The Birthday Week - Hardy Plant Study Weekend, Vancouver, B.C.

What an exhausting, but fun and productive summer it's been so far!

As of Wednesday, Jun 19, 2013, I'm 31 years old and this next generation gardener has been busy busy busy! Last weekend, I had the fortune of getting a last minute registration for the Hardy Plant Study Weekend up in Vancouver, B.C. It sold out quickly and it didn't even occur to me until a colleague asked if I was staying in the dormitories at UBC (University of British Columbia). Lucky for me, I have family up in Vancouver, one of my most favorite cities in the world, that I was able to stay with should I get picked from the waiting list.

I was thrilled to have taken part and even more excited of the many people, many who I've never met, come and greet me! A handful congratulated me for the display garden at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and then a handful of folks, who heard that I'd be speaking for their Hardy Plant group this autumn, were so delighted to meet me. Not gonna lie, it almost felt a little like being a celebrity. It felt so good to know that people knew who you were and were excited to learn more.

The vendors for the 2013 Hardy Plant Study Weekend

Yet again, I was the "kid" in the auditorium where the lectures were held. It was these study weekends that really brought landscape design to life for me. I remember many years ago when I first attended one as a teenager at the University of Washington and getting a scholarship to take part in the study weekend and open gardens. I didn't have my drivers license yet and I remember getting rides to the open gardens and truly getting a feel for what was horticulturally possible here and the extravagance many landscapes possessed. It is my hope that other young garden/plant enthusiast would get this kind of experience and mentoring. The main demographic of this group is getting older and it becomes harder and harder to take part in all the garden tours, sales, and other events on the horticultural calendar. It also doesn't help that some events take place when we young ones have to work and make a living. =(

As a "veteran" of the study weekend, I felt energized and ready to make another impression in some ways. The plant sales were absolutely fantastic and they were even set up for exporting the plants back to the United States with Department of Agriculture officials issuing phytosanitary certificates! I showed great restraint and did not buy one plant! I know...I know....

You knew you were in the right place as even the men's restroom was decorated with fresh cuts!

The line-up of speakers was top notch as it usually is. I had the fortune of meeting Mr. John Massey who runs the infamous Ashwood Nurseries in the UK, who are know for their remarkable Hellebores, Hepaticas, and other rare and unusual selections and also great garden plants. He gave a fantastic talk about his garden and the lessons he's learned in each season of gardening and on the last day, he spoke on the breeding work they do and the advancements they've made. Truly inspiring and a most hilarious speaker as his nerves quickly turned into a charming charisma once he got his laser pointer under control! I ran into him at an open garden and introduced himself. So on my next adventure to the UK, I must pay him a visit and see his incredible work in person!

 It was so great running into friends at these events. It was an opportunity to catch up with people and also team up with those with cars who had an open seat when it came to visiting the regions many fine gardens.

I ran into fellow plant nut and garden designer, Meghan Fuller (left) who was joined by avid gardening enthusiast, Colleen Gray. They happen to have an extra seat and kindly let me join them during the tours. We were probably the youngest attendees there and it was nice to have company who were so easy going and so very enthusiastic!

We were all certainly in for a treat and, boy, were the gardens ever so manicured to perfection. It was remarkable to see the diverse styles and different scales and approaches to gardening in Vancouver, B.C.

Some gardens were simple and comfortable

Some were just jammed packed with color, texture, and precision in mind.

Some gardens were just unbelievable and ridiculously wealthy with amazing views.

For me, it's always about the plants, the combinations and how they're utilized to define space.

And to see the scale and diversity of Pacific Northwest horticulture.

Here were some lovely plant combinations

 



 




Probably the most spectacular and inspiring garden had to be this striking landscape



I'm normally not a fan of large lawn space, but there's something about how this was design that just drew you in and you know that there was more to see beyond, but you had to take your time to admire the plant collections and all the subtleties that were so carefully planted.

Just imagine the striking blue flowers of the willow gentian (Gentiana asclepidaea) with the Japanese Forest Grass!

Becoming more readily available, this stunning Cardiocrinum gigantuem v. yunnanese was wonderful!

