Succulents of Seattle

I don’t grow many succulents, nor do I know the names of them when I see them. I have a few hens and chicks left that my Grandma gave me almost 10 years ago, but they haven’t thrived as much as a couple of others varieties I have.

Here in Houston, I would not recommend planting them in the ground. Despite the fact that we are in a severe drought, it will rain again one day. I have a feeling that after one of our legendary downpours that our ground stays too wet for most succulents. Mine are all in pots with well-draining soil and almost never get hand-watered. So, for those of you who can’t keep a plant alive to save your life, maybe succulents are for you.

I was surprised to see how many people are growing succulents in Seattle, I envisioned it being too wet of a place for them. However, they seemed to be doing very well both in the ground and in containers. Here are some of my favorites.



This looks like a re-purposed birdbath to me, The soil is hilled, most likely to help with drainage.

photo taken at Dragonfly Farms














A wheelbarrow full o’succulents at Dragonfly Farms

 

 

 

I love the color combo of this one. I think this is sedum.
photo taken at Dragonfly Farms

Here, bottles and sempervivum (at least that’s what I think it is, remember I am no expert) are used as edging. Now, this just might provide enough drainage to work well in Houston.

Another wheel barrow o’succulents at Dragonfly Farms

Here are a few more great container ideas for succulents.

Suzette & Jim Birrell's Garden

   
The above two photos are from Denise Lane’s garden.

Lorene Edward Forkner's Garden

I hope these pictures give you some good ideas about what you can do with succulents in your own garden.

Macro Monday

These are some of the macro shots I took at Lorene Edwards Forkner’s garden in Seattle. She was one of our Seattle Fling Organizers and is an author of several gardening books.

Visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday pictures.

The 2011 Garden Bloggers Fling

This year’s Garden Bloggers Fling spanned four fun-filled days travelling around the Seattle area being overwhelmed with beauty at every turn. There were gorgeous gardens with an array of colorful containers, surprising succulents, pleasing pathways, and splendid sheds (yes, I did get out the thesaurus for that one).

Over the course of 4 days we visited 6 private gardens, 5 public gardens (including Bloedel Reserve which will get one entire post to itself), 2 nurseries (Ravenna Gardens and Dragonfly Farms), and 1 farmer’s market. We were also fortunate enough to experience a photography class from Seattle’s own, David Perry.

The weather was amazing. We had 3 days without clouds, which might be a record for Seattle, and the warmest temperatures this year. My fellow Texans, when I say warm in Seattle, I mean it got up to 80 degrees. It did not go above 80, it was like heaven. On our last day, we were able to experience true Seattle weather-clouds and a light rain, but I am not complaining-I hadn’t seen rain for months!

The sunny weather definitely affected the photography. I didn’t get the much-needed photography tip I needed until the last day, so many of my pictures are too bright. However, the pictures of Bloedel on an overcast day are amazing. I took a little over 1000 pictures, so it has taken me awhile to sort through all of them. Be sure to check out my Facebook page for a look at some of the pictures that will not be posted on the blog.

Here’s a taste of the private gardens we toured.

Suzette and Jim Birrell’s garden had the most amazing bright blue shed and a variety of perennial and vegetable beds. Their bedroom is a wall of windows overlooking their well-tended garden.

Shelagh Tucker is a transplant from England. She has a wonderful blend of English and Northwest gardening styles in her gardens. Her front yard drought-resistant garden was inspired by Beth Chatto’s book, Drought Resistant Planting.

Michelle and Christopher Epping designed their dream home with the French Riviera in mind. Their amazing view of Seattle also means they garden on a steep slope, but that hasn’t stopped them from creating an oasis outside their doorstep.

Denise Lane’s garden is almost an acre. Her property is filled with winding paths that open onto breathtaking garden vignettes.

Lorene Edwards Forkner is one of our lovely hosts. Her garden is filled with great garden art, most of which is featured in her cool new book, Handmade Garden Projects.

Kate Farley has created a wonderful garden hideaway at her house. In fact, you can’t even see her house. Her yard is filled with winding paths that make the almost 1/4 acre lot feel much bigger.

Thanks for looking at a sample of what I saw in Seattle.

While us Zone 8 gardeners in Houston do have some plants in common with the Zone 7 gardeners of Seattle, I’ve decided not to focus on the plants. Instead, I noticed several themes emerge as I visited each garden. My upcoming posts will be focused on those gardening themes (there was a hint in the first paragraph, did you catch it?), with a bonus final post about Bloedel Reserve.

Macro Monday–Coming in for a landing

I caught this guy in mid-air while I was visiting Dragonfly Farms Nursery in Washington State.

Visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday pictures.