danger garden

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Garden visits here and there around town

I made it to my first HPSO Open Garden back on April 26th, the garden belongs to Mark Griswold Wilson and Ellen Burr. Along the public sidewalk...

And the view from the front.

That sidewalk arch included a trellis with quotes.

The front garden was divided into a woodland planting to the left of the home's sidewalk (below) and a prairie planting on the right. The back garden wasn't open to visitors,

I loved the simple bird bath.

And the bight Lewisia, I mean how can you not love such happy flowers?

The garden's owner wrote this Meadowscaping Handbook for the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District.

Camassia

Tellima grandiflora, aka fringecup

Standing in the driveway looking back at the front of the home. I didn't get a chance to ask what was going to be planted in the raised metal planter, maybe vegetables?

I particularly loved the softening of the driveway's hard lines with gravel and large containers.

This next garden belongs to Mary DeNoyer. I've shared many photos of her garden over the years, but it's so good that I can't not take photos whenever I visit, I was there last week for a plant swap. An orange Hoover Dish planter hangs near the back patio.

One of many arisaema in the garden.

Saxifrage!

And another arisaema, maybe A. ringens?

The largest/happiest clump of Athyrium niponicum I've ever seen in a garden.

Sunny peony that I can't name.

Embothrium coccineum

Echium wildpretii (one of two in Mary's garden).

Podophyllum peltatum I believe, although the leaves look different from mine.

I'm jealous of every monumental Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro' (on the left) I see, since mine refuses to "saguraro" and just sits there looking like a boring green pillar.

The next garden isn't really a garden, but rather a bit of commercial landscaping in front of a cannabis dispensary, Electric Lettuce. There was once a trio of picturesque Agave ovatifolia (previous blog post here) but now there's only a pair.

One of which is fixing to bloom. Well, make that two of which. This particular plant was damaged pretty badly with the winters of 22/23 and 23/24 and it looks like it compensated by developing two growing points, both of which are sending up bloom spikes.

I'm not sure what happened to the third plant, but I can report there are lots of hosta new on the scene. I was amused at the idea agaves and hosta are growing in the same planting. Very Portland don't you think?

The development of the bloom spikes will be fun to watch.

While visiting the Dirty Diggers of Lovewood Plant Sale last weekend I visited Don's garden again since he's in the same block. I've previously written about his garden here and here.

Agave montana there at the bottom of the photo.

Doesn't it look a little like that upright conifer is trying to imitate the Trachycarpus (palm) with it's flopped out bits?

Check out those fabulous Agave parryi!

Not to mention the shrub-sized Opuntia.

If I remember right that's a Yucca schottii?

A fun garden to visit, and it's all visible from the public sidewalk!

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control.

Monday, May 5, 2025

A winter project that I'm not yet calling a success...

Once I've got my mind set on making something I jump in and figure out a way to make it happen, sink or swim. Back in my furniture-thrifting days I found a wooden side table with legs I loved, but the top was toast. I had a vision, I saw the top covered in metal. I couldn't afford to get it done professionally, so I bought a roll of galvanized flashing (like this), some tiny nails, and borrowed a pair of tin snips. The whole project seemed quite doable to me, after all I was simply following my vision. A friend saw what I was up to and called me fearless (years before I wrote the book), then proceeded to list all the things that could go wrong. The finished project was hardly perfect, but it was close enough to what I'd imagined and I proudly used that table for years. I share that story because I was thinking of it when I started on the project I'm writing about today...

I bought this terracotta hanging planter at Flora Grubb last November.

I had the idea that I could turn it into a version of this fabulous hanging planter...

Where did I find that wonderful bit of container artistry? I wish I could tell you. I've always collected images I find inspiring. Back in the day I tore them from magazines, then along came Pinterest, and then of course Instagram. I've also taken to just right-clicking and saving images to a file. That's what I did with that one, although I also saved a bit of "how to" text: "My water filled clay pitcher with epiphytic mosses and ferns (Davallia sp. and Campyloneurum angustifolium), Rhipsalis campos-portoana and a mini phylaenopsis. To help the mosses find a better hold, I put an old nylon stock over the pitcher." So that's what I did too...

I thought for sure I could find an old nylon stocking I could use for this project (which I tackled in early February), but no! I was actually kind of thrilled that I didn't have any of those torture hosiery left in my drawers, I had to (gasp) go buy a pair, thankfully there was a good color match on clearance.

The next step was to take a few orchid cuttings.

I can't find the name of this one, but it's an Andy's Orchids purchase from the NWFG Fest. That's what I cut from it on the far left in the above photo.

Scaphyglottis-amethystinum (center cutting)

Bulbophyllum saurocephalum (far right cutting)

I soaked and teased Pyrrosia piloselloides off the stick I bought it on (yes, again, from Andy's Orchids).

And worked a piece of Pteris vittata (from my outing to Raintree Tropical) free from the soil it was growing in. Since I saw this fern growing on the side of a fountain, and in several other less hospitable places around the nursery I was fairly confident it would be happy as part of this project.

Next, I took advantage of the holes used for hanging the pot and threaded string thru them. On the outside the string helps to stabilize the plants I’d be attaching to the pot. The thread will eventually disintegrate, but hopefully the plants will have grown to become attached to the container and the moss by then. I also put a cork plug in the drainage hole to help the container retain water.

I worked the roots of the pteris (along with a bit of soil) under the nylon and string.

Same for the orchid cuttings.

Next, I covered the pot with moss, working in the Pyrrosia bits and securing it all with more string.

When I shared a photo of the completed project on Instagram someone asked if I used a moss “slurry.” In hindsight this probably would have been a better idea, resulting in a smoother cover of green, but I wanted an instant moss covering. Unfortunately the pieces I used aren’t all aging in the same way. Live and learn.

Here you can see the different moss types.

And here’s the finished container. I planted pieces of a nepenthes inside the pot, these were unrooted cuttings so I wasn’t sure how they’d do, but since I was experimenting...

I cut the fern back right away once the pieces started to dry. Poor thing went through a bit of a shock getting most of its root mass cut away. Thankfully it started pushing out a new frond a couple weeks later.

After a few weeks hanging in the basement, it’s outside now and doing great (I couldn’t resist adding a couple tillandsia).

Another view…

It’s hanging with several other plants in the branches of the Metepanax delavayi.

Where is it? Right there…

It’s been freakishly dry here for the last month so I’m aiming the garden hose at it and hoping the plants and the moss are all growing and connecting and that this improvised project ends up being a success.

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control.