Enjoying my birthDAY...

Last Monday was my birthday. Andrew took the day off and since far-flung travel wasn't an option (COVID concerns) we set out on Highway 30 to hit Cistus, Means, and Joy Creek Nurseries (what I will always think of as the "trifecta" thanks to the Outlaw). It all felt very safe thanks to being outdoors and masked...
Eryngium some-something, out front of Cistus Nursery, I think maybe Eryngium pandanifolium var. lasseauxii
And the desert island bed at Rancho Cistus, I did an in-depth photo-post on this in April, it's looking even better now.
Cactus swallowed by a fern! You don't see that every day.



Quercus tarahumara in Sean's private garden. WOW... 
That view! The fire bowl is from Pot, Inc.
Oregon? Why yes, it is.
I didn't get a chance to ask Sean what species this agave is, I love the uneven variegation.
The day was sunny and hot, just the way I like it! The temp topped out at 93F, and yes, that was plenty of heat, but then we also went into the agave greenhouse and things got even warmer. I can't complain though, being hot is always better than being cold.
The next stop, Means Nursery, where cactus is in. 
I had to wonder what exactly they were saying. Is "cactus in" in a general sense? Like green is the new black? Or is cactus in, like "in-stock"...get them while they're hot? Naturally I looked for cactus and I found none. They did have A LOT of mangaves though.
On to Joy Creek Nursery, where they had a birthday candle in the garden just for me! Dasylirion wheeleri in bloom...


Pretty fabulous.
Of course I visited my Agave neomexicana friends.
They were looking wonderful.
Yep...a hydrangea. I'm not usually a huge fan, but this color combination took me back to the ginormous hydrangeas that bloomed in front of the windows of my first apartment in Seattle. I loved those plants. 
A small part of the Joy Creek sales area. Note the hoses, it was a hot day!
Love this tiny vase creation.
Joy Creek does shade well.
So that was the nursery portion of the day. Normally we would have gone out to dinner, but even though some restaurants are open for dining we just didn't want to take the chance, and called in an order for takeout to McMenamins Kennedy School. They've been doing take out for weeks, but the garden was closed while the facility was, they're all open again and so while Andrew picked up food, I strolled the garden...and discovered my second birthday candle of the day!
Another Dasylirion wheeleri in bloom...
The gravel garden is looking fantastic.

And there's a new addition, an Agave 'Sharkskin'....

I've always assumed this is a baby Agave 'Mateo', it's doing well, as have mine.
Some wide-shots...

This arctostaphylos and mangave combo is my last shot from Kennedy School.
And now it's time to share the birthday plant haul...not bad eh?
Sean was very generous, Agave ferdinandi-regis with no markings (going in a container).
Agave parrasana 'Meat Claw' (already in the ground)
I regretted not buying this Agave schidigera 'Royal Flush' the last time I was at Cistus, I didn't make the same mistake twice.
Ditto for this agave filifera ssp. schidigera 'White Stripe'
This is the offspring of a Beschorneria decosteriana I've admired for years in the Cistus driveway plantings, now I have one of my own to grow.
Sean labels this one Agave 'Streaker'... with a name like that it has to go front and center in my garden, the front garden (already in the ground).
Lastly a gift from Tamara and Joy Creek, Arenaria alfacarensis...
I crushed hard on the Arenaria 'Wallowa Mountains' I saw in a garden on the Denver Fling itinerary last June (here), I'm homing I can be successful with this one in my garden.
In case you're wondering, it was a very good birthDAY!