a very unfortunate order of events...

Last Sunday was one of those days when I head out to the garden with a specific task to accomplish, but soon found myself caught up in 100 small projects. In the end I accomplished what I had set out to do, but not before a bit of drama unfolded.

My first cylindropuntia was a gifted cutting, that’s it above in a photo taken last spring. I stuck it in the ground (like I do regular old opuntia pads) figuring it would root. Last weekend I noticed instead of sticking straight up, or out to the side, the arms were deflated and facing downward. I pulled it out of the ground and found this…

Instead of rooting it had died, the flesh gone and the dry skeleton remaining.

At the top of the skeleton there were still spikes.

Of course I thought that dried bit of plant skeleton was pretty cool and took it up by the house to save it (that was my first mistake). Then I went back to work, sticking the sad (but possibly still living) cylindropuntia arms in the ground, figuring maybe they’d root and live on (ever the optimist). That’s a few of them at the bottom middle of this picture…

As I was planting I had a flip-flop blowout…

So I tossed the dead flip-flops aside and finished what I was working on, barefoot. That was my second mistake. Because I then stepped on one of these which had fallen off the skeleton and was lying in the driveway…

There was much swearing, loudly. You cannot imagine the pain. Really. I’ve stuck a few opuntia spikes or glochids in my feet before, and been poked by agave tips…but to be walking along and put your foot down full force on a cluster of these spikes…it was intense. I was home alone so I hobbled into the house to get the tweezers. Those spikes were in my foot as far as they could go and did not want to come out. It took all my strength to pull and pull and pull again. Finally after the last one came free; I nearly passed out from the pain. I am not exaggerating.

For just a fleeting moment, a 100th of a second, I was regretting my love for the spiky things. Naturally once I was sure I would live to walk another day I got over that. However I do thank my lucky stars I am the one to have stepped on it, not these furry feet which regularly walk up and down the driveway with no shoes on…

So since we’re on the topic of the cactus let’s have a look and see how they’re all doing, post-winter...

First up the cylindropuntia I bought at Hillside Desert Botanical Gardens last summer, both of them are looking good!

Guess it helped to buy them already rooted.

I am thrilled the Echinocereus hybrid (also from H.D.B.G.) made it and looks good!

Opuntia basilaris ‘Sara’s Compact’ is happy, although I did recently cut off an ugly pad.

Opuntia Engelmannii lives on, actually all the opuntia look pretty good…

Opuntia humifusa

Opuntia x rutila

Maihuenia poeppigii

And a couple of misfits, this one pulled from my in-laws driveway when it was about an inch tall…

And this one, who came along with the care package of opuntia sent to me last spring from David at The Desert Edge...

After a few days of swelling and pain my foot is back to normal, the pain just a memory. The moral of the story…don’t walk barefoot through the desert, even in Portland, Oregon.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

What a stupid thing to do!

Remember that Blue Atlas Cedar I was so excited to have bought? Well I did a really stupid thing and let it dry out. I went to plant it on Sunday and when I picked it up the roots came right out of its plastic nursery pot and it was light, too light. I felt the soil, bone dry. Then I looked at the needles…

Yellow! And when you touch them…

They fall off. Damn! It had been sitting up against the shade pavilion, too far back I guess to have benefited from what rain has fallen, and I didn’t think to check on it. Immediately it got good soaking.

There are still many happy clusters of blue needles. Have I ever mentioned these clusters make me think of teeny tiny Yucca rostrata? Maybe that's why I love it so.

It’s the tips that are yellowing and soon to be needle-less.

I know nothing about conifers, is it hopeless or might it bounce back? Will the needles regrow, or will it live on with bald spots? Have you ever done something this stupid? Help!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Learn from my mistakes #8, sometimes the plant doesn't die…

It’s no secret I’m drawn to plants which are only borderline hardy in my climate. Usually this means I go to whatever lengths necessary to try and keep them alive. However there are the rare exceptions when I decide I’m going to treat a particular plant as an annual. Love it for a season and then let it go. It’s that thinking that got me here…

With this Acacia pravissima rapidly becoming the tree it wants to be, planted a mere 9” from my house, and getting stuck in the rain gutter. People this is not good a gardening practice!

It was supposed to be struck down during the winter of 2011/12 but it powered on and so far it’s taking this (mild) winter in stride. What does the future hold? Well only time will tell, but you can learn from my mistake…sometimes the plant lives!

By the way this plant is also my "favorite plant in the garden this week" if your wondering. I wouldn't want to let you down.

My Garden of Misfit Plants

You've heard of the Island of Misfit Toys right? Well I've realized my garden has become the Garden of Misfit Plants, or maybe I should say misshapen plants. I don’t know exactly how it happened; I don’t intentionally buy the deformed plant. I started thinking about this after purchasing the Blue Atlas Cedar I mentioned last week.

