The Homeless Garden

Normally this time of year sees me prepping the garden for changes that I have planned for this year. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you are, this year is different. I managed to keep myself from doing much weeding as well (as incredible as that sounds). We’ve moved away now, and the new owner of the garden will hopefully put as much care into the garden as I have.

I would have loved to have saved all of my plants for my next garden, but that would have been nearly impossible. I don’t have a new garden of my own to put them in. From the hundreds of different plants that grew in my garden, now only a few exist…

Actually they still all exist. Just not in my possession.

A few of the highlights of the Homeless Garden include Indocalamus tesellata (Big Leaf Bamboo), Chusquea gigantea, Agave parryi var. huachucensis (Artichoke Agave), Callistemon subulatus ‘Dark Red’, Magnolia macrophylla (Big Leaf Magnolia), Trichocereus terscheckii (Argentine Saguaro), and Curculigo capitulata (Palm Grass), to name a few. Most of these HG plants are fairly low maintenance, so hopefully their caretakers will find themselves without too much to do.

There are a few plants that I already regret leaving. Billardiera longiflora (Purple Appleberry) has been a great little vine in the few years I’ve had it planted. It has never been hurt by winter cold or moisture, and is pleasantly evergreen. The bright purple berries look great too, even if they don’t taste very good.

Miscanthus giganteus (Giant Maiden Grass) is one of my favorite grasses. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to dig any of my clumps up to take with me!

Sarracenia flava (Yellow Pitcher Plant) is another great looking and very unique plant. Who doesn’t love a hardy carnivorous plant? Fortunately it is easy enough to find at many nurseries in the Pacific Northwest, and it takes a sharp eye to make sure it’s feet stay wet.

I may be losing a lot of my garden (temporarily), but I’m going to be visiting some really inspirational gardens in the near future. I think it’ll be beneficial if I can start with a blank slate in terms of a garden. That way I can design everything from the ground up!