Out Hunting

Garden events are not gardening
 photo meh3853sepia_zps0a6ba70b.jpg
The local garden show was this week;  the garden was on a garden tour;  I visited other gardens.  In other words, it's spring and at times actual gardening gets interfered with.  Not that it isn't wonderful to visit other gardens.  This one in particular, loaded with roses, is a favorite.  A mass of the beautiful Austin 'Brother Cadfael':
 photo new3877_zps3d17c5b1.jpg
'Carding Mill'
 photo new3880_zps3fbc1e2c.jpg
A fabulous hedge of 'William Shakespeare 2000' and 'The Dark Lady':
 photo new3882_zps4d9e259a.jpg
I decided for my other garden visits to leave the camera at home and just enjoy the beauty of the day, the cheery company, the wonderful gardens.  That was great, but cameras capture memories better than distracted social visits do.  It was fun, though.

Then there was the local garden show at the shopping mall down the freeway.  Sort of "meh" this year--poor hunting,  I might say.  Lots and lots of succulent and orchid vendors, not so much of anything else.  One vendor did have the weeping Japanese Maple 'Ryusen' I bought at a local big box--for three times the price I paid for it.  The display gardens were tasteful--cautious, even--and ran almost exclusively to a Zen-like setting of foliage plants and Acer palmatums.  Nothing wrong with that, but a lot of the same idea.  There was one horrifically gaudy offering of "annual color" crammed together into a pattern that reminded me a little too much of my own confetti-factory style, but  I sort of liked it because it was so different from all the rest.  No pictures of that, either.

I did pick up a few small plants due to a gift card (Thanks, ladies!) and due to the garden show.  I've killed Angel Pelargoniums in the past--my idea of well-drained soil is most people's idea of the Sahara desert.  More water this time.
Angel Pelargonium 'Aurelia':
Angel Pelargonium 'Aurelia' photo meh3848_zps1b544981.jpg

Senecio stapeliiformis 'Kilimanjaro'
 photo new3884_zps69c2a6ad.jpg
Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', the suddenly popular 'Sweet Pea Bush' from South Africa.  Everywhere I've seen it, it looks great.  When I saw it for sale in a 4" pot, I took the bait.  I even have a spot for it. 
 photo new3888_zpsf3344757.jpg
From the garden show, Aloe krapohliana v. dumoulinii.  This particular vendor had exquisitely pristine plants at rather high prices.  The little clumping Aloe was a decent price--the variegated Agave parrasana I was drooling over is destined for someone else's garden.  Aloe krapohliana var dumoulinii (can I call it Aloe krapo for short?) likes dry conditions;  I have plenty of those available:
 photo new3889_zps57d0481f.jpg
Speaking of Agave parrasana, I got a plain version at a reasonable price.  Gorgeous enough, even without variegation.
 photo new3891_zps43c9a190.jpg
Natasha who got dropped off at the Vet for a bath and comb-out while Dog-Mommy went out plant hunting, wasn't the least bit impressed. 
 photo new3890_zps378f8784.jpg


Comments

  1. I think agave parasana is an under-rated agave. It seems to be passed over for the more trendy varieties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully it will get more popular. I've never seen a mature specimen around here and am looking forward to some Agave Eye-Candy from it, eventually.

      Delete
  2. Ooh, I'd like to see more of that Senicio 'Kilimanjaro' -- so much more my style than the Angel Pelargonium shown above it.

    I know what you mean about leaving the camera at home sometimes. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, camera-less is a whole different experience, isn't it?

      Delete
  3. The comment about your idea of well drained soil had me in stiches! If you tell Natasha that you're treating her to a day of beauty, she might be more interested. It's all in how you sell it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For Natasha, (to mangle Keats), Food is Beauty, Beauty, food.

      Delete
  4. Ah, Jerome's garden looking beautiful! He at one point thought that the hedge was underperforming. Guess it just needed a few years to prove itself.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Always interested in your thoughts.

Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.