After my visit to Jungle Fever I headed to Portland Avenue Nursery (no, I wasn’t home sick). I had a vague memory of visiting here years (and years and years) ago and I wanted to see what it was like now.
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My visit fell on a Saturday and since I have the luxury of doing most of my nursery shopping on weekdays it’s always a shock to see families out shopping. This was the weekend for (what seemed like) all of Tacoma to be out stocking up on annuals and veggie starts. Hundreds of dollars were being rung up left and right, after this stop I hit 3 other nurseries and everywhere there were carts overflowing with colorspots and tomato starts. It was truly eye opening. But of course my eyes were aimed elsewhere…like on these amazing tree ferns!
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I can’t lie, I am drawn to this foliage.
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No desire for a hydrangea though.
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What is it about dark foliage!?
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And dark tipped leaves and blossoms? This one on a Ligularia ‘Little Rocket’…
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I’ve missed my disporum blooms this year.
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And I’m still thrilled when I spot a schefflera…
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This one is S. brevipedunculata, $41.99.
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Great combination of pittosporum and loropetalum! And it was interesting to see the Monrovia label on the pittosporum. Being sold as ‘Tasman Ruffles’…
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You know of course, there is always an agave…
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These were A. ‘Silver Surfer’, $21.99.
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Yucca elata, someday I’m going to spring for a nice big one of these. The tiny starts I keep bringing back from New Mexico just aren’t happy.
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Scarlet Torch Bottlebrush, aka Callistemon rigidus ‘RutCall’, I hope anyone who buys this realizes it’s probably not hardy here. Online it’s listed as Zone 8 but yet the tag says “benefits from winter protection in zone 8”…
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One thing is for sure, it’s been well pruned (yes, that's sarcasm)...
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Rhamnus frangula (Fine Line Buckthorn), I planted one of these last year and I've loved it throughout the seasons.
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Someday it will be this tall!
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Here's the best price I've seen yet for these container size raspberies.
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These were only $27.99, still I passed. In fact I didn't buy a single thing at this nursery, a pattern I didn't repeat at my other stops.
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This is my entire haul for the weekend (minus the crested sedum which I'd already planted)...
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I somehow lost my Osmunda regalis (Royal Fern) over the winter, it's extremely cold hardy (Zone 2) so I'm not sure what happened. Now I have another! The dark foliage of Thalictrum 'Evening Star' makes me swoon. I do have one but managed to break off most of the new growth a couple of weeks ago, this one is going in a different (safer) spot.
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And those little yellow/green leaves were just too adorable to leave behind. They belong to Meconopsis paniculata...
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This group looks more like me right? The puya on the right came from Jungle Fever, on the left is a pair of Yucca desmetiana 'Blue Boy'. I've had mixed results overwintering these plants but keep trying.
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Besides one of them was a double, how could I pass that up?
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Finally, another double, an unlabeled agave. It has definite A. parryi characteristics but it's leaves are so petite, almost like a cross between A. parryi and Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'...
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All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
My visit fell on a Saturday and since I have the luxury of doing most of my nursery shopping on weekdays it’s always a shock to see families out shopping. This was the weekend for (what seemed like) all of Tacoma to be out stocking up on annuals and veggie starts. Hundreds of dollars were being rung up left and right, after this stop I hit 3 other nurseries and everywhere there were carts overflowing with colorspots and tomato starts. It was truly eye opening. But of course my eyes were aimed elsewhere…like on these amazing tree ferns!
I can’t lie, I am drawn to this foliage.
No desire for a hydrangea though.
What is it about dark foliage!?
And dark tipped leaves and blossoms? This one on a Ligularia ‘Little Rocket’…
I’ve missed my disporum blooms this year.
And I’m still thrilled when I spot a schefflera…
This one is S. brevipedunculata, $41.99.
Great combination of pittosporum and loropetalum! And it was interesting to see the Monrovia label on the pittosporum. Being sold as ‘Tasman Ruffles’…
You know of course, there is always an agave…
These were A. ‘Silver Surfer’, $21.99.
Yucca elata, someday I’m going to spring for a nice big one of these. The tiny starts I keep bringing back from New Mexico just aren’t happy.
Scarlet Torch Bottlebrush, aka Callistemon rigidus ‘RutCall’, I hope anyone who buys this realizes it’s probably not hardy here. Online it’s listed as Zone 8 but yet the tag says “benefits from winter protection in zone 8”…
One thing is for sure, it’s been well pruned (yes, that's sarcasm)...
Rhamnus frangula (Fine Line Buckthorn), I planted one of these last year and I've loved it throughout the seasons.
Someday it will be this tall!
Here's the best price I've seen yet for these container size raspberies.
These were only $27.99, still I passed. In fact I didn't buy a single thing at this nursery, a pattern I didn't repeat at my other stops.
This is my entire haul for the weekend (minus the crested sedum which I'd already planted)...
I somehow lost my Osmunda regalis (Royal Fern) over the winter, it's extremely cold hardy (Zone 2) so I'm not sure what happened. Now I have another! The dark foliage of Thalictrum 'Evening Star' makes me swoon. I do have one but managed to break off most of the new growth a couple of weeks ago, this one is going in a different (safer) spot.
And those little yellow/green leaves were just too adorable to leave behind. They belong to Meconopsis paniculata...
This group looks more like me right? The puya on the right came from Jungle Fever, on the left is a pair of Yucca desmetiana 'Blue Boy'. I've had mixed results overwintering these plants but keep trying.
Besides one of them was a double, how could I pass that up?
Finally, another double, an unlabeled agave. It has definite A. parryi characteristics but it's leaves are so petite, almost like a cross between A. parryi and Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'...
All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.