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Sebright Gardens General

Sebright Gardens

Tucked away in the northern outskirts of Salem is a garden and nursery that focuses on just a few plant types – Hosta, Ferns, and Epimediums. While that may seem somewhat limiting, they have hundreds of varieties of each! They also appear to be branching out into Iris going by the number they have planted and for sale.

Sebright Gardens
Sebright Gardens

Nestled on a 34 acre estate, with over 4 acres of display gardens and some new areas being created, you can not only see them growing but they join a wonderful array of other trees, shrubs and perennials, plus plenty of bulbs. And everything is impeccably labelled. Thank you!

Sebright Gardens
Sebright Gardens

Strolling the grounds

Visiting at the beginning of May, everything was fresh and green, even if they perhaps still had a little growing to do. There was a new extension to the display gardens that was still under construction (or being renovated, not sure which) and many of the plants in there were small at the moment. There were certainly some choice plants in there and I can’t wait to go back when it is more mature.

Sebright Gardens
Sebright Gardens

The area around the house was a lot more mature, probably laid out when it was a homestead. The slope is terraced with grass paths running along the length. A large 10-sided gazebo provides a nice rest and place from which to contemplate their achievement.

Sebright Gardens
Sebright Gardens

Buying Plants

The nursery sells many of their plants plus a whole lot more, so you can construct an entire shade garden. It is the Hosta tunnel that is the most impressive and, truth be told, overwhelming. When you see so many varieties, they start to blend in, and it becomes difficult to discern which ones you like more than the others. Thanks fully, on this trip I was not in the market for Hostas, but ferns.

And here is my one and only niggle. The ferns were organized by common name. Why? It makes no sense. If organized by species (and there are almost no named hybrids and very few cultivars) then you get to see the similarities and differences between them, making it much easier to compare. I almost missed one fern I was looking for because they had given it a common name that I had never heard of.

I certainly came away with more than I had intended to buy, and thoroughly enjoyed by stroll around their gardens.

Plan a visit

Sebright gardens are open from April through to October and you can find them at 7185 Lakeside Dr NE, Salem, OR 97305. They often host the Salem Hardy Plant Society sale in September which is also worth putting on your calendar.

Ceratopetalum gummiferum 'Fairley's Coral' Calendar

Gardener’s Log – August 2022

My apologies that I did not put out a Gardener’s Log for July. Summer was busy with work, plus a visit down to California. That had me wandering around Golden Gate Park, including the Japanese garden, the arboretum and the conservatory of flowers, the UC Santa Cruz Botanical Garden, UC Davis, a brief stop at an arboretum in Redding, plant shopping in Half Moon Bay, and more. This month we also did a visit to the Wonder Garden in Manzanita to collect some cutting materials.

But perhaps the most amazing visit, was that someone came to visit me. The curator for UC Santa Cruz Arboretum came to see my garden. It was not an official visit, but she was interested in seeing what success I was having growing Protea in Oregon. As retirement loomed for her, her eventual location was to be influenced by where she could continue to grow her plant friends. She was very gracious, although I am sure she probably found a lot of things I was doing wrong. But that is part of the joy. When you attempt to do something that so few have attempted before you – there are no books, no searching of the Internet, no authorities that have made their learnings available to a wide population. Perhaps some of it exists in Horticultural Journals, but they are not accessible to me.

Garden Progress

Not a lot of construction has happened through July and August. This is partly because of some health issues that are slowing me down, partly because there is more maintenance to do during summer, and partly because you have to spend some time enjoying what you have created. Some progress has happened in the Fairy garden, but still a lot more to do there. The water basin is installed. Rather than using a lining for this, I sunk a 70 gallon storage box. It will be covered with a wire mesh and small stones, such that raccoons and other critters cannot get into it. I am still not sure if I will try to grow any plants in there – time will tell. I did one rock run this month, but do not have enough to finish off the waterfalls. Hopefully I will get some more in the next couple of weeks. Then I can start getting them foamed into place before we start getting into wet weather.

Other Updates

I have been happy with the garden this year – especially the new Mediterranean Garden and the Fuchsia wall. This has done much better than I ever imagined. I probably do need to think about feeding them more than I have – that is something I am very bad about in general. While I do mix a slow release fertilizer into my potting mixes (except for the Protea), I always forget to fertilize in subsequent years or top up with liquid feed when they are in rapid growth.

The cutting bench is full, and I have yet to process the cutting I just took from the Wonder Garden. I also need to get all the Fuchsia done, and other plants, as backups in case we get another really cold winter. I am also hoping that I can have a few more plants to sell next year to offset how much I spend on new plants.

Selling plants on ebay really is a bit of a pain. I am astounded by the attitude of so many people who are looking for every way they can to claim a refund, or blame me if they kill the plant because they did not follow directions. You would think plant people would be better than the general population, but it appears that they are no different.

What’s in Bloom

During summer, there are many big, blowsy, and dare I say almost vulgar things in bloom – and don’t we love them all! Lilies, Dahlias, Daylilies, Bougainvillea, and then the annuals putting on such a show, such as Fuchsia, Lantana, and Verbena. I love them all as much as anyone else, but I am always drawn to the less common, or sometimes more diminutive performers. Ceratopetalum gummiferum ‘Fairley’s Coral‘ is one such marvel. This plant is new to me and was acquired during my trip to California.

Ceratopetalum gummiferum 'Fairley's Coral'
Ceratopetalum gummiferum ‘Fairley’s Coral’

This is a large bush or small tree. Australians call it Christmas Bush. Of course, that is the middle of summer for us. It is more commonly called Festival Bush for us. The floral display starts with small white blossoms, but as they fade they turn red and then persist on the plant for months – often well into fall apparently. This plant is only 18″ tall at the moment, but can you imagine this when it is 15′ to 20′ tall and covered like this. We will have to be a little careful because it is only hardy to zone 9b, but this may well be worth pampering.

This is the time of year when the Grevillea start blooming. Perhaps one of the most colorful that we have managed to keep growing is King’s Rainbow. The bicolored flowers are quite amazing and the red of the anthers has a metallic sheen.

Grevillea 'Kings Rainbow'
Grevillea ‘Kings Rainbow’

Strange and Wonderful

Before you call fowl, I want to add a fern onto my blooming list. I know – ferns don’t bloom, but is we judge something by putting n a colorful display, nobody can complain about the emerging fiddleheads of Blechnum spicant. The combination of red stem and yellow center is quite amazing.

Blechnum spicant
Blechnum spicant

The last one I want to feature this month is a plant that continue to struggle for us a little (Polygala dalmaisiana), in that it has a very sparse structure, but it has the most remarkable flowers, unlike anything else I can think of, except perhaps an orchid. The combination of the deep purple and the almost coral-like white feathers emerging from the end are almost other-worldly. Then it has the little striped ears and horns. Just amazing.

Polygala dalmaisiana
Polygala dalmaisiana

Weather Summary

After all of the extreme weather we had had this year, August was relatively normal. It was slightly hotter and dryer than last year, but not by much. Last year, the high was 77.4F, the low 48.2 and the average 58.6. This year the high was 80, the low 50 and the average 60. Rainfall last year was 1.11″ and we only had half of that this year, coming in at 0.51″. The anemometer is still not really working. It does provide data at times, but now sure how reliable it is. It recorded a gust of over 80 mph this month, with a wind speed of over 50mph. We certainly have been blustery at times.

Weather August 2022
Weather August 2022

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