One of These Things is Not Like the Others...

One of these things just doesn't belong....Actually, wait, they both belong, in my garden at least.

Black-eyed Susan and California Poppy -- So bright and cheerful, and both natives!

Waiting for Nigel

The Farmer's Market in Puyallup runs on Wednesday evening, with considerably fewer vendors. I wanted to check it out, so I made plans to meet Nigel there after work. He's taking the train all the way to Puyallup, and walking a couple of blocks to the market.

I never noticed these roses in the park before where the Farmer's Market takes place.

I'm experimenting with posting from Blogger on my phone. I'll be curious to see how it looks on my computer when I get home tonight.

End-of-the-Month View of the Gravel Garden -- Warts and All

I've been debating with myself for a couple of days now whether I wanted to do an end-of-the-month view of my garden. I originally thought I might do the entire garden, but quickly came to the conclusion that it would be too overwhelming, for both me and my readers. I also tried, somewhat half-heartedly, to cut back and deadhead stuff so that it would look at its best, but also quickly realized that would take me forever, and I would never get around to actually posting any pictures. Which explains why this end-of-the-month view is actually a beginning-of-the-month view.

The gravel garden was installed last year in late winter. Work began right after the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. When we first moved into this house four years ago, the area that now contains the gravel garden was just a gravel-covered parking area next to the driveway, meant for extra cars, a boat, or a camper/trailer. We have none of those (we're a one-car family). What we do have in this house is one garden- and plant-crazed woman, and one very indulgent husband. If you're interested in reading about the evolution of the gravel garden, you can read posts here, here and here.

When you drive up to the house, the first thing you see is the gravel garden on the left, right beside the driveway.

It might look like there are only three gabions, but there are actually 5. Two sets of two, and one set of one in the center. And two culvert planters.

Each set of culvert plus gabions is surrounded by pots. That first shrub there on the left is an Arbutus unedo compacta.

I've been warned that the Arbutus sheds leaves, and it does.

Near it are two Eryngium agavifolium. I love the foliage, but I'm undecided about the flowers.

Behind the Arbutus is a pair of artichokes, now flowering in this eye-popping electric blue-purple.

The bees love them.

As the artichoke flowers fade, they get a bit of a mohawk.

The hummers love these Agastaches in the gravel garden, next to the artichokes.

I've left dried flowers from Alliums in the culvert planters. It would tidy the garden up some if I just pulled them out, but I like them.

This Ceanothus has gotten huge since I planted it, just completely overtaking everything planted under and around it.

You can now barely see the gabion globes that I made last year when the gravel garden was new.

This area to the right of the Ceanothus is a tangled mess of plants, including this enormous Kniphofia caulescens, which has never flowered.

An 'Ann Folkard' Geranium planted nearby twines throughout the Ceanothus and through all the other plants as well.

Below the Ceanothus a Salvia of some kind with spoon-shaped leaves is also flowering.

My plan is to limb up the Ceanothus as it grows, leaving space for the plants underneath.

It isn't obvious at first glance, but there is a path down the center of the gravel garden.

Some of the plants have seeded babies into the path, like these two golden feverfew. I need to rescue them and pot them up.

The gravel garden has four Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy,' planted in pairs.

All four are flowering beautifully

Last year Loree of danger garden sent me a couple of rooted Opuntia pads, and they have produced new growth. The new pads, however, all have these odd markings on them. Does anyone know if that's normal?

Eryngium 'Big Blue' is growing in the gravel garden as well.

The striking blue of the flowers has faded to brown. I hope I can get viable seeds from them.

Near the Eryngium is one of three 'Bright Star' Yuccas, all doing well, although this one is the most vigorous and unblemished.

And there are two clumps of Stipa gigantea, which have produced a couple of seedheads like this. I hope to have even more next year.

A favorite of mine in the gravel garden is ornamental oregano.

I think this is Origanum libanoticum.

Here's a look back towards the street from about halfway down the gravel garden.

The gravel garden to the right of the cluster of pots with the single gabion. I need more plants here to screen the neighbor's weedy gravel parking area.

The Rubus lineatus behind the last set of gabions is doing well.

There's a couple of Agaves, as well as an enormous glass "Agave" made by Barbara Sanderson of Glass Gardens Northwest, in that last culvert planter, as well as several flowering Hens and chicks (no longer looking much like Hens and dicks, unless your dick is wearing a French tickler)

At the end of last winter my 'Whale's Tongue' Agave, planted in the second culvert, had to lose several mushy arms. It seems to have bounced back well.

This unlabeled Agave, undoubtedly not hardy, is sitting in an upended lighting fixture.

A similar fixture in the culvert contains an Echevaria with a red edge.

There's another large gap in the screen between me and the neighbor's back yard.

As we get closer to the gate into the back garden, the plants are more dry shade-tolerant. This combo is Epimedium, golden Carex and Hellebore.

The fence contains a couple of cutout wrought iron windows, that you can look through into the back.

The gate has a small stained glass window.

When you look through the open gate, the stream is the first thing you see. But that's a future post.

Here endeth the garden tour. What a long, tedious post! Did you actually read it all? Brave soul.

The End-of-the-Month View is a garden bloggers meme hosted by Helen Johnstone of The Patient Gardener's Weblog, who I met at the Garden Bloggers Fling back in June. You can read her post here, and be sure and check out all the links people have left in the comments to their own posts.

My Favorite Plant in the Garden Right Now...

Is Echinacea 'Hot Papaya.'

I planted it last fall as two quart-size starts, so this summer is the first time it has bloomed for me. I have to be honest and admit that even though I had read great things about it on other blogs, I was expecting to be disappointed. Many years ago, I planted Echinacea 'Double Decker' when it was new. 'Double Decker' was one of the first Echinaceas with a poufy (sort of) top.  It was underwhelming. Most of the time the flowers looked like a species Echinacea, and those that didn't were lopsided and reminiscent of a plant with the disease Aster Yellows.

So I wasn't expecting much.

Pow!

The flowers start out orange, and look kind of like they're going to be the regular flower form of an Echinacea.

Then over the course of a couple of days the petals darken and elongate and droop, and the center button starts to turn frothy.

Here are some stats.

Height: 24-36 inches
Width: 24-36 inches
Hardiness: Zone 4 to Zone 8
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Preference: Well-drained

I've seen it for sale quite often in nurseries, but it's also available via mail order from:

Avant Gardens
Bluestone Perennials
Forest Farm
White Flower Farm
Plant Delights

Echinacea 'Hot Papaya' is from Dutch hybridizer Arie Blom, the result of ten years of work, and is the first with this fiery, tropical orange-red.

I have it planted in my front garden, in the bed underneath my 'Forest Pansy' Redbud. I love it and I need more!

The "Favorite Plant in the Garden" meme is hosted by Loree of danger garden. Loree's favorite this week is an extremely spiny Acanthus. Readers leave links to their own "Favorite Plant" posts in the comments, check them out here.