Of course, a trip up to Vancouver wouldn't be a complete trip without a visit to Van Dusen Botanical Garden!

It was a very short visit to Van Dusen as I had to rush to join the ladies for dinner!   LOL 
Yes, there are food pics!


R

Farm Fresh: Spring Wedding Flowers Part 2

Just a few weeks after Annie and Erika's wedding, I was back at the market and contacting growers once again for my friend, Karina's, wedding.

I've known Karina since high school where we met working in food service at a local retirement home. She's not your typical bride as she doesn't get caught up with the excitement of flowers or any sort of elaborate wedding planning. Part of her just wanted the formalities of the wedding to be done with. While other brides choose themes, colors, and work out every detail possible by themselves or with their wedding planner,  Karina just put her trust to her friends who have offered to help and with a tight budget, it was certainly challenging, but we made it work.

When I sat down with Karina and her then fiance, Dustin, she really wanted daffodils in her bouquet. Sadly, I had to inform her that daffodils would be done by her May wedding. A few days before the big day, I had dinner with the bride and groom and our friends, Michelle and Molly, who by coincidence, are also getting married this year and have asked me to do their flowers as well. YIKES!

I was running a bit late, but I wanted to give Karina a "pre-wedding bouquet" so she would get a sense of a style that I was leaning towards. To my surprise, these were in bloom:

Narcissus 'Actaea' ( A poeticus type)

The poeticus Narcissus are the last to flower for the season and even thought they weren't the quintessential yellow many would expect from a daffodil, they still make a statement and the rich scent they exude just added something very special to a hand-tied bouquet I created utilizing various ingredients from outside the garden. She didn't believe they were daffodils, but she still enjoyed my creation. Karina is a fairly simple and straightforward gal who, much like Annie and Erika, don't want to go overboard with decorations and such.

 

As I presented her this bouquet, I had something else in mind for her eventual bouquet that would, once again, utilize the wonderful Ranunculus field fresh from Everyday Flowers at the Seattle Wholesale Grower's Market! Her colors are buttered popcorn yellow, navy blue and  ivory.

Vivian delivered the most wonderful Ranunculus and her Anemones were absolutely stunning! I was telling Karina about these and she will now and forever call them "REDUNCULUS"!  When I went to the grower's market, I was treated to a surprise and saw the same Poeticus Narcissus being offered by the bundles from Choice Bulb Farms in Mt. Vernon as well!

So, I went right to work just as soon as I got everything I needed. I'm getting better at being organized when I do my flowers; it helps to really lay them out individually so one can just grab a stem with ease as they bring it all together.

My last stop for flowers and greens was my own garden where Lily of the Valley was in peak bloom. I harvested as much as I could.

So, here's what I was able to pull together. I actually made three bouquets for Karina to choose from:

Michelle holding a bouquet as one of the bridesmaids

The corsage for the parents

And the boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen.

The venue was at the infamous Museum of Flight in one of their conference rooms that needed a bit of sprucing up so I took my leftover flowers and foliage to create a few more pieces.

 

It's such a great feeling to see a beautiful bride walk down the aisle with something you created specially for her.

Farm Fresh: Spring Weddings Flowers Part 1

Since Katharine and Scott's wedding last summer in Seabrook, WA. I've been inspired more than ever to help friends with their wedding flowers and I've been gaining the confidence to churn out creations that people enjoy and are amazed by as long as they're okay with me using what's in my yard, their yards, what's in season and in a valiant attempt to visit and support local specialty growers, their remarkable and interesting crops, I hope, to use as well!

My first wedding flower gig this season is for my co-worker Annie and her longtime partner, Erika. With the passing of Referendum 74 here in Washington State that allows same-sex couples to finally be married and have it be acknowledged by the state, it was a HUGE honor to have been asked to do their flowers.

One of the biggest trends in weddings these days is the whole DIY concept in keeping costs down. It can be affordable, but the time and labor involved can easily stress and frustrate those who take it on. Knowing Annie and Erika, they're not at all about extravagance, they simply wanted the very basic and they wanted to use plants and flowers from their own garden that they grew. So, my challenge was to stay true to their simple requests: a bouquet for Erika, a boutonniere for Annie, their son Anders, and corsages and boutonniere for the parents and center pieces for the tables and just a few random arrangements here and there to decorate and enhance the venue.