See it has a definite crook to its trunk. It’s not a deal breaker, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it, but I guess when planting I need to stake it in such a manner that it might straighten out over time.

Here’s a pretty extreme example, my Poncirus trifoliata. Just look at that curve!

When I bought it several years ago I didn’t realize it had essentially been topped, I just thought it was a great plant at a great price. The transaction was a little awkward at the counter and I’ve always wondered if they were just happy to unload a damaged plant on a clueless customer. Either way I try not to shop there anymore (for several reasons), and the plant is trying to grow out of its unfortunate disfigurement.

Here’s one I purchased realizing full well it had issues. This Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Sentinel’ was trained as a standard, but it didn't quite live up their expectations. When I found it there were definite signs of scoliosis but I liked it anyway. I hope it isn’t doomed to breaking someday when the weight of a snow, or ice, load becomes too much for it.

Another of my Arctostaphylos, A. densiflora ‘Harmony’ is supposed to grow 5ft high by 6ft wide. Looks like it will make the 6ft wide no problem, but the 5ft high?

I bought the 'Harmony' with a slight tilt to it, hoping it would grow up to have graceful lines like this plant nearby…

Instead it looks like a blob! What a waste of a lovely plant, I need to get in there and do a little judicious pruning and training.

Here’s one that’s just a little odd, this Cotinus ‘Royal Purple' has stayed virtually the same little miniature shrub since I planted it almost 3 years ago (that’s it in the center with no leaves).

Since this plant has such a reputation for being rangy it’s odd to see one stay so compact. I've been told it’s because it likes a lot of water and I’m pretty stingy out here in the front garden in the summer. I've planted a couple of other plants nearby for height and made my peace with this one staying just a short dark foliage accent.

Next up is one of my Callistemon ‘Woodlander's Hardy Red’ it was this wee little stick when I bought it (for the amazing price of $1.98)…

At the time I thought it had a strong leader, but this is what the base looks like now.

Just a few inches tall and then it splays outward in five different directions.

It’s a lovely little plant but I just wish was taller before it split all willy-nilly!

Here's it's sister $1.98 Callistemon I bought a year later. It's looking much better!

Finally we finish with a gift plant that simply reinforces my theory that I attract misshapen plants...a lovely ginkgo that refuses to grow upright but rather takes off at a jaunty angle. This photo is from 2011 when it was given to me.

Here it is last summer, I tried to take a photo of it now to share but without its leaves it was a little hard to see.

So there you have it, my collection of happy misfits.

You again?

After 2 years and 9 months I thought my work was finally done. But then I spotted this…

See those big glossy leaves (2) under the Eryngium venustum? That’s Acanthus mollis. I moved the Acanthus from here in late March of 2010, and then I moved it, and moved it, and moved it. In other words it just kept coming back. And I kept removing it, leaf by damn leaf, wiggling my finger down into the soil and pulling as much root as I could. Last summer I saw only a couple of leaves, early in the season too. I thought I was finally done. Nope, I think it was just waiting for the rain to return and wake it up, TWO YEARS AND NINE MONTHS LATER...

Word to the wise...when planting an Acanthus be sure that’s where you want it to be, because it might just be there forever.

Well aren't you the little thug?

It took me awhile to decide that I liked Muehlenbeckia axillaris, or Creeping Wire Vine. But decide I did, and three plants went into the area cleared out when the Rhody was removed last spring. I thought they would make a nice, quick growing, groundcover. Ya, you can say that again...

Muehlenbeckia axillaris taking over some Sempervivum

Here’s a positive endorsement I found online… "It's the leaves' unique ability to stay in excellent condition from March through November (or later) which makes all these uses suitable, no cutting back or grooming is generally required."

Muehlenbeckia axillaris climbing up through Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Queen'

And from the same source “it quickly forms a dense mat which weeds are unlikely to penetrate.” Is it just me or does that last bit sound a little like the beginning to a horror story?

Muehlenbeckia axillaris twining around Agave bracteosa

The general consensus online (because I’m researching it now, after I planted it) seems to be that it will grow to be 24-30” wide. That doesn't sound too horrible but when you realize they’re probably talking about each and every tiny stem reaching two to two and half feet long, AND add in the “twining/climbing habit” and yikes. I think this plant could cover a car, or maybe even a house, in a couple of years.

Muehlenbeckia axillaris and Dasylirion wheeleri

I guess the name "Creeping Wire Vine" held some clues, had I paid attention. I’m hoping maybe winter will somehow keep this budding thug in check, but I’m not holding my breath. I am however holding sheers…and will use them.

There used to be a Libertia ixioides 'Goldfinger' under there, somewhere...