Fabulous! Love little 'Haley Bop' - what a cutie. Sure looks more than 30% spring up there from your photos!
Sara

Wow, love so much about your gardens Dave, and 'Haley Bop' is a serious drool plant. I can only hope one day for a gnarled little graft to try in my own gardens.

I LOOOVE your Rock garden iris as well, do you have a botanical name so I can chase some down? Looks like they naturalize fast here huh?

Thanks for allowing us to wander about. :)
-Will

Hi Will, the iris are all varieties of Iris reticulata and histrioides. None are terribly special, very easy to find and yes, they naturalize like crazy. The pale blue/green flower is 'Katherine Hodgkins.' Lately I've done most of my bulb buying from Brent & Becky's. Good stuff.

~Dave

Fantastic tour, Dave.
I'll join everyone else in singing the praise and specialty of that 'Haley Bop'--very choice!

-Sam

Pic 3 cracks me up. It's that snake spruce sneaking through the 'Whip Cord' to tickle 'Chief Joseph'.

I'm joining the 'Haley Bop' droolers club too.

I really like the 'Kraemer's Rote' with 'Anita's Golden Cloak'. Great color combo. The magenta pink with gold is such great eye candy. I've done the same with some Erica x darleyensis 'Kramer's Red' planted next to Pica orientalis 'Skylands'. Those baby blue and yellow iris (pic 5) are really striking too. I've got to get some of those now.

Nice garden with many tiny good parts I like. Conifers are in good shape. You are doing sg good. Keep pics coming.

zs

Very nice Dave.

A great pick me up for a guy that has 12 inches of the white stuff on the level and another winter storm in here tomorrow. This should prevent an early spring that promotes bud break for some of my Acers. Also the moisture from the snow is a blessing to relieve drought conditions here in the Midwest.

Never the less my world will completely change in 6 weeks when the garden kicks in and the few changes I made become obvious.

Dave

i havent had enough coffee to say anything more than ....

WOW!!!!!

ken

Dave, thanks for your garden tour!

We both know the person who thinks that the 'DuFlon' is a cultivar of Abies grandis.
Recently ago I found out that this isn't the case.
The buds doesn't fit for Abies grandis and it doesn't give a lime smell when the needles are crushed.
It's just an Abies lasiocarpa cultivar...
Your 'DuFlon'' is a fast growing one, is this because of your climate?

Edwin, you are funny. I think you are the only one who thinks that a tree that is 6 years old and the size of an orange is "fast growing." This 'DuFlon' may actually be receiving extra nutrition from Iris bulbs.

~Dave

Dave, this is a good poke! Like the others,drool thing going on here also. You need to warn people when you show the 'Chief Joseph', what a great show! You have a great eye with your plant placement. thanks for taking time for this tour!
Rob

Dave, this has noting to do with me being funny because normaly seen a 'DuFlon' never has such a big (Abies lasiocarpa) buds.
Your's also have an "open" growing habit when you compare it to the one at the pic below which is also about 6 years old.
{{gwi:653267}}

Hello Dave
I like your garden and all the plants ,special that Thuja plicata Haley Bop.

henk

Nothing but "yummy" looking plants.I'm not holding my breath for a Haley Bop but do look forward to planting my copy of 'Anitas Golden Cloak in the O.G.C.G.,Saved a special spot for it.Thanks for the tour ,Dave....need to do it in person this summer.
Doug

Very nice gardens!
My irises are blooming, as well...I thinned them last year, and now I'm being reminded where I put them.

Josh

Dave,
Your Blaue Hexe looks great. One way it would look better is, if it was in my garden.
Dennis

Hi Dennis,

That pic's for you, buddy. Scions from it are yours when you give me the word. Today I grafted up all those sweet little pine scions you sent me. They'll be a welcome addition to the collection. Thanks, again!

~Dave

GREAT! I'm so glad to see a tiny glimpse of your collection!

Thanks, Dave. Very fine stuff, indeed. I agree with why 'Blaue Hexe' is front and center as it is quite choice.

tj

Your Blaue Hexe looks great. One way it would look better is, if it was in my garden.

