Proven Winners garden tour

Have you ever had one of those day, weeks where you just couldn't wait to get home at the end of the day and basically just hide from the world? Well, this was one of those times. I however had already missed a couple garden tours and was kicking myself so I dragged out my "big girl panties" and I forced myself to go... BOY WAS I EVER HAPPY I HAD

This is the garden of Dale Deppe... This name didn't mean anything to me either but the label for which his plants are sold under sure does...PROVEN WINNERS... yep... and I got to go and tour around his very own private garden where he does a lot of the further plant testings. I saw the plants that may come out next year... two or ten years from now. I saw plants that will never be released and I will explain why as we go along...

I was the first to get there and so I asked if it were okay to take pictures etc and was given permission to wander around till the whole group arrived.. I made good use of that time.

 There were several areas that just look like normal plantings and yet they are for the most part plants that are being tested... will they be disease resistant... will they hold up under the normal growing conditions etc..

I love to see the sculptures that people put into their own gardens... the artistic, the beauty and the humorous...

Now this is a Hydrangea I don't have.... BUT, I will! smiling..

Now what did I do with that old rusty shovel... I now want it back and I know what I'm going to do with it!

The others may have been the humorous... here is certainly the beauty..

People always find beauty in Heron sculptures.. unless you are a pond owner and trying to keep them from eating your Koi and other fish!  This garden lays along the river and I'm sure there are lots of Heron around. By the way, Heron are not territorial and a sculpture of a Heron will not keep others from coming in!

But this big mouth guy just might.

Even a tree trunk was quickly carved into art by one of the many workers that come over from the actual nursery to give the private garden a grooming. These gardens are seen by all the professional "buyers" of the world... They come and walk Dales garden with a bunch of flags which he provides so that they can mark what plants they like.  If it has a lot of flags... chances are we will be buying them in the future.

Now this is a beautiful hedge.

Ever since seeing the movie "A night in Rodanthe" With Richard Geer I have been thinking how neat it would be to know how to weld and use a plasma cutter.. Other movies like "Twister" come to mind with all the big sculptures that Annt Meg made on her lawn.

 After the tour was over Dale actually gifted the whole group of at least 30 with one of these chiffon

Hibiscus

There was some very beautiful Hibiscus. They grow very easily here and I have several self seeders that are growing in my garden and will be placed out in the edges of the trees. 

I took pictures of these stakes thinking that I would then have the names of plants that had been released this year and I could find them if I wanted or keep an eye out for them in the years to come.

Another one of the beautiful lace caps.

I am always attracted to the apricot and orange coloured roses.

Dale Deppe of Spring Meadows nursery and gardens

Sure wish my Weigela would look like this!  Maybe next year. The owners before me had it placed in one of the hottest parts with no irrigation either.

Wish always catch my eye as I love to fish.. I'm one of those I want to eat what I catch people though!

I love this tree too!.   Although I personally would put this fish "jumping" in my pond.

Just look at the size of this bloom! Those were not small hands either. They belong to a very tall man!

One of the double flowering Hibiscus

Isn't this a beautiful coloured Physocarpus. Not sure which one.

There were several different new butterfly bushes being tested here... Once they get selected here they will also be shoved into a greenhouse and abused in the worst ways to prove their hardiness and disease resistance.

Here's a shot of all the flags that you will see through out these gardens. The colour of the flag doesn't mean anything though. These are not all the same plant. Dale showed us how they test the bloom for being compact and look for the branches to be strong and stand up holding these blooms.

Again the light had failed to get any other pictures as we walked down by the river and looked at some of the latest to make selections.... But, even then most of them will not be out on the market for another 5 years! Names on the markers are often not the names that they will actually be marketed under.

So, Once again I have to say that I am so very happy that I picked myself up and went out to walk the garden.  I missed the trip to an Iris growers garden and I love Iris!

Next week we have the last garden tour of the summer that I know of. I shall make sure that I don't miss that one and that I have new batteries!

I'd like to leave you with this thought:

If I sow seeds of excellence, then I can expect excellent things to happen in my life!.

What seeds have you sown lately?