This Morning's Walk from First Hill to Downtown

Let's start at the Frye, the free art museum that is supposed to be wonderful.



I am the vine, you are the branches. (Did Jesus really say that?)



Crisp and clean and no caffeine.



I'd hoped to get a better shot of this, but then I noticed the proprietor was standing just inside the door, waiting for me to finish so he could open the door. He asked me if I liked the mannequins and I said yes, very much.



Does anyone else hate brightly painted aggregate planters? Maybe I'll suggest a new slogan to the local governments: "Let stone be stone--just leave it alone." No worse than "Say WA" or "Metronatural," if you ask me.



Crossing the River 5.



The library.



Seattle's zillion new high-end condo developments all have these ridiculous taglines, like "Homes That Speak to Urban Living." Since when have construction projects had slogans, anyway?



You see these all over town now. I'm on the city's Planning and Development mailing list, but I can't keep up.



This old church is coming down. The developers are going to pay the Methodists big bucks to move elsewhere. Downtown Seattle may be unrecognizable soon.



Good question. Money?

Why I Love Spring

Plants grow noticeably in three days' time.

My Red Dragon on Sunday:



My Red Dragon today:

Is the Term "Dirty Limerick" Redundant?

At the gay St. Patrick's Day birthday party I went to on Saturday night, I placed second in the limerick contest. I wrote it over some drinks and a fine dinner and a bottle of Sancerre at Savoy.

Here's a photo I took out the door at Savoy:



Here's the drunken limerick (name has been changed):

Our friend Sonny's exceedingly hot
The boys they all like him a lot
And the girls, how they sigh
With a tear in their eye
When they find out he doesn't like twat

My Own Weedy Little Yard

After visiting Cistus and the Faerie Gardens, my front yard seemed especially neglected and sparse. But some of the plants are looking pretty fine, despite their weedy company.

Pretty rosemary.

The alliums are pushing their way through the chocolate sedge.



I'm not sure what this plant is, but it's exploding most beautifully.



Let's take a closer look.



This Euphorbia never lets me down, bless its heart.



I forgot what this perennial is called. I forgot that I even had it until today. It wasn't there when I left for the weekend on Friday morning. I remember when I bought it last summer at the Faerie Gardens, another customer told me not to even bother with it, because the slugs would eat it right away. But it did pretty well. I think our parking strip may get too dry for slugs.



And I forgot what this guy is called too.



Can anyone tell me what this red ground cover is called? I'd like to get more of it, but I'm not sure what to ask for.



Looks like the Red Dragon is coming back! This got really big last year.



The Miscanthus sinensis is coming back too, hurray! Pictured here with the evil Oxalis at its base. I think I loathe Oxalis more than I loathe English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and morning glory. The Oxalis in our yard spits at us. And those little seeds hurt, when hurled at you from all around. Hate hate hate that stuff.



Cute Carex. It's looked like this all winter long.



And my faithful friend, Helictotrichon sempervirens. It's getting bluer and greener. Lovely!

Fairie Gardens

On the way home from Oregon, we stopped at the Fairie Gardens nursery in Tumwater, Washington.

Out front they had this beautiful yellow pine. I know nothing about plants, so I couldn't tell if it was yellow because it was stressed or because it's naturally yellow. I was too embarrassed about my ignorance to ask the helpful nursery guy.













I sure love me some Sedum!




I find the red-tipped foliage of this heather so beautiful that I would prefer that it never bloomed.

Cistus Nursery

Woke up this morning in a house near Cornelius Pass, off Highway 30 in Oregon.



Got up and went to nearby Sauvie Island, home to Cistus Nursery!



Spent a long time getting from the car to the nursery, as I needed to admire the magnificent trees in the parking lot border, such as this Eucalyptus pauciflora.




I forgot what this is, but I love it.



Here's some Ceanothus starting to bloom. I am obsessed with Ceanothus. I have a whole book on this genus. My calendar this year is all photos of Ceanothus in bloom. Last week I went to a Valerie Easton (Seattle garden columnist) lecture, and I asked her about Ceanothus, just to get a chance to say the word aloud. I planted 11 little Julia Phelps shurbs in the backyard last fall, and I can't wait for them to bloom.



Some of the beautiful Eucalyptus selection.



And a closer view of the Eucalyptus:



I love red foliage, so I was quite taken with this Sedum spurium.



Of course, I also loved the chartreuse Angelina's Gold.



The folks at Cistus write fun tags too.



I'm definitely planting forsythia this year. I know it's kind of trite, but there's really nothing else like it in the winter in the Northwest. (Is there?)



Again, I've forgotten what this is, but I love it.



Some sort of Acacia. Gorgeous.



Shiny happy plant.