Bloomtown

New Toy at Bloomtown ... An IPhone!

Typepad makes it easy to post-on-the-fly with my cool new IPhone. Does this mean more frequent posts on my horizon? We'll see ...for now, a couple of shots taken at the nursery today.

And the winners are ...

We had a grand time at Saturday's Fremont Fest. A special thank you goes out to all who came by to visit at the nursery and/or at our satellite booth outside The Arrangement. You really helped make the day special!

As you may recall, we had a drawing for free prizes and I have two lucky winners to announce!

GRAND PRIZE: GARDEN CONSULTATION

CAROLE LOWER

Carole wins a 2-hour consultation with me in her garden.

FIRST PRIZE: GARDEN-IN-A-BOX

SHARON SURRATT

This "Garden-in-a-Box" is a collection of plants chosen to be culturally compatible and will help Sharon create a garden scene rich with foliage, texture, and color. We use this combination of plants in client gardens often. Her box includes: Physocarpus o.'Diabolo', Osmanthus h.'Goshiki', Anemanthele lessoniana, Phormium 'Sundowner', Geranium 'Rozanne', and Sedum confusum.

Here are few more photos from the day:

Shoppers at the nursery.

Erin at our 'satellite" sales table in the parking lot of The Arrangement.

MJ at the nursery.  She's not shy ... no, really.

Darcy talking with shoppers at the nursery.

Fremont Festivities 2008

For our readers in the Portland area, I hope you’ll consider joining us as we have a good time with our neighbors at the annual Fremont Fest coming up tomorrow, Saturday, August 2nd.

Last year the Bloomtown crew had a great time at Fremont Fest. As you may recall, we even had miniature horses thanks to Merle (see photos and my post from last year’s event here). So we’re definitely looking forward to this year’s daylong celebration.

We’re even going to have a drawing for a couple of extra special giveaways. Grand prize will be a two-hour garden consultation with me in the winner’s garden. Our first prize will be a “Garden in a Box” – a tray of plants personally selected by me to be culturally compatible and will help the winner create a garden scene that is rich with foliage, texture, and color. 

To be eligible for these great prizes, all you have to do is visit Bloomtown Nursery on Saturday, August 2nd between 9 am and 5 pm and fill out an entry form. We’ll draw two lucky winners at the end of the day.

Be sure to check out all the great Fremont Fest events; a parade at 10 am; music on multiple stages throughout the day; carriage rides along Fremont; art; sidewalk sales; and more …

We’ll have some sale items at the nursery – for starters, we’ll be offering significant savings on tropicals such as canna, ginger, and bananas and we’ll have some other items on sale as well.

Oh, and be sure to visit Erin at our “satellite” sales table in the parking lot at The Arrangement, across from the hardware store.

Hope to see you!

Focus on plants: a dozen doers that make the cut

I find myself turning to these plants again and again. Sure, you've seen some of them on lists before, and you'll likely see them on lists again. But that shouldn't be surprising. They're great plants for good reasons. Still, I like to think that you might find a plant or two you're not growing yet, and your garden will be enhanced by the addition.   Japanese Stewartia - Stewartia pseudocamellia A garden-sized tree with wonderful exfoliating winter bark, fabulous fall color and summertime bloom.   Crape myrtle - Lagerstroemia Same attributes as above, but will take full blasting sun. Select cultivars known for dependable fall color and attractive bark. I like Natchez, Miami, and Zuni.   Sango-kaku Japanese maple - Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku' Japanese maple celebrated for its dramatic red stems in winter, fall color, and its graceful presence in the summer garden.   Jelena witch hazel - Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' An attractive vase-shaped shrub offering vibrant orange blooms in winter and reliable fall color.   Paperbush - Edgeworthia chrysantha An unbeatable shrub for winter bloom and fragrance. Silky buds, beautiful in their own right, expand on bare branch to soft yellow, wonderfully fragrant flowers on this daphne relative.   Aztec Pearl Mexican orange - Choisya ternata 'Aztec Pearl' Finely cut evergreen foliage looks good year round. Fragrant white blooms in early season.   Sweet box - Sarcococca ruscifolia A garden workhorse. Tough; shade- & drought-tolerant, fragrant winter blooms, glossy evergreen foliage contributes all season structure.   Charity Oregon grape - Mahonia x media 'Charity' A super-tough shrub with toothy evergreen foliage. Vibrant yellow flowers in winter are a veritable hummer magnet.   Silver Mist dwarf cedar - Cedrus deodara 'Silver Mist' This slow-growing, downward-draping dwarf conifer contributes wonderful foliage color and texture.   New Zealand flax - Phormium Bold, strappy foliage adds drama, verve, and color to your garden. I especially like Tricolor, Maori Maiden and Platt's Black.   Maiden Grass - Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' Ornamental grass that I've found to be relatively flop-proof. Finely textured foliage, fall flowers that hold up well through most winters.   Japanese forest grass - Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' Looking good month after month; this graceful grass is a key contributor spring to fall. An excellent plant for repeating within the garden at strategic points; lending continuity and rhythm to the overall scene.

