Picea o. ‘Barnes’

This gardener’s pets tend to come from the conifer category this time of year. Barney (above) will be pressed into service as our Christmas tree this year. I may keep it in a large pot close to the house, where its unique form and color can be truly appreciated. You may get another peek at this guy once he’s decked out in lots of bling.

Chamaecyparis ‘Boulevard’

You wouldn’t know it now, but the above adoptee passed for dead (playing possum). Once the deadwood was trimmed away and wiggle room provided in a bigger pot, this guy got his handsome on. He wants to be BIG so I’m holding off releasing him into the ground until the right spot makes itself known.

Thujopsis dolobrata ‘Variegata’

Look familiar? The only one of this trio to have been planted out is making an encore performance, cuz I love, love, love him. Danger Garden is the place to see what Loree is loving right now. Be sure to follow the comments at the end of her post to find other favorites in the month of November.

Schefflera davidii

My favorite plant this month is not in my own garden but in the display gardens of Joy Creek. Just get a load of that enormous Schefflera.

I couldn’t begin to get a photo that would do it justice, but believe me when I say that when the light catches the blooming stalk and dewdrops spangle the leaves, it’s enough to make one’s heart stop beating for a moment. On the last Friday of each month Loree, of Danger Garden fame, invites us to post about our favorites of the month.

My favorite plant in the garden right now is Artemesia versicolor. I ordered this a few years ago from High Country Gardens, one of my few ventures into the world of mail order.

Artemesia versicolor

I love the way it roils over the stone edging of this berm, reminding me of the crest of a wave breaking on a rocky shore. Loree (Danger Garden) brings us a chance to strut our favorites on the last Friday of each month. Won’t you join in?

Things can become favorites for any number of reasons: one being that they are new, so get more attention. Those tall metal fluted containers came from our Bloggers’ Bazaar.. from Loree (Danger Garden), who, coincidentally, hosts the roundup of favorites on the last Friday of every month. I knew immediately that the shorter of the two would be the new home of a small Agave that had been suffering from sunburn in the garden proper. It has a stripe down the middle of each leaf that matches the chartreuse of the pots.

Begonia rex ??

My next assignment was to seek out a plant for the larger pot (I know…poor me). I had some preconceived ideas about what that would be, but at Drake’s 7 Dees I happened upon this begonia with heavily textured leaves in just the right colors. Running into Tamara (Chickadee Gardens), was a delightful surprise. She showed me around and pointed out a few plants that needed to come home with me. She joins Anna (Flutter and Hum) to make your shopping experience at the Scholls Ferry shop as fun as it is tempting.

Having house guests is always one of the perks of summer, especially when they know you so well that they gift you with items like these. See that little guy in the front?

Let’s zero in on him and see if anyone can tell me what he is, besides cute as a button. There are a couple of swelling nodes there that might be developing flowers to adorn the spiky hairdo, in which case I may have to reevaluate his gender (if that is even relevant in this day and age).

I wasn’t sure the begonia was to be the perfect choice for that pot. Besides, I needed an excuse to visit Xera Plants. Astelia nervosa ‘Westland’ was closer to what I had in mind. When I got it home, I decided it belonged in a corner where a collection of metal containers holds sway…the better to show off its explosion of silvery leaves.

No way could I get out of that place with just one plant. Among others, this Tanacelum, with those feathery white leaves, spoke to me.

Stachys albotomentosa

This peachy Stachys refused to be left behind. I asked Paul if I should wait until fall to put things in the ground and he assured me that this is a good time to plant if you do it properly. See his blog entry (HERE) to see what that means. His observations are fascinating but if you are impatient to get to the planting part, scroll down to the last couple of paragraphs.

Kniphofia ‘Percy’s Pride’

I thought I was keeping pretty good track of this, strolling by it almost daily. Starting to worry that it might fail to bloom this year, suddenly, boom…there was the first bloom, fully formed. When did that happen?

Encouraged, I checked on the one I had transplanted to Delusional Drive. See those little pokers poking through?

I was worried about it because it is being invaded by a running bamboo (the lighter, almost yellow leaves). I think I’ll have to move Percy in the fall to get him out of her clutches, but for now he seems to be holding his own. Next Friday will be the last Friday of the month, so be sure to catch Loree’s (Danger Garden) roundup of favorites for July.

This is my favorite plant this week: Euphorbia spiralis. The little plastic pot it lives in exactly fits into the decorative metal container that has a story of its own. When my mom was a girl, her dad had an East Indian friend (turban and all) who often had dinner with the family. As a thank-you for the many meals shared, he brought this (vase? tumbler?). My mom was a great “user” of things, so, being metal, it was one of the few treasures that lasted long enough to be handed down. I had tried to use it as a vase, but flowers wilted almost immediately…some kind of chemical reaction, I guess. I’m trending toward metal containers for Agaves and such, so this fits right into the scheme.

On May 22, I included this Iris ‘Mahogany Beauty’ – thanks, Evan (Practical Plant Geek) for giving it a name – in a grab bag post.

Taken from my Bloom Day post for May, my favorite was nectaroscordum siculum. I haven’t done favorites posts throughout the month, so I decided to pull favorites from the month’s posts in order to join Loree (Danger Garden) for her favorites meme. Her garden is filled with rare and unusual plants, so it’s always interesting to see what she singles out as a favorite on any given week.