Having been playing around with arrangements all winter, the spring push opened up a whole new palette of wonderful garden plants that would be wonderful for their wedding. With Annie being an avid gardener herself, "Why not just cut from the garden?!".

So I went at it with buckets and just gathered as much material that I thought would hold up. Fantastic Solomon's seal (Polygonatum sp), Helleborus x hybridus just reaching the stage where they're best cut, assorted greens, and even the horribly weedy spanish bluebells inspired some color and held up alright "as a cut"

The Seattle Wholesale Grower's Market in the Industrial District of the Emerald City has been such a delight to visit each and every time I come in. Having made many contacts and close friends and colleagues through the likes of author Debra Prinzing, photographer David Perry, and Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farms, I'm as giddy as a kid in a candy store looking forward to what the growers have brought in and to be greeted by smiles and hugs when I visit just makes me realize how much I love what I do. Floral designer and aspiring cut-flower grower, Nicole Cordier, is the main woman behind the desk handling orders and greeting customers. I adore her enthusiasm for unique plant materials and it's so easy to just hang around and chat flowers and the future of the industry. Not only is she a next generation gardener, she could be a next generation GROWER! The beauty of all this is the fact that we're not alone in our endeavors. I've met three other young ladies in just the past year who have their sights set on growing cut flowers and I'm anxious to see if their strong interest carries them through the ups and downs of a very challenging industry.

So, for Annie and Erika's wedding, I proposed that we use soft orange Ranunculus and blue grape hyacinths. As for arrangements, they were very open to ideas and expressed their love of lilacs so I grabbed a large bunch along with some fantastic, young snowball viburnums that were still a light moss green that contrast with the deep violet color. These were grown by Oregon Coastal Flowers who have a regular stand at the Seattle Wholesale Grower's Market.

For the orange ranunculus, Nicole directed me to Ms. Vivian Larson of Everyday Flowers who was their Ranunculus and Anemone specialist and I was able to get in touch with her to place a special order for 50 stems of orange ranunculus. By coincidence, her Standwood farm was actually on the way to the wedding venue in Camano Island and I has asked if I could pick up my order and also see her growing operation!!!!!!So yeah....good times...good times!! She was so kind and enthusiastic and I admired her work ethic and remarkable quality flowers as she toured me through her hoop houses and her fields in the picturesque Skagit Valley

I couldn't help but marvel at the incredible and painstaking work involved in producing these cut blooms. I also had to get some fabulous Cerinthe purpurescens, which she cut for me right then and there! Talk about fresh from the field!!

With my floral-mobile set, I gave Vivian a hug and gave her my sincerest thanks and off I went to Camano Island to quickly put wedding flowers together.

I was actually surprised that the scent of lilacs wasn't too overpowering. Combined that with wonderful lily-of-the-valley, it was simply heaven! It felt so good to have had the opportunity to gather all these plants, meet the people who tended and raised them and now comes the part where it all comes together to celebrate a union that's been a long time coming!

 

With the help of the family, they arranged the centerpieces and did a great job!

After a wonderful and emotional ceremony, I was greeting with compliments and "thank yous" from so many people and I was so thrilled that they were pleased with the result. Probably the most meaningful comment someone said to me was, "You did a great job. This is so Annie and Erika!"


Riz

Losing a member of our PNW gardening community

I've written and raved about Steamboat Island Nursery near Olympia, WA a few years back when I came down to pay the lovely Laine McLaughlin a visit. It was with great sadness, however, to learn that her partner in crime, Duane Heier, tragically passed away a few weeks ago in a light rail-train accident in Seattle. 

I didn't know Duane very well, but he was the kind of man that was obviously hard-working, very kind, and would do anything for Laine and the work involved keeping up with one of the most prominent specialty nurseries in the Puget Sound region.

Duane was the delivery guy, the re-stocker, the waterer; all the things that needed to  be done, he did and he did so with kindness and patience. One of my colleagues had said that he was easy going and so much involved in the business of growing and selling plants, yet he wasn't a plant-person at all.