Bloomtown Nursery Update - Now Open on Sundays!

Good news! Effective this weekend, Bloomtown Nursery will now be open Sundays.

Our updated hours:

Tues - Sat: 9 am to 5 pm, Sun: 10 am to 4 pm

For a map & directions go here.

Bloomtown Nursery Update

While the "official" opening day for the nursery will be next Saturday, March 29th, we're working at the nursery quite a bit getting it ready and we'll be on-site this Saturday the 22nd and in and out quite a bit next week as well. If you find yourself in our neck of the woods, look for our signboard on NE Fremont at the corner of NE 51st Avenue. If the signboard is out, we're there.

For more information, including a map & directions go here.

We've brought in lots of great new plants this week! See you soon.

HELP WANTED: Bloomtown Nursery

Do you love plants, gardens, and garden-making? Do you get a kick out of helping people make good plant choices for their gardens?

Bloomtown Nursery is looking for a hort-head to join our team.

We’re located in NE Portland at 3528 NE 50th Avenue, on the same property as Bamboo Craftsman Nursery. Darcy Daniels, a well-known garden designer and the principal of Bloomtown, Inc., started this nursery to complement her busy garden design practice. The nursery prides itself on providing a select group of plants – focusing the collection on plants that Darcy would be willing to use in her own client gardens.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Knowledgeable and enthusiastic sales assistance for our retail nursery customers
• Keeping nursery stock in top condition & displayed to best advantage
• Being a positive and flexible member of our small but mighty team

This is a seasonal position, ¾ to full time, offering a competitive rate of pay. Saturdays and occasional Sundays will be required. Work is outdoors and can be somewhat physical.

Please send a brief email to Darcy detailing your experience and why you think you’re the right person to join our team.

To learn more about Bloomtown, poke around here at www.bloomtown.typepad.com

Bloomtown Nursery Update

The nursery has closed for the season and will re-open with regular staffing by April 1st of next year (at the latest). Thanks to all our regulars for making this our best season yet!

As a reminder, while we are not regularly staffing the nursery between now and when we re-open in the spring, our stock is available for unassisted browsing & purchase whenever Bamboo Craftsman Nursery is open. Additionally, we are available by appointment for assisted shopping. Call 503.784.1119 or 503.331.1783 to arrange a rendezvous.

Fremont Fest, Saturday August 4th

Lots of fun activities will be happening throughout the day ... live music, a parade, sidewalk sales, carriage rides, and more. Follow this link for a full schedule of the day's events.

The nursery will have a satellite table set up with the Artist's Market in the parking lot of The Arrangement (NE 42nd & Fremont) from 10 am to 5 pm. Drop by and say hello as you're enjoying the street fair, but to be certain that you see our full selection, visit the nursery, which will be open 9 am to 5 pm.

More Fremont Festivity: Meet the miniature horses from High Roller Miniatures 11 am to 2 pm

Many of you have met Merle in the nursery but what you don't likely know about Merle is that she and her husband, Brian, have a small farm, where they raise their High Roller Miniatures. They will be bringing several of these small horses to the nursery on Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm for a meet-and-greet. So bring the kids, (or, the kid in you) to see these sweet animals. Photo ops a plenty - bring your own camera or if you prefer, let High Roller Miniatures take your photo and burn it to CD (for a small fee) as a lasting memento. To learn more about miniature horses you can visit the website of The Northwest Miniature Horse Club (Northwest Miniature Horse Club) and if you would like to see a few more photos of the horses, go here.

You can also catch Merle in the parade - look for her and one of her babies, Shake Em Up. After the parade, come on down to the nursery at 3528 NE 50th Avenue to meet Shake Em Up and his pal Ante Up! The parade is scheduled to start 10:30 am. This promises to be a really fun day - I hope that you'll be able to stop by!