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Friday, April 20, 2012

Sunday Nursery Hoppin'

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We try and divide our time between riding and gardening and last weekend was no exception.  Since we had a great day of riding on Saturday we decided that Sunday we'd drive to a few plant nurseries and take a look see.  Also, we were in search of a Magnolia "Little Gem" tree for our front yard.

By the time we left the house it was almost noon so we stopped and grabbed a few sandwiches to go and figured we'd find a nice bench at the first nursery and have lunch.

First up was Dancing Oaks Nursery. They are a little out of the way to the North and West of Corvallis.  They are definitely worth the drive because of their display gardens. We've bought several trees from them previously.

After driving through the beautiful farmland we made a right turn onto a gravel drive. Although we were in the Subaru, I think it would be a great road for dual sports. 

(head for the hills)
Getting closer

(I think I can, I think I can......)
Once at the top of the hill we go down the other side.  You can barely make out some buildings in the middle of the left side of the photo.

(Over the hills and through the woods......)

Once we arrived we grabbed our lunch and water bottle and started wandering.  We found a nice pond area with a wide ledge to sit and relax.

(Pond where we had lunch)
(Our lunch companion)
(Our view while eating)

After eating we wandered through the display gardens and greenhouses snapping pictures as we went.



(Hellebores )




(To me this looked like a tribal mask and headdress)




(Troubadour found a plant with his name on it)

(Pink Flamingos for Keith at Twists and Leanings)
(Flowering Currant)
They did not have any Little Gem Magnolias, but on the way out we saw the coolest kitty.  We sure wanted to take it home with us.

(Cool nursery cat)
As we were driving away Troubadour stopped at the top of the hill so that I could take a few pictures of the Willamette Valley below.

(Looking North East)
(Looking East)
(Looking South East)

From Dancing Oaks we made our way to North Albany along the back roads and decided it was the perfect time to use my free Starbucks coupon.  All the fresh air and sunshine had made us thirsty.  We hit up the Starbucks drive thru and then went to Tom's Garden Center which is nearby.

I didn't take the camera in with me as I didn't think I could safely juggle my drink and the camera at the same time.  I am a bit clumsy you know.  We took our time and enjoyed the sun.  Another nursery cat took a liking to Troubadour and he even carried her for a bit.  Alas, they didn't have a Little Gem Magnolia so we had one more stop to make.

On the way to Corvallis on Highway 20 from North Albany is Garland Nursery.  It has always been a  favorite of ours, but then Troubadour did work there for nearly 3 years so we might be a little biased. We know a lot of staff that are still there and the owners.

More wandering and photo taking ensued.  

(Camelia)

(Object d'art)

(I also found a plant bearing my name)

(Clematis)
(I love snail statues!)
(Camelia)

(Does it go faster when it's orange?)

I took the above picture on the way out.  It is in a bed in the parking lot.  Very eye catching.

We did find a Little Gem and brought it home and planted it in the front yard.  We had three large overgrown miscanthus grasses in a bed out front that had over stayed their welcome and weren't doing very well. So far it has been a nice change.  When the rest of the bed is complete I'll take a picture.

Rumor has it we'll see 75˚F (23.8˚C) this weekend.  Woohoo!  Sounds like riding and gardening weather - in that order.

Does anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?

- Au Revoir

" The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five sense." - Hanna Rion
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25 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures of that gravel road ;)

    It looks smooth and fast - yeeha! Think I need a gravel fix tomorrow...

    Oh, I did look at the other pics too, it's just that gravel...

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    1. It would be fun on a dual sport, but ti isn't very long. It is pretty much their driveway.

      Glad I could motivate you for a gravel ride. :-)

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  2. Ok. I want the pond with the grasses and fountain and the gorgeous arbor walkway and the round, pink camellia. (The camellia's have already bloomed here.)

    Can't wait to see you garden!

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    1. Your weather is ahead of ours. Some camelias have peaked but I think most are just getting going.

      With the rain/sun mixture we've had the last few weeks things are really coming on, including the weeds. And due to those weeds you may not want to see our garden, lol.

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    2. :) The only reason we can't see our weeds is the lawn mower cutting them low. See, I just don't have the lovely garden for them to overtake like you do. hehe

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    3. We mowed today too, looks much better now, the weeds are gone. Well, except for in the shrub beds but I weeded several hours by hand to take care of some of those. Now me back is sore, doh! If we weed every night for a few weeks we might get the shrub beds clear.

