I can't tell you what a thrill it was to get to visit the garden of one of my home-town garden heroes, Loree Bohl of Danger Garden. Loree's stylish garden blog was one of the first I discovered and remains one of my eagerly awaited regular reads. I have since had the chance to meet her in person and on the hottest day of the year here in Portland got to have my own visit to her garden which she opened up for a group of us Oregon garden bloggers. Thank you Loree for a peek at your amazing world and for the cool cherries and kind hospitality!
*My photos really don't do this garden justice and I focused more on plants rather than the very impressive landscaping. Check out Loree's recent feature on Apartment Therapy and Loree's terrific blog for a better look.
Warning! The "danger" in Danger Garden is three-fold:
1. A blog full of sharp and prickly plants.
2. A blog with a bad case of zonal denial where plants are living on the edge of survival.
3. A blog full of plants so covetable that it will have you pulling out your credit card like Betty and Wilma on a shopping spree. Charge it!
Oh, and speaking of Plant Lust, Loree is co-founder of that wonderful site that helps you research and locate plants, especially the type that make your heart race fast--you know, the dangerous type.
Danger! Danger!
A delicious combo of "Sparkling Burgundy" Purple Pineapple Lily and Black Mondo Grass lines the walkway up to the house.
High Drama at High Noon. Loree has painted her house a dark chocolate brown which is the perfect backdrop for her plantings. So striking.
I believe this is the purple prickly pear cactus that I bought this Summer. Mine is just one small Mickey Mouse ear--can't wait until it grows up to look like Loree's.
I love Loree's thistles! Pretty sure this is
Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Wilmott's Ghost' which is one of my favorite plant names ever. The thistles looks almost better dead than alive.
Here's another one that really knocked my socks off--it's actually a rose (Wingthorn rose) with glowing red thorns that look like stained glass. Wicked.
Some charming, hanging succulent planters guide you towards the tropical paradise which awaits you in the back garden.
It can get HOT with all those hot plants in The Danger Garden. You need a cool drink of blue here and there and Loree obliges.
My latest plant crush. I can't remember the name--anyone lend a girl a hand? Isn't it incredible? As flat as a pancake and as intricate as a Spirograph design.
Another unidentified plant straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.
One of many knock-out plant combinations.
There are so many wonderful pots scattered around The Danger Garden. I won't divulge how many here, but trust me, this is not even the tip of the ice berg. I will tell you how many different varieties of agaves Loree has though. Are you sitting down? 58! Different varieties. I bow down.
I think your mystery plant is a dinner plate aeonium. I want one very badly!
ReplyDeleteI love the trip to the Danger Garden. Such fun to see the very unique gardener's in the Portland area.&
ReplyDeleteAh, yes...we all bow down to Loree & her wonderful garden. It was nice seeing it through your eyes..er, lens.
ReplyDeleteOh I love your look at my garden! And I'm so glad you could make it to visit...I enjoyed meeting you and I am so glad you decided to start a garden blog! You were very kind with the camera...not focusing on the "challenging" areas or divulging the true extent of my container problem.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the SF area I got the dinner plate Aeonium (the flat one) at Flora Grubb, I believe they are in stock commonly at Succulent Gardens too, but that's bit south of SF. Also Lori and Richard at Garden Fever are pretty open to people requesting plants...you should ask them if they'd consider bringing some up. Heck I will too!
Thanks for posting about Loree's garden! It brings back the excitement I felt at getting to see it and meet her myself. She's an amazing gardener, blogger, and person & we're lucky to know her!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments--glad you enjoyed the little tour! And Loree, thank you for the warm welcome to the Portland gardener's community. It's so fun meeting you all and learning from you. I'll talk to the kind folks at Garden Fever about ordering some dinner plate Aeonium--I'm sure they will sell like hotcakes
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, it was a fun tour, wasn't it...so many unusual plants!
ReplyDeleteIf your garden is to be placed in or around an outdoor activity area, your plants shouldn't get in the way of the traffic. Your little garden should not hamper the usual activities in the rest of the landscaping for more info..
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