I have a friend who has just now, in his 40's, decided it's time to learn to drive. I can't imagine. Whenever my world feels like it's starting to close in on me, a nice long (preferably fast) drive out of the city helps restore a sense of my place in the world. I can't say the drive to Cistus Nursery is necessarily long (it's not, only 20 miles door to hoop house) and at a top speed of 50-ish not very fast. But the fact dozens of horticultural wonders are waiting for me, well...it's a January trip of distinction.
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These seedpods were right next to where I parked my car. I want to say they're Datura, but I really don't know.
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Some kind of Phlomis? I should know, I see it every single time I visit.
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I usually stop to admire this Arctostaphylos too, such a beauty.
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I do not regularly give this conifer the respect it so obviously deserves though.
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Just look at that bark! ID = Cupressus sargentii (thanks Julie and Sean)
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I think this might be my first time to drool over this Daphne x houtteana and yet know I have one at home (not yet as fabulous, but surviving!)...
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I've never, ever, had Yucca flowers set seed. Damn.
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Spring. Let's all breath deeply and know spring is coming, this proves it!
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Fatsia polycarpa 'Needham's Lace'
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Schefflera delavayi
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Spikes to the left, spikes to the right, spikes up and spikes down...
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I just right now, this minute, realized that the "strings" of Mahonia gracilipes remind me of the tracery left behind by sparklers on the Fourth of July.
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Time to shop! Walking into the "Big Top" (yep, this is going to be a VERY LONG POST...settle in)...
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Didn't get the name of this Bromeliad, but I know I've seen it blooming here about this time in prior years, it's a good one whatever it is.
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Agave x ferdinandi-regis 'Saltillo Splendor'
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Dyckia 'Nickel Silver'
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Agave funkiana 'Hakuro Shiro Fukurin'
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Good to see their Opuntia polyacantha 'Citrus Punch' bending over like this. My Opuntia polyacantha has been similarly bent since our snow and ice episode.
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For just a moment I was confused.
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Then I saw the flower actually belonged to this Fuzzy Echeveria.
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Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'...lots of them...
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My favorite Echium...E. candicans 'Star of Madeira'...
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Cordyline 'Cha Cha' ?
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Epiphyllum, showing off some fabulous color.
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*Sigh*...only at Cistus...
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Truth be told I couldn't leave without this bit of sunshine. Leucadendron 'Jester'...it came home with me.
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Echium wildpretii
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Schefflera delavayi
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And seeds...
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Sago (to die for...)
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Sonchus canariensis
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Pyrrosia lingua 'Variegata'
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Empty baskets...
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Empty tables. These used to depress me but now I look at them with a bit of excitement. What treasures will fill them in the coming months!?
![]()
Within the closed (against the weather) pavilions at the four corners of the garden all sorts of things are happening, like a blooming Ceanothus...
![]()
And a new plant-crush (even though it wasn't blooming) because of those teeny-tiny leaves...Ceanothus impressus 'Vandenberg'...
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Pittosporum patulum, how beautiful is this?
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Even in January such a soul-feeding place to visit...
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This, a group of Yucca linearifolia...
![]()
Reminds me of this, or at least the version I could easily grow here, in my Portland garden. Photo below – of Agave stricta – taking at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in 2014...
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Nolina microcarpa
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Nicely colored up Yucca aloifolia.
![]()
HUGE Loquat leaves, Eriobotrya japonica.
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My visit is almost over, yet before I can leave I need to visit my spiky friends in the Opuntia house. Just look at them all...
![]()
Long spikes...
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Dense white spikes...
![]()
Purple pads with dark spikes...
![]()
They're all there!
![]()
One last treasure...my friend Evan is the propagator at Cistus, he noticed this Barred Owl just chillin in one of the Eucalyptus at the front of the nursery. He tracked me and a couple of Cistus employee friends down and made sure we got to see the handsome fellow...
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And of course I dallied long enough that traffic was backed up heading back home, however the scenery was such that even it just added to the experience.
![]()
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
These seedpods were right next to where I parked my car. I want to say they're Datura, but I really don't know.
Some kind of Phlomis? I should know, I see it every single time I visit.
I usually stop to admire this Arctostaphylos too, such a beauty.
I do not regularly give this conifer the respect it so obviously deserves though.
Just look at that bark! ID = Cupressus sargentii (thanks Julie and Sean)
I think this might be my first time to drool over this Daphne x houtteana and yet know I have one at home (not yet as fabulous, but surviving!)...
I've never, ever, had Yucca flowers set seed. Damn.
Spring. Let's all breath deeply and know spring is coming, this proves it!
Fatsia polycarpa 'Needham's Lace'
Schefflera delavayi
Spikes to the left, spikes to the right, spikes up and spikes down...
I just right now, this minute, realized that the "strings" of Mahonia gracilipes remind me of the tracery left behind by sparklers on the Fourth of July.
Time to shop! Walking into the "Big Top" (yep, this is going to be a VERY LONG POST...settle in)...
Didn't get the name of this Bromeliad, but I know I've seen it blooming here about this time in prior years, it's a good one whatever it is.
Agave x ferdinandi-regis 'Saltillo Splendor'
Dyckia 'Nickel Silver'
Agave funkiana 'Hakuro Shiro Fukurin'
Good to see their Opuntia polyacantha 'Citrus Punch' bending over like this. My Opuntia polyacantha has been similarly bent since our snow and ice episode.
For just a moment I was confused.
Then I saw the flower actually belonged to this Fuzzy Echeveria.
Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'...lots of them...
My favorite Echium...E. candicans 'Star of Madeira'...
Cordyline 'Cha Cha' ?
Epiphyllum, showing off some fabulous color.
*Sigh*...only at Cistus...
Truth be told I couldn't leave without this bit of sunshine. Leucadendron 'Jester'...it came home with me.
Echium wildpretii
Schefflera delavayi
And seeds...
Sago (to die for...)
Sonchus canariensis
Pyrrosia lingua 'Variegata'
Empty baskets...
Empty tables. These used to depress me but now I look at them with a bit of excitement. What treasures will fill them in the coming months!?
Within the closed (against the weather) pavilions at the four corners of the garden all sorts of things are happening, like a blooming Ceanothus...
And a new plant-crush (even though it wasn't blooming) because of those teeny-tiny leaves...Ceanothus impressus 'Vandenberg'...
Pittosporum patulum, how beautiful is this?
Even in January such a soul-feeding place to visit...
This, a group of Yucca linearifolia...
Reminds me of this, or at least the version I could easily grow here, in my Portland garden. Photo below – of Agave stricta – taking at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in 2014...
Nolina microcarpa
Nicely colored up Yucca aloifolia.
HUGE Loquat leaves, Eriobotrya japonica.
My visit is almost over, yet before I can leave I need to visit my spiky friends in the Opuntia house. Just look at them all...
Long spikes...
Dense white spikes...
Purple pads with dark spikes...
They're all there!
One last treasure...my friend Evan is the propagator at Cistus, he noticed this Barred Owl just chillin in one of the Eucalyptus at the front of the nursery. He tracked me and a couple of Cistus employee friends down and made sure we got to see the handsome fellow...
And of course I dallied long enough that traffic was backed up heading back home, however the scenery was such that even it just added to the experience.
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.