Grevillea juniperina 'Molonglo' my favorite plant in the garden, this week…

I’m kind of obsessed with Grevillea juniperina 'Molonglo' and truthfully this plant could be my favorite just about any week, it never looks bad. So why this plant now? Because this is what I’m currently seeing out my front door…

Naturally the sun isn’t always hitting it just so but when it does, well the Grevillea shines a little extra, like a beautiful grass-green carpet.

I bought my plants at Cistus and planted them the summer of 2011. Here’s what they looked like a couple months after planting.

For some reason I thought I needed three plants. I guess I didn't really believe it when the tag said 10 ft wide?....

“A ground covering grevillea, to 2 ft tall x 10 ft wide adorned with deep gold flowers from fall through spring and occasionally beyond. Evergreen, it is dense and smothers weeds easily. Full sun and good drainage. Drought tolerant once established. Avoid fertilizers as with all proteas. Frost hardy in USDA zone 8.”

So about those deep gold flowers; it’s taking a little break at the moment but there will be more soon. Just look…

If you’re wondering what the flowers do look like click on over here, as proof of my obsession there are no less than 15 photos of my plants on plantlust.com, most of them while they’re in bloom.

The stats:

• Evergreen ground cover to 2ft tall by 8-10ft wide.
• Likes sun and well drained soil – drought tolerant.
• Hardy Zone 8a -10b

And speaking of photos on plantlust.com if any of you garden bloggers are okay with us uploading your photos (with credit and a link back to your blog of course) we would LOVE to do so. Just say the word and we’ll get busy.

The garden where everything grows faster, bigger, and better than mine…

Before leaving for our week in London I shuttled a few plants over to my co-plant luster Patricia’s house, she’d kindly agreed to care for them since Mother Nature is still withholding the water. While standing there chatting with her and admiring her garden I realized I've never taken any photos, what was I thinking?! Time to correct that oversight...

When I first met her (a little over 3 years ago) the most of extra-wide hell-strip surrounding her lot was a filled with lawn. Since then she’s removed all that and created an amazing garden…

That lovely Verbascum next to the sidewalk is a volunteer...

Look at that shrub behind the Banana, next to the telephone pole. Any guesses as to what it might be?

Here's a better shot.

Yes! Can you even believe it? Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira'...HUGE and right here in Portland!

I am so jealous!

Euphorbia myrsinites, so dense and full! Not at all leggy like mine tend to get.

That massive Datura was a bargain ($3.99?) purchase at our local nursery Garden Fever earlier this summer. Now look at it!

Up until recently it was pushing out daily blooms too!

On the right is a Eupatorium, E. capillifolium 'Elegant Feather' I believe...

Perfection!

Just above the Blood Grass, you can see what's left of Patricia's Echium wildpretii. It lost it's top during blooming but the base is still solid. I'm counting on hundreds of tiny seedlings next year, which hopefully she'll share.

There's the bloomed out E. wildpretii...from the other side.

Hardy Puya

Grevillea victoriae, I believe...

This Echium was purchased as a tiny 4" start mid-summer, look at it already!

Another Echium...

Thank you Patricia for letting me share your gorgeous garden! I realize now that I only photographed the hell-strip, there is oh so much more to see...hopefully I can remember to take more pictures sometime soon!