A sea of Achillea millefolium ‘Royal Tapestry.’
Just in the nick of time, a day before the heat wave began, Carol and I decided we
needed to get away from the toiling of our own gardens and take a road trip to Dallas,
Oregon. [Did you know there was a Dallas, Oregon? Yes indeed.] I’m sure there are
a lot of very cool things in Dallas, Oregon but Carol and I had one destination on our
minds, Daryll’s Nursery.
Daryll’s specialties are ornamental grasses and the Cistus. He used to have a bazillion
different Hydrangea cultivars too but after the dreaded root weevil got the upper
hand [and leaf], he stopped selling them. He's got lots of shrubs, perennials and
vines too. Don’t you love his aging red truck? I’m guessing that the newer one behind
it gets the bulk of his attention these days.
Daryll loves junk. And rust. And plants spilling out of rusty junk.
The high-summer sunshine made for challenging photo taking.
The gathering area. Lots more cool junk. Daryll's junk NFS!
Daryll’s office with ample, “No you can’t take my stuff!” signs.
See. [Ugly yellow signs ruin the effect, but whatever.] What do you think of the
bedpan? Now THIS is re-purposing at its finest.
Excuse me sir, is your refrigerator running? ….. I didn’t have the nerve to open it.
No matter how I tweaked this photo the sun and shadow disparities were just too
extreme to even it out. There was water in that little dish and a rubber frog’s backside
taking a dive.
Guy stuff, don’t you think? Except for the pulleys. Carol is nuts about vintage pulleys
but she knows better than to get too close. Daryll's watching.
Cool chair. The plant, a little worn out already and it's only early July.
Lots of concrete leaves. I love these.
It’s good for the kids to have something to do.
A “waterfall” of creeping Thyme.
Carol and I like how Daryll has made use of these vintage wooden crates.
Unfortunately I didn’t take very many photos of the plants. I guess I was too busy
looking, lusting and lamenting [my lack of funds]. However I did have the presence of
mind to photograph what impressed me the most: containerized single specimen
ornamental grasses.
My photos, unfortunately don’t do them justice. Above and below is a voluptuous Japanese Forest grass, easily three feet across.
A Carex species on a pedestal to allow for the long, draping foliage.
A grouping of three. The tall red one is Panicum ‘Shenandoah.’
And finally, Variegated Moor Grass. Molinia caerulea ‘Variegata.’ I just had to bring
home a one gallon of this. The tag says, “Green and yellow striped leaves on a plant
with mounding habit and purple flowers. Grows 24-30 inches tall by 12-24 inches
wide.” Unfortunately my photography skills fail to bring out the sheer coolness of this
grass. It looks similar to Japanese Forest grass only more diminutive in overall size.
The flowers fountain up several inches above the clump.
I also bought this little London Pride only to discover I already have it [albeit it in a
much less spotted version which is what threw me off]. Saxifraga x urbium
‘Aureopunctata.’ Hardy to –30 degrees, according to the tag. We shall see.
And finally,
I had to catch this drive-by sighting. Check out these retired PINK jalopies. Can’t
you just picture a bunch of Petunias snaking their way out of the windows?
This post is dedicated to Loree of Danger Garden. I had the privilege of meeting her
during her recent visit to my neck of the woods. You can read all about it here. One of
Loree's many talents is detailing her frequent nursery visits. Her blog is always a
pleasure to read.
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