31 July: The Oysterville Garden

Sunday, 31 July 2016

After visiting Steve and John’s garden, we all headed to Oysterville in two vehicles to visit THE garden there.  Pam Fleming (Seaside, Oregon city gardener extraordinaire) had especially asked to see it and had rounded up three other friends, Prissy (expert plant propagator), Sean, and Jim.

enticing view from the street

We arrive. (Allan’s photo)

happy to be here!  Pam, Prissy, and me

a delightful prospect for garden visitors, with the gate open in welcome

Just like my cats did, Riley the dog zoomed right in on Prissy.  He knew she is an ally of animals with cats and five horses of her own.

Melissa (Sea Star Gardening) was working at the garden so got to walk around with us.

Melissa, and the garden owner, and me.

Going around the garden with three knowledgable plantswomen (Melissa, Pam, and Prissy) resulted in so much conversation that my enjoyment was deepened and yet my photos were fewer than usual.

by the driveway (Allan’s photo)

south side of driveway (Pam’s photo)

Pam’s photo, north side of driveway

glorious south side of terrace (Allan’s photo)

Pam’s photo

Note how the backs of the chairs, below, match the round window, above.

on the terrace

on the terrace

Sean on the terrace

detail

Darling Wayne!

Riley just about to go for a belly rub.

We peeked into the still wet gleaming white paint job in the garage and then went round the back.

“My uncle’s car!” exclaimed Pam in delight when she saw this parked behind the garage.

Pam’s photo

I was looking forward to my friends’ reaction to the allée of Hydrangea ‘Incrediball’ and their reponses did not disappoint.

the allée

Pam’s photo

the west end of the allée

detail

Pam’s photo

looking east from the middle of the allée

Allan’s photo

Pam’s photo

to my right, a great “stop the eye” feature.

the dreamy north lawn. The plan is to remove a couple of the old trees. I look forward to the before and after on that.

We noticed an especially nice hydrangea in the border by the lawn.  The gardener waded into the garden to find the tag.

This starry wonder is Hydrangea ‘Le Vasterival’.

Le Vasterival is sold under the trade name First Editions Great Star.  Here, you can read an excellent rant by Tony Avent about trade names being used instead of the real cultivar name.  In the Oysterville garden, the tag proved that the source of ‘Le Vasterival’ had been a nursery that cares about the real name.

The gardener brought us a flower of H. ‘Le Vasterival’, and it proved to be lightly fragrant.

angelica and a white verbascum against the hornbeam hedge

beside the lawn

I can’t choose between the two angles, so here are both.

Around about this time, Sean managed to round up everyone but Prissy for a group selfie.

Sean’s photo: Sean, Pam, me, Allan, Melissa, Jim

Undaunted in her desire to see the front garden, Prissy went right through the sprinkler, and so did we all.

front garden with Queen Elizabeth rose.

Incredibly, there was some local controversy when the garden owner painted his house pink.  Pink, the palest peachy blush at the very end of sunset, perhaps, or the faint pearly tint on the inside of a rare seashell.

front border

statuesque eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed)

soaring Verbena bonariensis

sarracenia and golden pelargoniums along with blue plumbago by the front walkway

plumbago (I think!) and sarracenia

Below: In the front garden, the Lavatera was yanked out moments after this photo was taken because it had a bad case of rust.  It came out with one good pull.  To its left, the silver plant had us all stumped.  Later, I posted a photo to the Plant Idents Facebook group and within minutes had its name.

plant pondering

It is Gomphostigma virgatum.

with the lavatera ousted

A Plant Idents reader added, “Interesting to meet this South African plant from the Eastern Cape. Looks like it stays much smaller up there than it does in habitat, where it gets large, shrubby and weeping. This specimen looks more like it’s low and herbaceous. I wonder at its water needs, as in habitat it is found adjacent rivers. May not be suitable for water thrifty Mediterranean climate gardens; too thirsty? I notice SM Growers in Santa Barbara dropped it from production.”  Famous Colorado plantsman Panayoti Kelaidis added, “It grows in streams all over the Drakensberg: I have seen it six or more feet in height there.”  I hope I can get one for myself from an online source.

We had to leave around five because Prissy had her five horses to feed.

dreamy view by the driveway as we leave.

the front of the house, as we depart (Pam’s photo)

I so much enjoyed seeing Pam and Prissy and meeting Sean and Jim.  The latter two are selling their dream house in Gearhart, right on the beach.  In case you desire such a home, here is the link, although I have reservations about sharing it.  Having just met them, I do not want them to move away.

Next: My mother’s garden diaries for July of two decades ago, with non gardening entries and illustrations.