danger garden

Many gardeners here in the Pacific Northwest are still tallying the plant losses from the one week storm that wreaked havoc in an otherwise benign winter. Just this last week I've discovered my 10 year old Maytenus boaria 'Green Showers' is dead, ditto...

Last Thursday was opening day at one of my favorite local nurseries, Secret Garden Growers, You know you've arrived when you see the witch crossing sign... (pardon the bad photo taken from inside my car)...
The day had been marked on my calendar for awhile, it was a good excuse to go for a drive (45 min to an hour from my house), see friends who work there (Ann and Evan) and of course a fine opportunity to ogle the plants......

Every time I drive by this log-filled hellstrip I think "I really need to stop and take photos" but I'm usually headed home and don't have the time.
However, one cloudy afternoon last week I made the time. Unfortunately the view from my car is my favorite, and since capturing that view would mean standing in the middle of a street with a blind curve, well, you're not going to get to see it....

I visited the Ventura Botanical Gardens as part of a trip to Southern California last November.
This was my second visit, the first was back in late 2015 (coverage here). Back then I was surprised by how the sad the plants looked as a result of the record drought the area had been dealing with. Unfortunately things got even worse in 2017 when the...