill!

And how 'bout the blue eye of this splendid Sparaxis

Turn around and this is your view. Lots of spiny things to see!

Head up the hill and there's more splendid things to see

From a distance I noticed this remarkable tree.

And I had to smell it as well. Magnolia doltsopa...mmmmmmm...

This Vaccinium was stunning with the chalky undersides.

Various Rhododendron species were in full bloom including this one with spectacular peeling bark!

Couldn't ask for a more dramatic setting for Old Garden Roses.

And the views from the hill were remarkable!

As you can see, the weather was absolutely perfect! Unfortunately, I had to rush my visit so I could hit up another garden. This time, a recommendation by Mr. Ken Druse who insisted that I see this garden and meet this remarkable and very talented individual who created it!.


Riz

San Fran Flower and Garden Show: Show Garden highlights

Ok, so it's not the Northwest, it's "different" my colleagues say....

First of all, I want to mention the positives: GEORGE HULL is the man! Hooking us up with comp tickets to the show! He's a horticulturist and plant breeder from Arizona and he was there with his students who built a wonderful show garden display and through the perks of social media, we got in for free!

Having attended the NW Flower and Garden Show for almost 17 years, I couldn't help but have a bit of an expectation when I heard of the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. I've always associated the city as multicultural, cutting edge in terms of design, trendy and would pave the way with the latest in lifestyle.

So, I walked in the halls and saw this:

 

So yeah....

It had an interesting, almost COUNTY FAIR feel to it; a large exhibition hall minus the livestock. Then the photo below just needed a clown and maybe a few rides in the background.

Not gonna lie, this was awesome to see!

The show gardens represented a country with the overall theme of "Gardens Make the World Go Round". Let's see which countries you can identify with just the photos I took.

What I tried to look for in the show were interesting and eye-catching compositions and, of course, wonderful plants!

 

This composition and walk-through garden has these interesting panels and cone-shaped containers. I like the effect the grasses at the base create to make it seem like the pots are hovering just above them. The lighting and the shadows created on the panels were unique. The plant palette....meh.

Now this garden had some wonderful plants! Diverse selection of what appear to be primarily grasses, California natives and, basically, a drought tolerant landscape. It just lacks a little definition and no one plant really stands out. The stone work all around the garden was pretty cool though:

Kudos to George Hull and the students at Arizona State University who put together a display that pretty much swept all the awards!!!  Of all the gardens, it was the most complete and the different rooms show goers were able to experience was pretty well done. Their use of materials, mostly (if not all) recycled, was fantastic. They wanted to demonstrate simple vignettes that the home owner can easily build and replicate in their warm/arid landscape. More photos of their garden and how it was built in this LINK.

These faux stone walls lit from the base were very effective and done to scale very well.

And the architectural plantings of mostly desert Southwest plants were in fine display and wonderfully contrasted with the intensely colored walls.

So this was suppose to be the Philippines.

I can't remember what country they were trying to represent here, but it was both interesting and odd at the same time:

One of my favorite gardens was this simply planted space that was both comfortable and sophisticated at the same time. Wonderful specimen olives with excellent form and the paving materials were very nice. Great use of gabion walls as well.

The true centerpiece of the entire show was this phenomenal globe planted up with succulents! A mighty impressive feat!!

Then there was this:

I'm sorry I didn't have time to read the description of this garden. It was simply a "WTF??" moment.

R

San Francisco Flower and Garden Show highlights

I always enjoy visiting the Bay Area of California. The mild climate and wonderful plant palette always intrigues me and it also helps that I've many family and friends to visit.

After the hoopla of the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show, I needed some down time to rest, recover and reflect on all that has happened these past few weeks.

After the show, the current issue of Organic Gardening has me featured along with a handful of other great YOUNG gardeners from around the USA and that was followed up by a podcast with Ken Druse, who wrote the article for OG.

It's been incredible and the work I've got going has been keeping me busy and a bit stressed, I just hope I learn to manage it all and find a good groove where I'm still enjoying the work I do and keeping up the level of quality I expect for my clients. Spring is here and I feel like there's no time to waste. Even on this glorious day, I have a tendency to freak out and almost guilty that I'm not gardening.

So, I was hoping to come down to the Bay Area, time it with the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show (HA! more work!!) and spend some time with a close friend to just relax and maybe head up to Sonoma/Napa.

I took this photo just to set up just how different this show is from our show here in Seattle. I was told that it was a smaller event and that it was "DIFFERENT". As always, I try my best to keep an open mind:

 

more soon....

2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show: "The Lost Gardener"

Here's a slideshow of some of the moments captured of what has to be one of the highlights of my entire career. Not only did we earn a GOLD MEDAL, we won the 1st Annual Golden Palette Award for the best use of color and plant material and forced blooms, the Environmental Award from the American Horticultural Society, and the biggest surprise of all was the prestigious FOUNDER'S CUP for the Best Show Garden!

WHO KNEW??!!   I'm exceedingly proud of the team I worked with and the talent, commitment and hard work they put into making this a very successful display!


R