I’ m overwhelmed today—recovering from a major bout of plant lust. Last night Fred Weisensee and Leonard Foltz, owners of Dancing Oaks Nursery gave a talk for Avid Gardeners on shrubs and small trees. Of course they brought plenty of stock for sale. Of course, I ended up buying a lot of it.
One of the many garden rooms at Dancing Oaks.
I realize, with slightly over two months to go until The Garden Conservancy Open Day on July 7, now is not the time to be investing in shrubs. I should be out finding sure-fire bloomers for July, not digging huge holes for eventual ten-foot bushes.But I have two reasons in my defense. The first is that traveling to Dancing Oaks Nursery is an hour-and-a half country road trip. Located west of Salem, Oregon, it’s so far out in the boonies, they tell me that the US Army staged a portion of practice for D-Day on the land there during World War II. Figured no spies would ever find it.
The community house at Dancing Oaks was built long before Fred and Leonard's home. And the hoop houses were constructed before that. A perfect order of need for true plant lovers.
Actually, the nursery is easy to find—good signage all the way. And Fred and Leonard make it worth the drive. Dancing Oaks is a true destination nursery, with fabulous display gardens surrounding beautiful buildings.
But my second reason is that I get overwhelmed with the depth and breadth of their nursery stock. They are discerning plantsmen—never met a rare, unusual or striking plant they didn’t love. If it loves them and their location back, they offer it. So I have a hard time deciding what to buy when I’m on the hunt for plants I don’t know.
Therefore, by allowing Fred to point out during his talk all the good qualities of a few plants, I can confidently purchase them. Especially when Fred and Leonard make it easy by featuring those ungrown-by-me plants. They call my name from the table in the next room.
And even more so, because some of what Fred and Leonard are offering might look to me unpromising in the hoop house. Without information, I could ignore them at the nursery. (Note: they now offer mail order—good descriptions will help my decisions in the future.)
My plant picks--they followed me home.
Did I justify my plant lust? Let me tell you which shrubs I got.
Berberis fendleri – It has masses of yellow flowers in spring, red fruit in fall on an 8 by 8-foot shrub. I know in some parts of the country barberries are noxious weeds. Not all, and not in Oregon, but Aunt Mary-Kate’s Cheap Advice—check before you buy.
B. jamesiana – A taller 12-by 8-foot barberry with sheets of pendant golden flowers (spring) and salmon-colored fruit (fall).
Cestrum parqui – This night-blooming jasmine is a Zone 8 gamble (I usually go one zone down for shrubs to be counted as hardy, and two zones is better). But if it grows outside at Dancing Oaks—they say it dies to the ground each winter—then I’m going to try it for the incredible late-summer evening scent.
Mahonia x media ‘Arthur Menzies’ – I fell in love with the foot-long golden blossoms of this hybridized Oregon native shrub in London’s Hyde Park, many years ago. Not that rare, but I never caught up with it, until now.
Philadelphus laxiflora – A pyramidal 6-foot tall species shrub with highly scented single flowers that bloom after other mock oranges.
Ribes sanguineum ‘Vampire’ – A Dancing Oaks introduction – enormous eight-inch long deep red current flowers. I don’t see it in their online catalog yet.
R. x gordonianum – A 5- by 5-foot current bush with long-flowering raspberry buds and peach blooms. # # # #
