The Flowers of Orpheus

The aptly named Mardi Gras Gardener (Alan) and I, planned a trip to New Orleans last month.

Part of the reason we were visiting was to see family and friends and to watch Alan's sister and some friends ride on a float in the Krewe of Orpheus Parade.

I had been to New Orleans several times before, but never to Mardi Gras. 

The Krewe of Orpheus was founded in 1993, the Krewe of Orpheus takes its name from the musically inclined son of Zeus and the muse Calliope. Orpheus had the gift of music and could charm any living being and even some rocks. Seems like a useful skill right?

Founding members of the Kwere of Orpheus include Harry Connick, both the junior and senior. Harry Connick, Jr. was the grand marshal of the parade this year and was performing at the Orpheuscapade ball that night. This year was the 25th anniversary. 

Alan and I were going just to attend the Orpheuscapade, a black tie ball, following the parade at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. We were going to meet our friends after the parade rolled into the Convention Center and party the night away. 

In a weird twist of fate, both Alan and I had the opportunity to substitute for a couple from Houston that were unable to make it at the last minute due to illness. We thus ended up on an actual float in one of the three biggest Mardi Gras parades!

The theme of this year's parade was "The Folly of Astaroth". The floats were comprised of whimsical creatures and paper mache flowers. They were a sight to behold.  

This post is to show off the floral decorations on the floats. They are pretty amazing. Some of the "flowers" are recognizable from your garden and some are a little harder to identify!  

It was a once in a life time opportunity and I'm grateful I did it!

Enjoy the flowers!

 

Our float "Sailing to Naboombu"

 

The "Smokey Mary"

 

 

Signature float "The Leviathan"

 

Harry Connick, Jr.

I'm too pooped to have a good time! 

Perino's Garden Center

The Mardi Gras Gardener and I were recently in New Orleans (Metairie to be exact) to see relatives and go to the Orpheuscapade.

In a weird twist of fate, we actually ended up on a float in the Orpheus parade throwing beads, which was a crazy experience. The papier-mâché flower designs on the floats were amazing and worthy of a post of their own later on.

While staying in Metairie, we were only a few blocks walk away from Perino's Garden Center (3100 Veterans Blvd., Metairie, LA 70002). In between my Fat Tuesdays frozen daiquiris (I highly recommend the Pina Colada or the White Russian), Alan and I went to go see what they had in store.

As a pacific northwest gardener, it's always interesting to see what a southern nursery has in stock. There is clearly a lot that we cannot grow in Portland. A lot of the plants are still recognizable though, but most likely to be grown as houseplants.

I'm afraid I didn't pay too much attention to plant names, so some of the plant pictures will lack plant names.

A tour of the plants in pictures below:

Bird of Paradise

 

Foxgloves

Dianella tasmanica 'Variegata' (Variegated Flax Lily)

 

"Macho" Fern in the second row.

 

Alpinia zerumbet 'Variegata'  (Variegated Shell Ginger)

Ligularia reniformis (Trqactor Seat Plant)

Monstera

I thought the no-tip stands were cool!

Callistemon viminalis 'Hannah Ray'

Oleanders

The recent cold got to these Rojo Bananas

A grove of Citrus.

Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina Jessamine)

Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Indoor garden plants and Orchids.

 

Chief Joseph Needs a New Home (Part 1)

Here we are only at the end of January and it seems so much is already happening in the garden.

Since winter has been almost nonexistent, I've already got a lot of my fall leaf/spring plant cleanup done and I've been mulling over what my projects are for this year.

I've walked around the garden a lot trying to have a critical eye, looking at everything. There are some areas and even an entire flowerbed that I just don't think ever came together and might need to be re-thought.

I've also noticed a few plants that I clearly planted in the wrong spot. Case in point is the Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' that was planted in 2011.

February 2014

Gardeners go crazy for this pine tree because of its golden-yellow winter color and its ability to shine in the winter landscape. In summer, the foliage turns to a medium green. It's slow growing to maybe 8' tall. This tree also causes "sticker shock" when you see how expensive they are. I bought a tiny little guy in 2011. I don't remember what I paid, but at the nursery it would be easy to drop $100 for a decent sized specimen.

For whatever reason at the time, I though Chief Joseph would be nice near the kitchen door planted between a tiny Hakea lissosperma (Mountain Needle Bush) and a Vaccinium ovatum 'Thunderbird' and behind a Magnolia.

Silly me, I thought that the Hakea would not live to be 10' tall and be able to poke me every time I tried to get in my back door!!!  Apparently "Mountain Needle Bush" wasn't enough of a clue to me of its ability to cause pain. I probably should have moved the Hakea, but I wasn't going to deal with that!

Chief Joseph crammed in the back

Hard to see Chief Joseph behind the Jane Magnolia

The Leaning Tower of Hakea

The recent winter winds helped me out by pulling out the rickety bamboo pole I used to stake the Hakea up and it was consequently now leaning away from Chief Joseph. What a great opportunity to relocate it without needing chain-mail body armor. 

I kept offering to give Chief Joseph away to Alan if he would help dig it out. He gave me some lame excuse about not having room for it in his garden.

On a recent tour of the garden to show Alan what was popping up, he suggested I dig out a new bed along the long side of the side garden. The light bulb went on. Create a bed extension with a stepping stone walkway and Chief Joseph would be the star!

 
It didn't take me long to get out there and start digging sod. I was very proud of myself to not over do it with the digging. Younger me, would have dug the entire bed, installed the edging, transferred existing plants, gone to the store to buy new plants and then bark mulched everything.

This time, I got about half way done digging sod and whacking off as much dirt as possible, which was heavy and damp, to throw in the yard debris bin and then stopped.

I concede that I had to at least dig and relocate the pine tree into it's new home and get it watered in, just to see what it would be like. 

Assistant Yvette with "that look".

Assistant Yvette approves!

The next step will be to dig the other half of the sod from the preliminarily outline and then go back and refine the shape and get the edging in. The final bed will probably end up bigger than what I outlined, but there is nothing wrong with that. 

The plus side is that there will now be room for a new peony or two! 

Upcoming HPSO Talk "Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: What's trending"

Two great gardening people that I am happy to call my friends, Paul Bonine and Amy Campion, have written a book together called: "Gardening in the Pacific Northwest - The Complete Homeowner's Guide".

It's a guide of what sort of trees, shrubs and perennials to plant in the Pacific Northwest with a focus on specific plants that do well in our various climates. There is also useful information on how to deal with various soils, pests and other gardening problems in the Pacific NW.

Additionally, Paul and Amy are giving a talk on Sunday, January 21, 2018 at Portland State University Hoffman Hall at 1pm (doors open at noon).

They will be talking about the latest trends in Pacific NW gardening and what plants work best. The plant knowledge Paul and Amy have is amazing, so this event should not be missed.

Cost for HPSO members is $10 and non-members $20. Registration is required. (Go HERE http://www.hardyplantsociety.org/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=72&eventId=536125&orgId=hpso&recurringId=0 for registration details).