Check out the Home and Garden section of the Oregonian today to read about one of my whole-universe-in-a-pot gardens.

The featured planter is one of my favorites this season, with a ‘gothic’ sensibility: wickedly wiry corokia, black and purple plants and tiny silver raoulia. Lots of metalic tones, including the stoneware pot which is mottled bronzy hues. Hidden under the moss are bulbs of Tulipa daystemon, a surprise for next spring.

You had to have picked up the print version to get my picture though. It’s foxy.

On view June 16 through July 21 at Salon Capelli.
Artist Reception June 22, 1- 3 pm

Boxlift Bldg Summer Open Studio will be Saturday, June 14 from 5 to 10 pm.
Stop by and visit, see new work and have a glass of wine with us!

Liriodendron tulipifera
MAGNOLIACEAE, The Magnolia family

With such high branches, it’s not easy to enjoy the flowers of the tulip tree. On my way home from the studio this evening I saw a lot of the green and bright orange blooms scattered on the ground and hopped off my bike to have a look. Evidently, squirrels had been biting off the flowers and buds. I found a few nearly intact ones to bring home to look at more closely. (Since recent botanizing with Anne I am inspired to ‘nature journal’.)

I like how the flowers are tulip-like and the leafs are also shaped like a tulip, only in profile. They are actually not at all related to tulips which are in the lily family, but are close relatives of the magnolia. Another common name is yellow poplar, but they are also not poplars.

Tulips trees remind me of Laura, a Tuscan woman I interned with at Kew, because on the day we met as we were walking through the garden chatting, she interrupted herself to exclaim, ‘Ah! Liriodendron!’ when we came upon a huge Tulip tree in full bloom. And I began to understand the beauty of international scientific language.

Rhododendron cv.
ERICACEAE, The Heath family

It’s a late bloomer, to round out the season of colorfulflowerbushes. Could be part of a grand finale to spring, along with weigela, miss kim lilac and philadelphus..

The dark pink petals are pointed, giving the blooms a star shape. They have a slight fragrance and attract butterflies.

Helianthemum ‘Cheviot’
CISTACEAE, The Rockrose family

Yes, sunrose has been the plant of the day before, twice, but it’s too luscious. It’s that time of year again: the walls and rockeries of gardeners-in-the-know drip with the sublime contrast of the Chinese red blooms and the soft sage leaves of ‘Henfield’s Brilliant’.

On my bike route home from work there is a nice terrace with blue grasses, a little olive tree, too many euphorbias and big patches of a peach-flowered, blue-green leaved sunrose called ‘Cheviot’.

The VaVaVa Bloom event at Bridgeport Village was featured on Garden Time TV today, and I was on to talk about my design for the display garden. See the video clip here.

Billburgia nutans
BROMELIACEAE, The Bromeliad family

In the same family as pineapple and air plants, this striking houseplant (hardy in the garden in zone 10,) is also called Angel’s tears and Friendship plant. It is native to Brazil. It blooms in winter and may go dormant in summer. It likes a cool room, but is supposedly tolerant of variable conditions. (reallly???)

The genus name is for an 18th century Swedish botanist. The epithet means ‘nodding’ referring to the inflorescences. They are bright green and gold, spathed in hot pink. Flashy.

We got them in the nursery today.

Simple pleasure: looking things up in books while blogging. I set my bookshelf up right next to my desk for this purpose. Just today I learned about this plant, had no idea it existed, yet for years the information I wanted to know about it was right here next to me. And continues to be here. (Not in the ether.)

ERICACEAE, THE Heath family

This planter was my favorite of the 14 I made for the show this year. It is called the ‘Strata planter’ because it is like geological layers, but also it is like cake. It is mostly made of jewel tone succulents, with some leafy rich colored things like Bunchberry, Cornus canadensis, in its winter color and Ajuga ‘Mahogany’. There are a few shrublets such as the tiny Rhododendron and 3 tiny Calluna ‘Firefly’. The ground covers in between are Raoulia, Platt’s Black Brass buttons and dwarf red creeping thyme.

There are a lot more images of the show garden and planters on flickr.

Sedum ‘Blaze of Fulda’
CRASSULACEAE, The Stonecrop family

Today is the last day of The Yard, Garden and Patio show in Portland. The whole display garden, 50′ x 50′ (the largest at the show and the biggest that the company has made), was created in four days by a remarkable crew. It is enjoyed for three days, then is taken down and the materials are sold or go to other purposes.

Like last year, I designed the container plantings. I also did the plantings in the beds this year, which was nice because the two went together much better. The ‘Green sign’ survived admirably. I am very tired.