I've been to two big garden shows in two weeks and I think I showed remarkable restraint in purchasing plants and bulbs. So what did I buy?
Agave gentryii 'Jaws' begged to come home with me. See the sad, yellowed leaf? He was like the quiet little kitten you just had to adopt because you were afraid no one else would. Even with his yellow leaf, this little guy's spines look like very serious business. I hope I can nurse him back to glossy, green health this summer.
Speaking of little, this petite trio of Haworthias will have to be indoors-only pets. Native to South Africa, most are hardy only to zone 9 or 10. I'll be planting them together in a flat dish so they can live in our sunny breakfast room. From left to right are
h. attenuata 'zebra'
, h. greenii and
h. attenuata cv 'lime green'.
Along with a perfectly prosaic culinary thyme plant
(I went all the way to Seattle for that, right?)
I also needed the lime green sedum Angelina (way in the back) as a contrasting ground cover in my garden.
The
abutilon is Red Tiger. I was concerned about how it would fare in zone 8 and the grower gave me some great advice: "It will get to about four feet this summer, so just grow it, enjoy it, and then let it go."
At just $6, that didn't seem fiscally irresponsible, so I bought it. The flowers are small, but a beautiful dark orange with yellow veins.
At the front is
ceanothus Diamond Heights. I love
ceanothus and was swayed by its gorgeous variegation, but it is zone 9, so a pot and protection in winter is in order.
I showed these blossoms for Bloom Day yesterday, but perhaps you're curious to see the whole plant. Here's the
Scilla natalensis. Its bulb and unusual leaves are as intriguing to me as the flower spike.
This particular
Grevilla juniperina is also known as 'Lava Cascade'. I read it had been sold for quite a few years as 'Low Red', but somebody decided that just wasn't sexy enough, so they began marketing it as 'Lava Cascade.' I kind of like 'Low Red' myself - sounds more Australian.
I also bought a
Trillium erectum bulb and a
Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty' root, but there's not much to see there!
That's my show booty.
So who's coming home with you this month?
