A beachy adventure...

We recently celebrated my birthday with a quick trip to the beach, as soon as we were checked in I was on the sand...

It was a moody afternoon with lots of sun as the clouds were quick to move through. We arrived mid-day on a Sunday so most of the crowds had cleared out, and the folks heading to the coast to beat the heat in Portland had yet to arrive.

These dark Gladiolus were rather unexpected...

The twin rocks of Twin Rocks off in the distance.

The next morning we woke to a dense fog. The ocean was out there somewhere...

I went looking for it but chickened out before finding it. Andrew was back in the room and the fog was so thick I quickly lost sight of the hotel behind me. Here in Oregon we're told not to turn our back on the ocean as sneaker waves can change everything very quickly. I was more concerned about finding the ocean but not realizing I was on some strange sandy point and being cut off from the mainland.

So instead I headed back to the room and Andrew and I ventured north to Manzanita and the Wonder Garden.

The garden began in 2014 (a little history here), and I've visited a few times, first in 2022, a return in 2023, and then again last year when I had the honor of speaking at the neighboring Hoffman Center.

Arctostaphylos 'Sunset'

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Myrtle Wolf' 

A few people wandered through the garden while we were there, but nobody stopped to enjoy the seating areas.

The climate in this section of the Oregon coast seems pretty dreamy to me. Unless I'm mistaken this Anigozanthos flavidus (kangaroo paw) has been thriving here for several years.

Pittosporum divaricatum perhaps?

Pseudopanax crassifolius

Eryngium planum

There were a pair of Eryngium growing together here, I think the white bloom is E. yuccifolium?

What I didn't capture in this pulled back shot is the Agave americana var. medio-picta 'Alba' or the Semponium 'Vortex' planted in this area.

Said Agave, which is lifted for the winter. 

I have no idea how they've been caring for the Semponium(a cross between an Aeonium and a Sempervivum). Maybe it's remained planted out?

Oh, this was a nice surprise. One of the fancy variegated Agave ovatifolia...

Normally this color mashup wouldn't be to my liking but for some reason it worked for me. Melianthus major (perhaps 'Purple Haze'), Dodonaea viscosa var. purpurea, and Asclepias tuberosa.

Leucadendron galpinii 'Silver Cone'

A pulled back shot with Kniphofia.

Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear'

Callistemon pallidus 'Eleanor' (I believe).

Euphorbia mellifera (also an uncertain ID).

Love the dark Aeonium.

Agave 'Blue Glow', the orange petal belongs to...

Glaucium corniculatum

Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn'

Aeonium 'Sunburst'

I loved this island and it's succulents, the entire garden was looking especially fabulous this visit.

Eryngium bourgatii

I sat down for a bit to admire the arching form of Rhodocoma capensis...

And then walked around to check out the Chondropetalum elephantinum.

So good!

Eryngium guatemalense

And my final Wonder Garden photos, of their elevated trough planter.

Pretty fabulous.

Back at our beach spot the sky had cleared and it was time for a long walk.

A new city had sprung up in the few hours we were away.

And the sunset did not disappoint. What a way to start my new year...

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There's a strawberry in my agave pot!

Back in 2014 I bought a straight-sided chartreuse strawberry pot from Crate & Barrel. At the time I wrote; "I've always had an aversion to strawberry pots, the shape and the pockets. I find them vulgar. Yes I know, it's a weird opinion but it's mine. So imagine how surprised I was when I spotted this chartreuse number at Crate & Barrel and had to have it. Had to." Here's what it looked like back then, after I potted it up as an agave pot...

At some point I found, and filled, a second pot, but the contents have always stayed pretty true to that first post. That is, they weren't strawberry pots, but rather agave pots. Some agaves produce runners at a similar rate to strawberries, so really it's not that much of a stretch.

Things changed this year when my 2026 Hortlandia plant haul included a gift strawberry plant, an Albion. I looked around for a suitable place to plant it, but came up empty. Then I realized it was time to pull the overgrown NoID agave I'd had at the top of this pot for far too long. Why not put the strawberry in there? Indeed.

Don't be thinking I got carried away and bought more strawberries, nope. The second pot stays safely succulent-filled. At the top is Agave lophantha 'Splendida'.

The pockets are filled with Haworthiopsis coarctata, formerly Haworthia coarctata. Behind it grows my deformed (but lovable) Cereus forbesii 'spiralis'.

Now that I've started I guess I'll just go ahead and share what's growing in the driveway planters this season. Musella lasiocarpa, Chinese yellow banana...

In one of the crop tanks, I'm growing a mix of zinnia. I started Zinnia elegans 'Envy' (green blooms) from seed, but bought a mix of "hot" color seedlings—orange and pink—to tide me over until Envy blooms. Meanwhile Envy is taking over!

However, I have had plenty of flowers to bring in the house over the last few weeks...

Back to that agave/strawberry pot. You can see I'm not entirely giving it over to the strawberries, although I did allow a runner to root in one pocket.

There are also a couple that worked their way into the basil.

And a couple others that shot up into the second crop tank. The Albion berries really are quite tasty, I've harvested a handful thus far.

We've also enjoyed a few SunSugar tomatoes.

But are still waiting on the first fruit from Alice's Dream Tomato, a seedling from my friend Mindy.

Did you know there's an edible Persicaria? Persicaria odorata, aka Vietnamese coriander. A neighbor left a couple plants in the Little Free Greenhouse in our hellstrip so I figured, why not? I've yet to cook with it though.

I'm growing Melothria scabra, Mexican sour gherkins again. I love the small "snacking" cucamelons.

Physalis pruinosa 'Aunt Molly's, a ground cherry is also great for snacking while working in the garden. They come wrapped in a paper husk that keeps them clean.

For those of you think I hate flowers, especially pink ones, I give you this...

Nerium oleander ‘Hardy Red’, I adopted it from Jerry at one of our Blogger plant swaps. It's been blooming strong for over two months now...

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.