When I decided to sell (as part of
The Other Plant Sale) the
Indio Metal Arts container I bought at an event at
McMenamins Edgefield, it got me to thinking about just how long it had been since I'd wandered the grounds out there. Too long was the answer, so I paid a visit...
In case you are unfamiliar with the
McMenamins name, it's a local chain of restaurants, hotels, bars, and theatres, all located in historic properties. Edgefield is a 74 acre parcel developed in 1911 as the county poor farm. Now it's a sprawling venue that hosts a summer concert series, weddings and weekend getaways. All the McMenamins properties place a high value on the gardens, which is why I like them.
I knew that plant propagation happened at this McMenamins location, but if I'd seen the greenhouse on prior visits I'd somehow completely forgotten it.
It's very mysterious the way it lurks back there, hidden by the foliage.
I found the front!
And peeked inside...
There were tables covered with small plants being grown on.
And a reminder for those who might have bad thoughts...
Moving on...
The troughs...
The signage is new since my last visit.
Agave some somebody...
Lewisia
The bamboo grove is thick along the backside of a building.
A similar photo to this one—but with the opuntia in bloom—made it into
my book.
The veggie garden...
With a florific cover crop.
More signage...
This part of the grounds was new to me, or maybe it's been replanted in plants that capture my attention? Like Dasylirion wheeleri.
Eryngium agavifolium
And Tetrapanax papyrifer.
A hidden courtyard.
One of the outbuildings that serves libations, with a nice patch of Melianthus major growing along the pathway.
I mentioned the summer concert series, and I think that was actually the last time I visited Edgefield. To see
Pink Martini summer 2019, pre-covid. It was an amazing night.
This oddly shaped—and very spiny—leaf was new to me, Google images things it might be Ilex cornuta 'rotunda'.
The plant was used as a hedge.
The front of the hotel, where any logical person would start a tour (but not someone garden focused).
Daphniphyllum macropodum, right? Not so quick. Near as I could tell (without climbing the tall shrub to see things up close) there were rhododendron flowers on the upper branches (and on the ground too), plus the tips of the leaves are rounded, rather than pointed. Color me confused.
This! An abomination! I mean the foliage was amazing, but who thought red flowers need to bloom on this shrub?
Good without the flowers, am I right?
Closing in on the end of the tour with just one more section of the garden to see.
I think this is cunninghamia (a conifer in the cypress family) mulch.
Underneath a cunninghamia, of course.
Party tent!
Is the party just getting set up? Or are these lovely flowers part of the aftermath? It was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, so I'm thinking I was there early?
Making my way back to the car before the action gets started...
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