I’ve always had a weird sense of pride in some of Portland’s most popular monikers. “Bridge City” is one: there are eleven bridges crossing the Willamette River within city limits. Why I get so excited about all those damn bridges is anyone’s guess. It’s not like any of them are even landmarks in the bridge world; not compared to the Brooklyn or Golden Gate bridges.

I most like these cupped, double roses, like this pink one.

I failed to snap a decent photo of ‘Rainbow’s End’, a cultivar with pink, yellow and orange blooms growing on the same plant, so this one of another miniature will have to do.

Some of the lighter lilac roses were marketing as being “blue.” We know better than that.

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I’ve known about Rare Plant Research for as long as I’ve been interested in plants, but it wasn’t until a coworker tipped me off that I became aware of their renowned annual plant sale and open house. Of course, long-time Portland residents like Loree of Danger Garden have been in on the secret for years. But if you think a true plant fanatic is going to pass on the opportunity to scope out and scoop up some rare plants, even after years of visits, well. You’d better think again.

The home of Rare Plant Research.

As a first-timer, you can imagine my surprise at finding this enormous Spanish-style villa overlooking the surrounding farmland just minutes outside of downtown Oregon City. And you can imagine my non-plant-obsessed boyfriend’s surprise at just how many people had turned up for the event. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and he was content to sit under a tent next to the food truck while I plundered the greenhouses.

Around the greenhouses are beds growing Eucomis and Canna in-ground, as well as one devoted to hundreds of different kinds of Lewisia, like this one.

Surely one of the main draws of Rare Plant Research is the large selection of succulents. I can’t say I’ve fallen back in love with them, but seeing them so out of place here in Oregon does give me a new sense of appreciation.

Alpinia zerumbet, common name variegated ginger.
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When my sister and I were much younger, I remember taking a trip with our parents to someplace called “The Rhododendron Garden.” For whatever reason, our visit became a sort of running gag through the years: it was a meandering, stalwart garden with an abundance of squirrels and not much else.

It took me a while to connect that rhododendron garden to the one I decided to take my mom to for Mother’s Day this year. Maybe it was the timing that was off – to be sure, Mother’s Day coincides with the peak bloom time of most rhododendrons and many azaleas. And, of course, that meant the garden was packed with people (and, yes, lots of squirrels, ducks, geese and other wildlife). Even then, I find it hard to believe we could ever had such a lackluster experience in this  kind of wonderland.

The Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland, Oregon.

There are plenty of waterfalls, lakes and ponds that give the garden an almost Asian feel.

What I’m guessing is some sort of wild violet?.
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Although I posted about the Strybing Arboretum as a part of the Garden Blogger’s Fling this past July, my first visit was during a trip to San Francisco with Sid last December. I lucked out that he needed to take a work trip right then, because that happens to be when all the Australian plants are doin’ their thing. After all, our winter is their summer. And I happen to love Australian natives. For whatever reason, I never got around to posting pictures from that initial visit, but seeing as it’s almost a complete year later and many of the same plants will soon be in bloom, I thought I’d go ahead and share them now. Enjoy!

Erica cinerea, or common heather.

Protea ‘Pink Ice’.

Australian plants have some of the most bizarre foliage. Can anyone ID this one?

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This is it! The last and final installation of my report on the 2013 Garden Bloggers Fling. For the previous posts, see: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. By the time we reached Filoli, it was sweltering outside. It was halfway through my explorations of the enormous grounds that my camera either got overheated or overexcited, coughed, and died. But not before snapping a few blown-out pictures. Below is what I was able to salvage.

Some kind of tricolor fuchsias near the gift shop.

You know I love a good vine-covered wall.

The gardens are very formal. Even these annual geraniums were planted in perfectly straight rows.

Hydrangeas, of course. The feeling was almost that of an English manor.

Pears growing in the orchard.

There was quite an extensive rose garden, as well as a cutting garden, conservatory and bonsai pavilion.

Zinnias in another formal hedged border.

Before I did anything else at Filoli, I stopped in the gift shop and bought a hat. I hadn’t even thought to bring mine. Perhaps my favorite part of the whole experience, though, was finding two Hydnophytum for sale. I had been mentioning ant plants all weekend long as an example of the kind of strange things I was into, and here they were! Normally, you’ve got to mail order something like this. So I jumped at the chance to buy two Filoli-grown ant plants of my own. Both came home with me. Unfortunately, I didn’t snap a picture of them at the time. I’ll get some up eventually.

The Fling continued through Sunday, and at the end of it all I had made some amazing new friends, both of the human and plant variety. I can’t wait for next year in Portland. Until then, we’ve all got our blogs to keep us going. Happy growing!