Saturday, 25 August 2018
Kuestner garden, Manzanita
This garden was in the tour book for the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.
We had met the owner, Mark, hosting a garden on the Tillamook Spade and Wade tour in July.
When we arrived, Mark was briefly absent on a home tour, but we were more than happy to stay till he returned. The garden far surpassed my expectations. I looked up an old view of the house and was able to find, because the garden is so new, what it used to look like:
Mark’s wife, Linda, gave him all the credit for the garden.
I was utterly gobsmacked by this garden. Mark is a regular customer of Xera and Cistus nurseries, my two favourites, and he also orders from Annie’s Annuals.
Mark said he was short on pavers so he used the tops of water meter boxes, and he used the boxes as planting troughs.
I came back around to the front. Mark had returned home. I can imagine how delighted I would be if I came back from a brief absence from my garden on tour and found that my visitors included Pam Fleming and Beth Holland, renowned gardeners from Seaside and Cannon Beach, and garden writer Ketzel Levine. I would be well chuffed.
I was so thrilled with this garden that I was happy to go round some more (and I hope you are, too.)
I found myself craving Rubus lineatus again (background, below):
I removed it from my garden because it was such a runner, and tried to save and replant one little piece but it did not take. I love the silvery unfurling of the new leaves.
We went back out to the streetside garden.
This was exactly the sort of garden I like, full of plants interwoven, interesting and unusual and thriving. Mark’s said his secrets for success are using 15-15-15 fertilizer and a lot of watering.
Takeaways: fertilize more, buy more plants, stuff more plants in!
Something fortuitous happened next. I had been wanting, while in Manzanita, to see the garden of Jane, the woman originally from Leeds whom I had met in July at the same Tillamook garden as Mark. I had bought some of her photo cards featuring her garden and had a strong desire to see it. I had intended to try to track her down but got so busy at work I had not followed through after being unable to find her on social media. On the way to this garden, I learned that Ketzel had recently met her, so Ketzel left a phone message asking if we could visit. Before she could even check for a reply, up the walkway came Jane to tour Mark’s garden!
She immediately agreed that we could visit hers and she would then return to Mark’s, so we were off with Pam and Prissy to tour Jane’s garden.
What a lovely Manzanita garden, and to think it’s only two years old! I think that little geranium that caused some excitement is P. sidoides. If so, I have it from Alison of Bonney Lassie. I have met Manzanita Jane and toured her garden, too! In fact, I’m growing some Senecio greyii starts she gave me last fall. I see she came equipped with her own basket (for more starts from Mark?)
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She wAs returning from an art gallery; interesting thought re the basket. I am pleased that you know her. Would love to live there and be friends with her and Mark.
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What an awesome garden. It just shines. I wish it were mine. Does Mark adopt older gardeners? I want to move into his garden.
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I have heard of adults adopting other adults. 🙂
I want to make my garden more like this. Time is a factor but maybe after we partially retire. But then plant money will be a factor.
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Stunning! I especially enjoyed meeting Rubus lineatus — pretty! And how perfect to meet Jane. I’m looking forward to seeing her garden.
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You will like Jane’s garden!
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What a great garden! The plant you thought was Salvia argentea is Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings,’ supposedly hardy to zone 8, I bought one this year, so we’ll see. It’s still in a pot, so I’m probably going to tuck it under my porch overhang for the winter. I had the same experience with Rubus lineatus, took it out because it ran so prolifically it scared me.
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Thank you for the ID and for your Rubus story.
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an amazing garden
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Yes.
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I love a garden that not only uses, but is non-snobby confident enough to showcase humble sedum autumn joy, fuchsia magellanica, and rose campion.
Nestled in are newer and diverse plants friends, all a joy to discover.
This is a lovely garden, it must have been a treat to tour.
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A very perceptive comment. Yes, not snobby at all. I just read an editorial in Fine Gardening that snobbishly put down Sedum AJ, Persicaria ‘Firetail’, and two other plants I like (I forget which). It irked me!
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Wow, an amazing garden grown in a short time. There is so much variety, color and interesting plants to see! Mark must have had fun creating his garden.
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It is one of my favourite gardens that I’ve toured over the years.
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How lovely to find this and that you enjoyed Mark’s garden! The mystery plant (if you meant the silvery leafed in the pot) is Senecio Candicans “Angel Wings”. Cheers!
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It is a great garden. Thanks for the plant ID. I have thought about Mark’s garden a lot since then. I was determined to get Canna ‘Stuttgart’ this year, ordered it from two different sources (corms or bulbs) and it just did not grow. I will try again next year!
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I shared this comment about Canna “Stuttgart” with Mark and he said he’s overwhelmed with corms/plants to share. He’s doing open HPSO gardens again 7/27/19 & 8//24/19 (11-3) but also super happy to have people come by as mutually convenient. And he’s very happy to share a start with you! She’s a beaut, but a bit of a brute too…In my non-gardener opinion…
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I would love some. Allan goes boating in Oregon sometimes so if we can’t make it down to the garden due to work schedule, maybe I could send him down to get a Stuttgart start. Would you be open to a garden visit in the autumn, like a weekday after 15th Sept, or are you winding down by then?
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