GardenBook

 This past weekend was the last for the 2011 sculpture installation at The Ruth Bancroft Garden . Business commitments and personal travel disrupted my summer schedule and it was dumb luck that I looked up the dates and found that I needed to amend my weekend plans to include a journey to the east bay.  Perfect weather, with a bit of overcast to facilitate decent images, and the crowds tended to be clumped into groups-it was easy to wait for them to move on . People photos weren't in the plan. This blooming Agave was beginning it's decline- and how prettily it expires..like Camile. Sadly, one of my favorite Agaves in the garden , a robust 'Sharkskin' is blooming. Sigh.

Thanks  Carol at May Dreams for her gracious hostess duties the 15th of each month. So much to choose from  in July , and thanks to our mild summer here thus far garden fatigue has not set in.  Love-hate with the daylilies. A post on this dilemma is around the corner.  This is Calico Jack. Annabelle The outstanding Rooguchi-takes what you dish out and lives to tell the tale.  This millet is the ultimate in my love of catkin flowers. Maxi catkins, mega catkins, downright operatic. Silk Road. There are no words. One Dahlia, China Doll. Got to leave something for next month. The excellent Trachelium, with a yarrow from the local no-tag garden center.

 Where did I go wrong ?

 Such an unworthy emotion, envy. So small ,so futile. Technically, I can grow Hostas here. They are sold in garden centers and are sometimes seen in local OPG's.  I've bought them and planted them only to watch them either completely disappear or turn into fishnet.Now in full retreat, I was conquered by the slimy mollusks -ingeniously they simply moved in and set up housekeeping in and on the Hostas;they never had to visit the ground beneath where my penny rings , Sluggo pellets and in dire emergencies, Corrys Slug and Snail Death lay in wait.   So, admitting failure,  I travel to places where they thrive and take pictures, swallowing my envy. Little and Lewis gallery, Bainbridge Island Washington Kinzy Faire , Estacada Oregon Private garden , Bainbridge Island Private garden, eastern Massachusetts Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, Boothbay White Flower Farm, Litchfield  Conneticut  I have a spot open. I really could ...

 I was given a catalog when I checked in at the Garden Conservancy table at Heronswood on Sunday afternoon. An attractive catalog, with nice photos, 8-1/2 by 11, 55 pages. Actually had some cool stuff in it too. But can I ever put the 'real' Heronswood  catalogs behind me ? Not likely. They reside on my bookcase with Margery Fish, Jamaica Kincaid and Nancy Ondra , sturdy paperbacks, heavy on text, with cover art from local PNW artists. And what text !   Map in hand, I went up the path. No tags.Spotty maintenance.Overgrown. And plant after fabulous plant---trees, shrubs, conifers,oddball perenials -you name it. Things I've never seen. I could only guess what they were--no tags. Damn.  I felt sad. Ok, so Burpee/Ball owns this place. They have to know what this is-don't they ? They made the investment far afield from their home base and have dubbed it a research facility. Parts of the garden are maintained, and it's not weedy-thank goodness for that .But... Po...

 Just adjacent to the tony enclave of Lake Oswego springs up the pastoral landscapes of West Linn, and there  the Luscher Farm houses the Rogerson Clematis Collection . This garden was charming , and brimming with promise; many areas were newly planted. I look forward to visiting again next year. Bad blogger dislaimer..didn't write down a single name.

 I needed this Clematis after seeing it in a friends garden in New Hampshire and a Clematis collectors' garden in New York.  I always worry a bit about installing a plant I've seen in New England-will it be an exercise in futility ? God knows I've had plenty of failures with plants commonly grown right here in Northern California. You will see photos of Arabella that look quite blue , and they aren't entirely bogus (for a change) as her color moderates with temperature , maturity of flower and sun exposure. She has in fact been blue here in my garden, but  more often the violet-ish shade you see in this photo. Arabella is small of stature, growing to 6 feet or so, and does not cling. And does she bloom ? Without question the longest blooming Clematis in my garden. I am very likely to still have flowers in August.   I purchased her from the excellent Joy Creek Nursery via mail order.