Xera Nursery Fall Fundraiser and Open House

Sometimes one feels like a kid in a candy store. This was one of those times. 

The sale is over at Xera Plants but I made it at least. This isn't meant in a snarky way, I'm just surprised I had the energy to go! (September was quite an active month for me and I was really drained from all the activities.)

Sorry to have not posted anything about this pre-sale, but so it goes. (This is a wholesale nursery that's not frequently open to the public so whenever they open their doors it's quite a treat!)

Yes, I am posting this after the fact but at least this was something I attended within the last week! (Oh, just wait until my backlog begins to appear soon!)

Crepe Myrtle 'Wichita', (Lagerstroemia 'Wichita').

For a bit of a change I took my landscaper friend with me and we both enjoyed the break even though we were exhausted before we'd even left. 

Polka Dot Begonia, (Begonia maculata).

Introducing my friend to a few new contacts at the nursery was fun, and besides, who among us doesn't really just enjoy looking at plants?

Buddleja colvilei 'Kew Form'.

This form of Buddleja really surprised us both and the blooms were different. If it hadn't been for its leaves I'm not sure we would have been able to identify the shrub. That's what tags are for though...

An Arctostaphylos treated as a standard. 

And just look at the bark on this beautiful topiary! I could stare at it for days, months, years.

Parrot Plant, (Impatiens niamniamensis).

Ok, since I'm always bad about posting my purchases, I will do so this time. First up was a replacement Impatiens. Yes, I know it's getting cold out and that this plant won't be happy soon out in the cold but I should remind those of you who're new to this blog that I have a lot of plant lights and I spend all winter in a house filled with lights and plants. It's not such a horrible way to live and even people who don't garden as much as I do love to visit. 

I bought a Polka Dot Begonia and another Begonia luxurians too. The latter was also a replacement plant. (Yes, some plants were neglected during the separation and divorce process. I felt badly about this, but it has been worth it in the long run.)

Fig tree, (Ficus afghanistanica).

This little fig tree was a nice find. It's a compact form and quite cold hardy so it may end up living in a container although I plan to plant it before winter sets in around here. (If I do chose to move, this one is going with me.)

My sad fig situation this year. 

I was sad that my little fig tree wasn't very productive this year but our weather has been so strange. It's been sunny and warm for weeks now and we've had so little rain. It's October and I still have to water! I should be baking with apples right now!

(Yes, I would have bought more if I could have, but not knowing where I will be this time next year means that I have to really curtail my plant purchases to those which can be transported easily to wherever I land. I do love Xera Plants a lot though and I hope that in the future when I am more settled I will be able to add more of their special plants to my garden.)

The studio/garage. 

In other news, during my recent birthday party—while hanging out in the hammock—an old friend had a bright idea. Later that night he wrote to me and asked: "Have you ever thought about renting out your garage as an art studio?" I took a deep breath before writing back to let him know that when I first saw this house for sale online it was the detached semi-finished former garage space that excited me most. I very much wanted to make it into some kind of studio but we could never do so.

So, if my garden and I are going to grow on in time, it somehow seems quite fitting to let that initial thought I'd had so long ago—a little spark I'd sent out into the world—come full circle. I hope that allowing a gifted and very talented young artist to set fire to his own creativity back there with his brushes and imaginative energy will help to propel me forward. Besides, it means I get to add some plant life back into the space over the winter.

An artist needs inspiration, right? Let it be green...

Wordless Wednesday: Let's Get this Party Started

Clematis 'Lincoln Star'.

Clematis 'Josephine'. 

Columbine sampler. 

Iris x hollandica.

Iris tenax.

Buddleja globosa.

My first Lithops.

Entertaining from the Garden (and the Heart) with the Hands and the Head

Whenever my husband drives up from California, I make plans with as many people as I can because when he was a cook—and then a chef—this was entirely impossible. Now that we care for foster children, and he works out of state at a vineyard in California, this becomes even more of a challenge at times. It seems we are getting a feel for it though and yesterday we had a smashing success when I invited over an old Italian friend from college who I hadn't seen in years!

The most difficult part for me is often just letting go of the menu completely. I want to do this, and I need to do this, and I can trust my husband completely, but it can be a difficult dance because it begins and ends quickly. This time, it went something like this, "Italian brunch to me means: frittata, leftover pasta from the night before, fruit and lots of veggies." We planned to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and that was the end of it. I turned to crafting with the foster respite and cleaning the house while additionally getting ready for our impending trip to California.

The Farmer's Market was amazing and I just pointed at a few green items and I honestly had no idea what the plan was and I didn't ask. The chef likes some mystery.

Yesterday, before our guest arrived, I looked around in the garden for some flowers to harvest for the table. I knew we had what I refer to as "bread and butter" Dutch irises in the Hell Strip by the street so I picked one of them first. It went swimmingly from there: long-spurred Aquilegia, Aucuba Gold Dust, and then some orange Buddleja globosa for some umph!

Then our foster respite asked me if I was going to use the other cool black Japanese vase and I thought about what to add to it. The Green Rose Rosa viridiflora immediately dove into the vase with a low wrap of Coleus and I didn't even have to think about it.

Our guest arrived, and with his help, our table was lovingly set reminding me in so many ways of the rituals done almost without thought but with great reverence during the Mass. Again, I am not a seriously devout Catholic nowadays, but I will always be Catholic by culture and I am proud of that as an Italian-American. 

We brunched upon a spring beet salad with fresh greens and a horseradish and walnut oil dressing, a spring asparagus frittata with a splash of white truffle oil, dragonfruit, honeydew melon, and mango, and lastly, there was a peanut soup with spring peas and a splash of whipped coconut cream. (This last course was added due to gluten and dairy intolerances and it was a perfect surprise!)

In addition to the fruit, our guest also brought carnations and I immediately thought of something I had read last week about the American singer Katy Perry. How could she demand that there be no carnations in her trailer? Sure we all have issues with some kind of flower for some kind of personal reason, but these little dolls were just so cute yesterday I just adored them. (These are for you Katy Perry XOXO.)

In less than a day, we will be departing for another whirlwind plant and garden tour from Portland, to the Bay Area of San Francisco, and then back again along the southern Oregon Coast. This time there will be more gardens, more plants, and who knows what kind of shenanigans! 

Hopefully I will not be soaking wet and shivering like I was last time when I did this about two months ago. Our rain totals so far this year are seriously off the charts. ¡Gracias La Niña! Now pleeeeaaaaase go away!

Marin County Open Gardens 2011

My Glo-Go Tree, the Orange Ball Tree, or the color my neighbor hates

Very few people outside of my family will understand when I call this thing a Glo-Go tree. Technically, it is actually a type of butterfly bush but it is very unlike the ones we are most familiar with here in the US. This one is South American. It is a: Buddleia globosa, or Orange Ball Tree. I bought it here in the Portland area at a nursery called Cistus and I just cannot say enough about the folks there. They are great and so are their plants.