51 Garden Art Exposed!
February 11, 2022
53 Be Inspired! Be Gutsy!
March 18, 2022
Aunt Patti and I went to one of Portland Nursery’s locations. FABULOUS! Then 3 years later we went to the second one. FABULOUS!
I mean, look at the pics! WHY for plantsake would we NOT GO to the second one?!
When I enter a nursery and get surprised by the unexpected, I LOVE it. Especially when from the parking lot, the only thing you can see is the outside of a building and a fence.
Well right off—at the entry booth—Portland Nursery surprised me with this FABULOUS example of “the unexpected.”
For my Lady Readers…you need a She-Shed with a rooftop like that!
Mike would just tell me NO for so many reasons (which I wouldn’t agree with) that I’ve chosen to pick other battles. Hence, on MY She-Shed, no green living roof. Just green metal.
Oregon’s weather is perfect for keeping a living rooftop looking gorgeous year round. JEALOUS!
Now have a look at Portland Nursery’s signs. FABULOUS!
So beautifully made. Hats off to you, Portland Nursery!
I bet most people don’t judge a nursery by its signs. Well I do! I will up my ratings for nurseries with signage that shows me clearly where I am now and where I want to be next.
While passing through the fragrance department, AP couldn’t resist buying a Daphne ‘Summer Ice.’
Can you smell it?! Just lovely.
After reading post #46, Darling Daphne, I hope you ran out and bought some Daphnes for yourself. In my garden, the buds opened up a few weeks ago. Heaven, I say.
Here’s more Portland Nursery FABULOUSNESS to enjoy…
I love the height of those tables.
I also love how this nursery chooses plants to group together for display. They do it for customers who can’t visualize clustering like-minded plants together and need to be shown creative ways to do it.
Most importantly (as to good nursery design), this strategy really attracts your attention, making you want to see EVERY fabulous thing in the entire nursery. It ups the chance that you’ll see something you want to buy.
This strategy seemed to worked on AP, making her buy this pretty little pink thing…
Ipomoea nil ‘Split Second’ (Japanese Morning Glory Vine)
You might guess by the name that it does have a split personality. Behind the pink petals with white throats is a mass of little white petals.
Hmm, this reminds me…I wanted to find out if Split Second actually self-sowed in AP’s garden like morning glorys are supposed to.
If you live in the foothills of El Dorado County like I do where there’s a boulder in every hole, you will appreciate seeing this plant category…
AP doesn’t live on a boulder so this nursery area didn’t interest her at all.
Though, further on, this tiny plant interested her enough to buy it…
Arabis ferdinandi-coburgi ‘Old Gold’
She got it to fill the spaces between her bigger plants. Like me, AP hates to see mulch. We are both stuffers by trait.
We noticed bees, birds, bugs and humans galore flocking to these areas…
The proper way to plant a container—so “they” say—is to use the “Fillers, Spillers and Thrillers” method.
No doubt you already know about this method so I won’t explain here how to fill, spill and thrill. But if you’re looking for some FABULOUS thrillers, start here…
Portland Nursery offers spillers and fillers too, each under their own sign. But sorry no pics. I was too busy shopping. And anyway, I really could not take pictures of EVERY fabulous thing!
Aunt Patti was busy too. (She didn’t get any pictures of any signs!) At one point, Tiny Ruby had ALL her attention…
Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Tiny Ruby’
One of AP’s issues is that she has to buy every single Dianthus she comes across.
Actually, she sees ANY plant with blossoms and she’s on it like a bee on pollen!
She couldn’t buzz past this either…
Nicotiana alata Saratoga Purple Bicolor (Flowering Tobacco)
I have native Nictotianas growing at my place so it always surprises me when AP pays good money for one. Mine are free, but shhh don’t tell her.
Gawd
Rescued by pot fabulousness.
Now THAT is how to easily pull a “look” together by clustering same-colored pots all planted with different assorted plants. Well done!
Portland Nursery fabulously offers starter plants in 4-inch pots—even trees and shrubs which is very rare for nurseries!
I bought several starter Hebes and Heaths, and you want to know how they’re doing in my garden? Well they’re all dead now because I’m just too cold. Not me personally—I sweat in snow. My growing zone.
So you can guess why starter plants are so fabulous. Because…death!
I’d rather buy young plants at low prices and have death, than to buy more mature plants at high prices and have death. Sad for the plants, but makes me feel a bit better. So thank you, Portland Nursery, for making death easier to live with.
Except for the death of my Rhododendron ‘Pink and Sweet’ which I have not gotten over. Oh, the sweet memories of our life together for 2 whole months.
And oh, the sweet memories of visiting Portland Nursery. Take it from me and AP—not all memories of nursery visits are sweet.
After all, when you’ve seen FABULOUS, mediocre just looks pathetic!