It has been awhile since I saw Laine and to hear the news of his passing was just unreal. I'm so used to seeing Laine so upbeat and bubbly and she has the biggest smile each time she says "Hey, ________! How ya doin?"

I just hope that working in her garden/nursery again provides some therapy, while, I'm sure, it brings back a flood of memories of her and Duane. 

Ian Barclay of Desert Northwest blogged about Duane's passing and provided some links and numbers for us to possibly help out Laine during this very difficult time.

Donations directly to Steamboat Island Nursery:
8424 Steamboat Island Road, Olympia, WA 98502.

An account to cover funeral costs was created at Twin Star Credit Union, 
P.O. Box 718, Olympia, WA 98507-0718.
Checks should be made to “Laine McLaughlin” and the memo line should say “Duane Heier” and account #411133-00.”

If you want to talk donations, or donate cash, talk to Jay Higgins at 3heartsas1@gmail.com You can also send messages to Laine directly to the nursery email: steamboat@olywa.net

 Rest in Peach, Duane. Do watch over Laine and trust that we're all looking after her.


Riz

My Infatuation with PCIs (Pacific Coast Iris Hybrids)

Pacific Northwest gardeners are able to brag about a lot of plants that most of the rest of the country could only see and admire in photographs and Pacific Coast Irises seem to be one of those that are such workhorses in the garden, but they're rarely seen outside of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Iris x 'Native Warrior' offered by Xera Plants

Now why is that? As you'll see with the mouth-watering color forms that I've obtained and grown for several years now, they've been highly praised for their shade and drought tolerance and a few select forms have excellent evergreen foliage!

To start, let's look at what's comprised as a PCI:

There are about 11 wild, native, species that make up the PCI's. They are considered a "beardless" type of iris that grow as rhizomatous clumps and thrive in our wet winters, dry summers and moderate temperatures.
Some species hybridize on their own and, of course, selections are made and numerous crosses are done to enhance the size of bloom, improve habit and vigor and diversify the color range that exists.





Often you'll see them offered as seed-grown plants in local garden centers, but specialty nurseries will carry named selections that can be quite extraordinary.

My first exposure to them was when I was in college and doing a planting plan for a design/build project I was involved in. I did some research and found that these irises would be perfect for curbside plantings and the specs emphasized the use of natives. Naturally wanting something more extravagant and more memorable thanks just sword ferns or salal, I found 5 plants at a local garden center with the full intent of using them for this project, but we were over budget and knowing that they probably wouldn't reimburse me if I used them in the garden, I decided to keep them and plunk them in my garden. The result were 4 vigorous plants (one just died randomly), three of which I donated to use at the Center for Urban Horticulture and one that simply took my breath away so I decided to keep and propagate.

An unregistered selection named 'Ami Royale' offered by Far Reaches Farm

With a handful of named selections, PCI hybrids are still difficult to come by. I still find that a lot of Northwest gardeners really don't know them so the push to really propagate and offer them in large quantities just isn't there. The plants are also somewhat temperamental about WHEN they're divided. I've been taught that once new roots are beginning to form at the base of the rhizome, they're ready for division.

A hybrid with unique coloration - could possibly already be named

Ideally, they start putting down new roots before winter sets in allowing the roots to reestablish so the plants are immediately replanted in the beds or potted up and overwintered in a cool, unheated polyhouse over the winter.

Iris x 'Drip Drop' was offered by Cistus Nursery

So why aren't these stunning plants found in other parts of the USA? According to Iris growers in the mid-west and east coast, hardiness seem to be the downfall of these extravagant blooms. While they easily withstand frosts a deep freeze in the single digits may do some of these varieties in.

The unique coloration of Iris x 'Baby Blanket' I got from Dancing Oaks Nursery

Check out the stunning contrast with a gold leaf red-flowering currant at the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon's Spring Plant Sale!

This one was just labeled as "blue-violet", but looks stunning enough to be a named selection.

Again, another unnamed selection that caught my eye so I grabbed it

So, what did happen to that one that was left from the original 5 plants I first got:

I've observed it, divided it, and shared starts with various friends and colleagues, who, I hope will keep it going.

Cheers,

Riz