Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The spring Hardy Plant Society of Oregon plant sale…

Last Saturday I attended what's been called the largest plant sale on the West Coast. HPSO's Hortlandia. Every year there seems to be an "it" plant at the sale, one you see over and over again. At first I thought it was going to be the rodgersia...

But part way through the sale I decided it was the podophyllum. There were so many fabulous ones, and tales of even better ones that were scooped up before the sale even opened to the public (volunteers get to shop early)...

There were several agaves. This one in The Desert Northwest booth...

And this pair in the Blooming Junction booth.

Speaking of blooming, this beschorneria was hard to pass up.

However I did grab one of these Abutilon 'Red Tiger', mine isn't blooming yet but has several fat buds...

Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis', beautiful! I got a division from a blogging friend last fall.

I admired this bizarre Aesculus 'Laciniata' and then later saw it in my friend Peter's haul. Great minds...

This is interesting, both of these plants were labeled Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida' yet look how different their leaves are. I noticed the same thing last fall when I bought my tree.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Rotfuchs'...Katsura 'Red Fox'...I was tempted. Very tempted.

This poor plant was fondled by every single passer-by...

Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor, dubbed as the most amazing plant at the show by a friend. For $45 I had to leave it behind.

There is a whole "garden art" section to the sale which I typically ignore. My friends Peter (the Outlaw) and Alison (Bonney Lassie) were down for the sale and spent some time checking it all out. When I went looking for them Peter had just fallen for this fabulous seedy/poddy/vasey thing. I like it and I think it went home with him.

So what went home with me? Well as I mentioned I picked up an Abutilon 'Red Tiger' and I also grabbed one of these Geranium maculatum 'Elizabeth Ann'. I love the leaves...

After all they are "sophisticated!" But the flowers I saw when I looked this one up on plant lust. Yikes! I think I'll be cutting them off.

Look another Banksia marginata! I lost mine last winter and the owner of The Desert Northwest made sure I tried again. I've got just the spot picked out.

And finally my only other plant purchase at the sale, Microcachrys tetragona. I bought one last fall when I visited The Desert Northwest and asked for another. I love this plant!

You might be thinking "only 4 plants?"...worry not, there was more plant shopping afterwards. That's tomorrow's post...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

30 comments:

  1. You got some cool plants and it was great fun shopping with you on Saturday! Next year, we're thinking of coming down early and volunteering just for fun. Thank you so much for the encouragement to go to this sale, it was spectacular! I think you got more pictures than I because I was so overwhelmed with the plants that I didn't pull the camera out much.

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    1. Funny I was thinking how few photos I took! Have you guys joined the HPSO? I think you have to be members to volunteer, but as a bonus you get $10 off your plants when you join!

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  2. I think you showed great restraint. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could coordinate floral color with the foliage? It's surprising how often the 2 seem unsuited to one another. I'm always cutting the flowers off my variegated Pelargoniums.

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    1. Yes! I would love to have this flower power of which you speak, that would be amazing! My husband has finally come to terms with my cutting the flowers off the hostas and tossing them, well except for the ones that smell good, they get to come into the house and live in a vase.

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  3. I was looking for a Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida' at the sale …missed it.

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    1. Oh Linda I'm sure they were there as I saw them just a couple of minutes after I saw you. Wish I would have known...

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  4. So, do you agree with the sale's claim of being the largest on the West Coast or not?

    Ahem! I have a confession to make. I actually like some Geranium flowers and I have a great big pot of them on the path to the front of our house that flowers quite prolifically from June through to July. So, don't be too hasty in cutting off the flowers!

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    1. Oh definitely not, it's huge. I just didn't want to claim that it was since I haven't had the privilege of personally visiting them all.

      I love the geranium flowers on my (gifted to me) Geranium phaeum 'Samobor' but the color of the ones on 'Elizabeth Ann' just make me wince. They're pretty much exactly what I would expect to go with the name 'Elizabeth Ann', where as the foliage is not. It's sophisticated.

