danger garden

Friday, July 3, 2026

My garden at the end of June, as photographed by a visitor

Yes I know, it's July now, however, these photos were taken on June 26th when Jeffrey Bale visited my garden. He was kind enough to share the photos he took during his visit, so I thought I'd turn them into a blog post. It's always interesting to see how someone else views my garden...

At the end of the sidewalk to the front door (above) is this iconic pair of Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'.

Succulents growing at the base of Holman's trunk include a few semponium (a cross between sempervivum and aeonium) from Little Prince.

The driveway containers with agaves, sarracenia, aeonium, basil, tomatoes...

The pathway to the patio...

To the right.

Bromeliad dish.

Carnivorous corner.

Behind the bench.

New growth on Rhododendron sinogrande.

Rhododendron sinogrande on the left, the sort of hazy shrub in the middle is Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Akebono'.

Woodwardia unigemmata

Rhododendron pachysanthum

Looking back towards were we were.

Staghorns hanging from the Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate'.

The planting area just to the right of the steps down to the patio.

Looking back at the side of our garage.

Pyrrosia lingua planters on the side of the garage.

The shade pavilion and patio.

Containers on the patio.

And a look up at the fence and the area under the shade pavilion. Thanks for visiting and taking photos Jeffrey!

The Bit at the End

Today I'm sharing an agave propagation update post from Plant Delights; An update on our Liberty. The original post was up last September, and includes a photo of their gorgeous Agave utahensis ssp. utahensis var. nevadensis ‘Liberty’ that they chopped in an attempt to make more.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Visiting Clinton Bamboo and then Bunny Falkenberg, it's a wrap on that Seattle visit

We're back up in the Seattle area, it's June 7th, and I've got two more stops before I head for home. Eric (whose garden we'd just visited in real time) had posted in a Facebook plant group about Clinton Bamboo Nursery, saying it's not just bamboo... "they specialize in bog and marginal pond plants, carnivores, jungle effect, shade plants, hostas, grasses and subtropical effect." Naturally Scott and I had to check it out...

Palm frond pressed into the walkway cement...

Eric called the place magical and I agree.

There's Scott and Vince, one of the owners, talking bamboo.

I made a video to capture the sight and sound of the tall canes moving in the wind but it didn't turn out as I'd hoped, so all you get is another photo.

Acanthus, maybe A. spinosus?

Gunnera

Iris ensata 'Oriental Royalty'

Carnivorous plants for days!

Darlingtonia californica

Sadly the ones for sale have to be kept locked up.

Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica

Hosta

This huge maple (I think) in the corner created such a lovely hidden spot.

I'd aimed my camera at the bananas, but instead found myself focusing on the dead Citrus trifoliata. It was quite fabulous with it's tawny coloration.

Since their website doesn't seem to be active I thought I'd share the business card. They're open Fri-Sun, stop in if you're in the area! It's a super fun place to visit and the owners are knowledgeable and nice guys.

Next stop, Bunny Falkenberg's garden. Bunny was kind enough to let us visit his garden even though it's currently in transition and he's not open for visitors. We walked around the front garden (I was only able to look down into the sunny back garden, but I feel certain there was an agave down there)...

It was interesting to hear his plans for the different spaces and see what he has created in a couple spots, like this area up near the entrance.

A pulled back shot (there's lot clearing and construction going on next door, bonus; it looks like Bunny is going to be hired to do the future garden design).

If I remember right the big rocks came from the construction site, I love that one on the lower far right.

Mahonia marvel (I think), Cyrtomium fortunei, big-leaf Rhododendron...

I want to say this is Rhododendron sinogrande, but that's just a guess. There are other big-leaf Rhododendrons.

Looking across the driveway...

Rodgersia 'Bronze Peacock' perhaps? It's holding the dark color so late in the season, and 'Bronze Peacock' is the only one that performs like that in my garden.

This orange bloomer, Rhododendron hybrid ‘Medusa’, was the most stunning shade...

There's a little pink in the mix.

Woodwardia unigemmata

A decapitated Magnolia macrophylla, I belive this was an windstorm accident.

I asked Bunny for ID on this one (he told me in person, but I couldn't remember) here's his reply: "This is a Rhododendron arboreum. It is an 8 year old specimen grown from seed collected in Bhutan. and ultimately should grow to 25 feet tall and look like a small tree. The flower color varies from deep crimson red to pink and white (the most uncommon). I had hoped for a red toned flower but by chance got a white flower with speckles."

Rhododendron orbiculare

That purple strawberry pot on the right, massive! I've never seen one so large.

And this Polystichum setiferum ends the visit. Thanks for letting us stop by Bunny! Aren't gardener's the best?

The Bit at the End

Today is the first of July and the fine folks at the Ruth Bancroft Garden have declared the entire month as Agave Fest; "A month-long celebration of an iconic genus" ..."Celebrate one of the most iconic plants of The Ruth Bancroft Garden with a month-long tribute to agaves – bold, sculptural, and one of the most beloved plants in the Garden!" Naturally I'm completely on board with this idea, especially since July is my birthday month. Since I won't be able to celebrate at the RBG I'll be doing my best to play along and post lots of agave content right here throughout the month... agave fest!

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