Fall display at Sky Nursery

Our good friend J visited this weekend. He is another plantsman who works in a nursery in Spokane. G and J worked together for several years at the now closed Seattle Garden Center in the Pike Place Market. It is always a ball to visit local nurseries with them. Both of our gardens are chaotic homages to plants.They love plants. I always just tag along for the ride.

Late September is a great time in the nurseries in Seattle. Many have Fall sales to help move out plant material before the winter and Christmas season. I was the only one looking for a specific plant. I have started to get into ornamental grasses. I love the grasses because they are still interesting in the late fall and winter. J is a great expert in grasses and was advising me on which ones to buy. I love Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. We have a small one in our garden. I wanted something bigger and J recommended a Miscanthus. I was surprised that many of the nurseries in Seattle did not these large grasses. I did find a Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’ at Wells Medina. The blossoms start out with a maroon tint before opening to cream colored. It will be tall so we’ll have to decide where to put it.

I also loved the autumn displays of pumpkins along with orange flowered and maroon leaved plants on display now in the nurseries. We spent two days traveling the area and visiting our favorite nurseries. Here is a list of the nurseries we visited:

Sky Nursery
Swansons Nursery
Wells Medina Nursery
West Seattle Nursery
Furney’s Nursery

Disclaimer: G works seasonally at Sky Nursery.

Here’s a look at the nurseries:

New Greenhouses at Sky Nursery	Grasses at Swansons Nursery
Tiger Eyes Staghorn Sumac at Swansons	Swansons Nursery
Display Gardens at Wells Medina	Display Gardens at Wells Medina
Tetrapanax papyriferus	Gunnera tinctoria
Ornamental Cabbage bouquet	Self-Portrait
Pumpkin on display at Sky Nursery	Sempervivum Witch at Furney’s
Kale and Mums at Furney’s	Berberis ‘Orange Rocket
Love the gray foliage container at Wells Medina	Wells Medina Container

Hydrangea paniculata at Wells Medina