Here's a little visit to the Wayback Machine. OK, it only goes back a few months, to around the time of the last Heronswood Sale, which was on May 12 and 13, just a few days before Nigel and I got on a plane for our trip back East to visit Iain. After I had a look at the sale and a stroll around Heronswood, I made a whirlwind nursery hop at three nurseries on the Kitsap Pensinsula.
Valley Nursery
First stop was
Valley Nursery in Poulsbo. A few months earlier Peter
The Outlaw Gardener had been here and he told me they had the Camellia I
was looking for (Vestito Rosso Mon Bella). I didn't actually have much
hope that they would still have any left, and I was right. But they had
other cool stuff.
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| Big table full of flowering Lavandula stoechas |
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| Here, in a huge mixed urn, was one overcrowded Mon Bella |
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| It's a gorgeous flower and I love the dark new foliage, but I didn't want it badly enough to pay for that pot, plus it wouldn't fit in my car anyway |
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| Look at these black Callas (four of them jumped into my cart, those little tarts) |
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| They were right next to these dark red Dianthus barbatus, which were tempting, but I have thousands of seedlings just as dark if not darker at home, so...sorry ladies, you stay there |
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| Plants, plants, plants, as far as the eye can see |
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| Lots of different colors of Heucheras |
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| Hydrangea aspera -- killed one of these a few years ago |
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| Loropetalum 'Sparkling Sangria' -- love these, but the one I tried never thrived, just weakened and eventually found its way into the big blue euthanasia bucket (yard waste bin) |
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| Hebe 'Amy' I think |
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| Hebe 'Turkish delight |
Are you noticing a theme? I was on the hunt for anything with purple/red/dark foliage or dark red or purple or so-called black flowers. Since I couldn't find the Camellia, I was considering other options, but I've always been kind of leery of Hebes. I have a trust issue with their hardiness.
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| This warning sign on the Hebes didn't help |
I couldn't visit Valley without poking my head inside their greenhouse where they keep all their tender houseplants.
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| Lots of orchids |
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| I was fascinated with this big purple blob on the blue cactus -- later to find out it was the fruit that had burst open |
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| I was taken with this clay nautilus shell for Tillandsia display from a company called Living Air Ware |
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| Well-labeled, just in case you don't know what you're looking at |
Savage Plants
My next stop was
Savage Plants in Kingston. Honestly, Savage is not always a "Must Stop" but I was still looking for that Camellia, so I figured it was worth looking in. They do have some great garden art, a sweet little display garden, and a nice gift shop as well. There is nothing particularly savage about the plants they sell. The nursery is named for the owner James Savage.
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| I'd love to have these columns in my garden |
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| Epimediums and drumstick Primulas |
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| A sea of...something....with a metal fish leaping through it |
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| More metal garden art |
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| They have a couple of these large poly tunnels |
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| Grevillea rosmarinifolia from Little Prince |
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| Yummy plummy Columbines |
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| Purple Lupines |
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| A Dahlia called 'Dark Angel Dracula' with dark foliage -- I would have been tempted if they had more than just this single one |
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| More red flowers -- Argyranthemum 'Madeira Crested Merlot' |
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| These spoon-shaped Osteospermum are fun annuals |
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| Labeled "Dark Purple African Daisy" -- probably more Osteospermum |
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| Alstroemeria 'Rock & Roll' -- another plant that declined and died under my care |
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| I have a large purple smoke tree, but it was worth considering a second one |
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| Loropetalum 'Ever Red' -- was it worth another try? |
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| I even looked at beet greens |
Inside the gift shop:
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| Poppy seedpod candlesticks |
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| I love these fence post toppers |
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| Such happy looking hermit crabs |
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| Clams on a stick -- one thing I really miss about Massachusetts is eating fried clams |
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| I bought three of these! |
Bainbridge Gardens
My last nursery hop stop was
Bainbridge Gardens on Bainbridge Island. I really like this family-owned nursery and often visit when we go to the Kitsap Peninsula. They have a large nursery area with a good selection of perennials surrounded by tall trees, and a huge gift shop, where you go to pay. It's a great place to wander, with plants for sale tucked hither and yon.
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| Lots of ferns |
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| Tempting tatting fern -- Athyrium filix-femina 'Frizelliae' |
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| I meant to pick up one of these Woodwardia fimbriata but forgot to go back and pick one up after wandering to take pictures |
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| Tree ferns from Little Prince |
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| Begonia grandis |
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| Dicentra 'Valentine' with its dark red hearts is so tempting! |
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| Kicking myself for not getting one or two or five of these |
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| More Living Air Ware -- I love how this one looks like a rhino |
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| I've seen thse weird ugly dog pots before, and I have a strange attraction for them |
Outside, more red foliage:
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| 'Pink Fountains' Gaura -- nice foliage, but I don't want pink flowers |
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| Hebe again |
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| Mossy horse draped in red Corylus avellana |
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| Weigela and Nandina |
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| Another dark-leaved Loropetalum -- not sure I like that 'Sizzling Pink' flower |
I went looking for my Camellia in their Camellia area, but no luck.
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| They certainly had plenty, but not the one I was looking for |
By now, high summer, it's really late in the season to be shopping for a Camellia. If I really want one, I think I'm going to have to wait till next winter/early spring. In the meantime, I may be tempted to just plant one of those Loropetalum -- but probably not the one with sizzling pink flowers.