      We have 0.20 of an acre but the house is only 912 sq ft which leaves a lot of yard............

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    4. You'll get it done and it will look great, I have no doubt. At least you enjoy the garden. :)

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    5. We worked on it Friday and all day Saturday so it looks much better now. No riding on the weekend but the yard looks much better.

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  3. Hmmm...so you are a large double and best when kept cool? ;-) Nice pictures.

    On another note, I must be getting old but with your background and the colour of the font, I am finding your blog really hard to read. My old eyes must need more contrast!

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    1. D'oh! As soon as I posted that and your blog reloaded, it came up with white background behind the writing. Before that is was like it is out at the edges of the page.
      Damn new blogger format!! :(

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    2. Large double and best when cool.....you caught that did ya?

      I changed the background of the posts to a light green after reading your comment and also darkened the type so hopefully it will make it even easier to read than it was again the white.

      I hadn't switched to the new Blogger format yet, so Blogger did it for me this morning. Bollocks!

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  4. oooh, learned me another nursery to visit! I've never heard of Dancing Oaks. I love that bright blue fish! What a wonderful place to stroll and have a nice lunch.

    Okay, had to google it...I haven't seen a Little Gem Magnolia before. They're beautiful. (I was thinking of the usual ones we see around here - also pretty.) I'm glad you found one for your yard. :)

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    1. Dancing Oaks is really nice. It is awesome to just wander around and get ideas. The have an art in the garden day in the summer hen they have live music and pie too. Very friendly folks up there.

      The ladies at Garland Nursery recommended the little gem because it is an evergreen, blooms all summer and is quite small compared to regular southern magnolias and the leaves are way smaller too. Hopefully it will be a nice tree for out in front.

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  5. Beautiful pictures and I don't think you need a dual sport to enjoy that gravel road. Gardening is something that I generally avoid and our "natural" yard reflects that lack of interest. Fortunately, that is more that norm around here than beautiful landscaping.

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    1. Thanks Richard. There is something to be said for yards in their natural state. I was contemplating that as I did several hours of weeding this afternoon and mowed the front lawn.

      Some days I dream of condo living, but I know I'd miss mucking in the dirt.

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  6. Wow....you ca get Kiwi plants! Although not much of a gardner i enjoy wondering around plant shops....a bit weird I know. Looks like a great day out....and in answer to your question....it is Saturday night here....I have been riding off road all day...now I am going to bed!

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    1. I think most of the nurseries have kiwi plants. Although we've not tried to grow them.

      Glad you got out for an off road ride. I'm looking forward to reading the report.

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  7. great pictures. the road looks like a good one for meandering along in the countryside. I like the way you present your wanderings about, the way you do it makes one feel the excitement of the areas and the ride. This is what is missing from almost all the motorcycle magazines anymore, they have nothing that tingles the senses.

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    1. Thank you good sir. I am glad you can travel along in our wanderings and enjoy doing so.

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  8. Orange does make it go faster!

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    1. +1 :-)

      I think Troubadour would say the same thing about orange.

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  9. What a beautiful day you had! And you took us along. The garden centers, of course, would be spectacular in your area. Not disappointed one bit. Is the view of the valley grass seed? I remember reading that the biggest source is the valley. Achoo.

    Just beautiful. A heart can sing.

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    1. The garden centers are big in these parts. They are just getting going now and don't have quite all their stock in yet. Give it another month and they'll be bursting. Mother's day or Memorial Day are usually the dates when we know our frosts will be over.

      Most of the green fields are grass seed. Come May and June when they go to seed the fields will have yellow clouds hanging over them and we'll all be miserable with allergies. Some farmer's switched to wheat in the last few years so there aren't as many acres of grass. Linn County (Albany/Lebanon) claims to be the grass seed capital of the world. Come allergy time, I believe it. We ride to the coast a lot in the summer for some relief.

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  10. Now that is my kind of shopping! A "little" out of the way? Wow. But I must say, it looked like a gorgeous day and you got some really pretty pictures.

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    1. We had so much fun wandering around looking at all the plants. It is one of our favorite things to do besides ride.

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