sprig to twig

I must confess to being a little disappointed in this year’s show. In the past, nurseries were known to pull out all the stops in an effort to outshine one another and go home with ribbons. I only saw one booth that went that route, but then it’s been a hard year. That said, I fired up the camera for a few things I found noteworthy.

ANLD built this colorful booth.

Then loaded it up with plants that echoed and/or complemented the jazzy color scheme.

These large sculptural leaves sprouting from the framework of another booth caught my eye.

A large glass “tree” seems to be making the rounds of shows. Karen had a picture of it in her post about the Seattle show. The background was so busy that I opted for a close-up, but it was huge.

My mission was to soak up atmosphere and speakers, not so much to shop. Chief Joseph pines were everywhere. I found some, tiny, in 4″ pots, for $60. Guess I will wait until they become common, which, by the looks of things, they are bound to do. What I did spring for was bulbs of Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ and Arisaema triphyllum, a Calluna vulgaris ‘Blazeaway’ to add to my growing heather collection, and Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘N’ Gold’.

Zeroing in on just a couple of speakers out of so many choices was tough. Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery spoke about bold foliage for small gardens. His point was that in a small room, filling it with finicky, small furniture makes it feel smaller than bold strokes. Well, we have a large property, but I figure the big stuff is even more important here. Cistus is nearby, so when I’m ready I will just pop on over to see what is available and grill the ever helpful staff. Sean’s talk was more along the lines of high entertainment for this plant-starved winter shut-in. Next, Dan Heims showed us shade plants….lots of shade plants, and filled us in on plant combinations, new introductions, and exactly the conditions to make them happy.

After all that stimulation, I was ready for a little walk. Miraculously, I had found a parking spot right across the street from the main entrance, so I decided to stroll around the perimeter of the convention center. I like the way plants spill over the balcony and contrast with the sand colored brick.

Bioswales carry runoff during the rainy months and are lined with draught tolerant grasses and basalt columns for year round interest, with traffic, bridges and skyline as background.

It’s time for the great backyard bird count. I am just dashing off to the Yard, Garden and Patio Show, but if you pop over to Faire Garden, Frances will tell you about it. Interested? Click here for all the rules, etc., and we can compare notes in a few days.

I have a very cavalier attitude toward propagation. When I read scholarly tracts on the subject, my head quickly begins to hurt. Every once in a while, a tip will jump off the page and lodge itself in the brain. For instance: a cutting of anything in the willow family will release a hormone that encourages other cuttings sharing the same container to produce roots. I don’t happen to have any Salix in my garden, but have found that Coleus provides the same service.

My studio windowsill sports a collection of clear glass containers filled with bouquets of hopeful cuttings. As roots form, they create swirling patterns as lovely as the foliage above. There are apparently certain times of the year that are best for taking cuttings, but my slipshod approach has not included record keeping to note when successful snippets were taken. An occasional rinsing of the jars reveals what is working and is an opportunity to discard the hopeless cases.

Choisya ‘Sun Dance’ has been one of the successes, though I fear for its survival after its most recent winter ordeal. Other champs have been geraniums, rosemary, lavender and forsythia. If I live long enough, I may fill up this garden yet.

When friends bought a new couch for their TV room, they found it comfy but boring. Laurie had certain colors and sizes in mind, but didn’t want to wait. I loaned them some pillows to use while I worked on the custom order.

Working with a color palette chosen by someone else can be fun and challenging. I gave Laurie swatches of all my fabrics, from which she chose rust, taupe, steel gray and a touch of bright yellow.

I call this one ‘Bubbles’. I made two of these, so one is now available in my Etsy shop.

‘Waveburst’ is the other one she chose, after deciding that the loaner pillows would have to stay as well.

The mixture of colors, sizes and designs works surprisingly well. Indoor shots are never very true to the colors, but you get the idea. I love the isolation of my studio, but this project put me in touch with the kind of new thinking that collaboration can bring to bear.

There are a couple of things about this photo that I want to share with you. The first is that winter sun above the treetops, which needs no pointing out from this guide. The second thing, you will just have to take on faith. See the black specks in the treetop front and center? When I looked out this morning, they were moving. At first, I thought they were leaves, but they were floating from branch to branch, rather than falling to the ground. Quick…the binoc’s…they were hummingbirds…lots of hummingbirds! This is definitely the sort of thing that can make one’s day!

Our super-charming cousins, Noami and Ian, have been in town, and introduced a new use for what I have always called “Pot Flags”. Noami describes it better than I do (in the post linked above), but basically the concept is to put out a flag whenever the bar is open, or you are just in the mood to entertain. That way, friends or neighbors will feel free to pop in when the time is right.

As it turns out, buying through my website was less than self-explanatory, so I will be working on correcting that. In the meantime, I have begun to add flags to my Etsy shop, where more will be added on a regular basis.

Etsy is proving to be a dangerous place to hang out. I just came across this cocktail ring at BigHelmetHead. Is it not just the niftiest?

I have, in fact, been sticking with my commitment to take my camera along on walks. It somehow prompts more attention to details like this tree, whose catkins have tassled up delightfully.

Then there was this holly growing up through a tall cedar and loaded with bright red berries.

Here’s where the warning part comes in. In order to get these shots, and some of a gnarly old apple tree still hanging on to aging, bronzed apples (that didn’t turn out), I found myself scrambling up brushy embankments. A day later, my face began to itch something fierce. Before long, I looked like a victim of something between jungle rot and teen acne. Now, I know what poison oak looks like. My cousin Billy was my partner in crime in the early years. We found some fabulously shiny and colorful leaves in the woods one fall day, and thought that armloads of boughs would please our mothers no end. Quite the contrary, as soon as they spotted us they snatched us up, branches flying, stripped us down and scrubbed us raw with lye soap. We got out of it scot-free, but Aunt Florine swelled up until her eyes were mere slits. Lesson learned. Poison Oak sports oak-shaped leaves with a surface that gets its shine from the sap that causes all the trouble. I didn’t spot any on this expedition, but it must have been lurking there somewhere. My advice is to stick to trails at least until things leaf out and you can tell what you are getting yourself into. Regular applications of tea tree oil have calmed down the itch enough that I can resist the scratching that spreads it around.

One of my favorite little shops is in NW Portland on 24th, just off Thurman. Its name is Oxalis and it is in part of a little house, with garden art out front, all kinds of fun gifts in the house and plants out back. Like so many places that sell plants, once the season passes and the offerings lose their summer luster, great deals are to be had. I picked up Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Helena’s Blush’, Hebe ‘Silver Dollar’ and Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ for a song. (actually, they probably would have paid me to spare them any singing)

They went into this petrified wood planter, where they are too crowded to stay for long. ‘Helena’ blushes deeper as temperatures drop, so she has provided a nice alternative to flowers in the dark months.

So this is what wishful thinking got me. I will cut all the dead stuff off and hope for the best, but I fear my vision of a massive Phormium tenax anchoring this bed will never be realized. Had I wrapped it snugly against the deep freeze, would the diagnosis be any better, I wonder? The new Yucca ‘Bright Edge’ came through unscathed, so I will be moving in that direction with replacement purchases.

This well-established tree has lost its military bearing. Unlike the dry, lightweight snow that fell in great quantities and lasted over a week in ‘08, doing little damage, our recent snowfall was wet and heavy. I’m hoping this guy will recover with time.

Here is another victim. I must pass both of these sufferers any time I leave the house. It is like having disapproving uncles “tsk tsk”ing at me. How much effort can it be to take broom in hand to relieve them of their burden? I promise to try to become a better caretaker in future.