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  5. Taking photos at a plant sale is a chore, isn't it? Detracts from the fun of it for me... remind me to invite you along the next time I go to a sale. :)

    The problem with early-spring plant shopping is you don't get to see what the mature foliage looks like. Sometimes here you don't see any foliage at all -- you're just buying a pot of soil with the hope that something will actually emerge soon. :)

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    1. You know I really don't mind. I just wish my camera handled indoor photos better, they tend to be even blurrier than my outdoor photos! And btw if you're paying the airfare I'll be there with a camera the next time you go to a sale!

      I have been known to buy that pot with only the soil and a plant tag, but at this sale that's very rare. Mostly due to our climate no doubt but also the top notch nurseries.

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  6. Whoa, that display Podophyllum certainly look arresting! Wish we could come across that Cercidiphyllum 'Rotfuchs' here soon, we love it!

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    1. There were so many beautiful podophyllum, it could easily become a major addiction. And just yesterday I again saw Cercidiphyllum 'Rotfuchs' at a local nursery...I wonder if you could manage to pack one to take home with you?

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  7. Awesome photos - I love the agaves in particular. Can't wait for tomorrow's post :)

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    1. So many beautiful things in tomorrow's post!

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  8. Right in the middle of reading this post I went outside to check the beschorneria for blooms and...they are about to bloom! That bloom looks gorgeous. I had no idea when I picked them for the foliage.

    Fun sale with so much to choose from. I like the Artemsia especially since they grow well here and work great with my garden.

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    1. Lucky you! My beschorneria isn't blooming this year, but at least it's still alive. I do have that to be thankful for. I hope you'll share them on your blog, the flowers are so fabulous. Do you grow that artemisia?

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    2. I've been trying to decide where to put a Microcachrys tetragona. I think I have a few spots. I would have been tempted by the Cercidiphyllum, too, though I think I still prefer the plain species.

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  9. fifi lafontaineApril 16, 2014

    Oooh how fun! I was restrained as well. I had my eyes peeled for an elusive Schefflera Taiwaniana but didn't spot one. I got a cool spidery begonia luxurians and one of those cool dead looking grasses. I should have gotten an abutilon!

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    1. Glad you went! I didn't see a S. taiwaniana either, so you're on the hunt? If I see one out there in the world I'll let you know...

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  10. I love the fondle plant whatever it is

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    1. Ha, I think it's an orchid, but I like the name fondle plant much better.

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  11. Loree, I've had Elizabeth for many years, and the flowers are short lived..early spring and done. They are a tad clashy...that 'Red Tiger'..oooh la-la !

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    1. I've wanted a 'Red Tiger' for awhile but never managed to make the purchase, finally! And good to know about the short lived part...

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  12. I am sure I would have to be sedated.

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  13. I had other stuff to do early in the day, so I arrived late on Sat. At first, I thought your laser vision just led you to plants I missed, but I was on the lookout for a Podophyllum and it was slim pickins by mid-afternoon. By then the fondled plant had a bodyguard shooing away eager hands. You just reminded me that 'Red Fox' was the plant that I saw first thing and promised myself I'd go back for....Rats. I did score a Pseudopanax ferox.

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    1. I spied a bunch of gorgeous 'Red Fox' (s) at Portland Nursery on Stark. They're bigger (about 5ft) and of course more expensive ($149)...

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  14. Don't you hate that when nurseries have a "Display only" plant teasing you? That Podophyllum looks fabulous. But we common folk have to settle for the teeny, tiny seedling and hope that in a hundred years and multiple mild winters, it will look half as good as that specimen teaser. You gotta love it. :)

    'Elizabeth Ann' is nice but the flowers are not to my liking either. I just bought Geranium 'Hocus Pocus' with deep wine-colored leaves. I can't remember what the flowers are supposed to look like but I may need to clip them off too.

    (I gave a shout-out to you on my blog. Dancing Oaks and the Veratrum, remember?)

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    1. I don't really hate it, I kind of find it inspiring. And (maybe a little perversely) I like that a sign like that seems to say "I don't care how much money you've got Mr/Mrs Rich Pants you ain't getting this pant"...

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  15. Restraint is bad - buy more! I do feel special, however.

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