Thats what I was thinking. Blue with envy in this case.

Thanks for the tour. Nice to see updates during different times of the year and at different angles.

Never get bored of seeing the garden shots from anyone here, new or old.

Thanks for the photos Dave, I enjoyed the tour. The yellows sure make a statement

Keith

I've never seen Haley Bop until today. That is the funkiest looking thing. It looks like a cactus.

Dax

This 'DuFlon' may actually be receiving extra nutrition from Iris bulbs.
====

splain it to me lucy????

iris have some symbiotic benefits.. ????

or you fert the iris.. ????

and if you do.. why?????? ... its one of the things i NEVER fert ... [not that i have those little cuties] ....

ken

you got me, Ken. I am famous for spouting off completely outrageous, yet ludicrous statements like that.

That particular bed has never gotten amendments, mulch, fertilizer or anything else of that ilk. That particular Abies lasiocarpa 'DuFlon' must simply be well endowed. It's in full sun, western exposure, . . . just one happy plant.

Happy to have you bust out in your best Ricky Ricardo. LOL
~Dave

Looks superb, thanks for the tour. Wish you'd post photos of your garden more often, they are a special treat indeed.

The red house is the perfect backdrop for your plants, I would love to see more of the surrounding borders.

Love your new rock garden, looks like it will develop into something quite special over time.

I must join in the parade of praise for your 'Blau Hexe'. I love this plant so much, this year I will do it the honor of being the first plant to merit a third try in my garden. I believe my problem til now is that I've been planting 'em too young and too exposed. For trial #3, I plan to give it couple years in a container in Al's gritty mix to develop a better root system, before planting in a less windy location.

Alex

Time for the second course. The frontage bed features a heath garden below with a selection of Japanese pine above.
{{gwi:653270}}

Pinus thunbergii 'Ogon' overseeing winter heathers in their full glory. This is simply over-the-top color.
{{gwi:653272}}

a misty keyhole past another rockery of mini's looking out onto Pinus sylvestris 'Gold Coin.' Best color this one's had ever for me.
{{gwi:653275}}

a closeup of the mini's. Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb Gold' without a single sunburned needle and Cryptomeria japonica 'Knaptonensis' looking very happy in a shadier spot.
{{gwi:653279}}

a closeup of the 'Gold Coin.' I've been trying my hand at Niwaki pruning to keep the beast under control. To the left is Sequoia sempervirens 'Mt. Loma Prieta Spike.'
{{gwi:653281}}

Further down the same bed is the dark green of Pinus mugo 'Jakobsen,' the yellow of Pinus mugo 'Carstens' and the silvery blue Picea glehnii 'Chitosemaru.' The glehnii needs to get a little taller and I'll have the effect I'm looking for.
{{gwi:653284}}

~Dave

Thanks Dave. You just keep pokin' around with your camera.

tj

That photo with Pinus thunbergii and the Erica/Calluna is simply fabulous!

So many colors; nice shot, Dave.

-Sam

Nice pictures Dave!
I'm going to take you up real soon on that invitation to visit your garden.
Mike

Nice, nice, nice! The Erica/Calluna work so well with the conifers! I wish I could grow them here - too hot and dry in summer. They look like they love it in your garden!
Sara

The Sequoia sempervirens 'Mt Loma Prieta Spike'
is a fantastic form I have one on its own roots.

Always a major treat Dave, beautiful gardens and collections!
..AL

nice to know thun ogon colors somewhere ...

any opinion if mine is a dud ... or is it a PNW thing???? .. in other words.. does it color country wide.. or PNW only???

ken

The reds of the heath combined with the yellow of the pines, are a knock-out! Fantastic use of color and texture, thanks for posting these!

Jim

Dave,WOW a feast for the eyes! Nice play with gold coin,I thought it was in the back of the bed in 1st photo. You do not see or hear much of the Niwaki art here,I Iike what you are doing!
Rob

Dave, you sure have BEAUTIFUL gardens. I love the photos with all the beautiful color of the heathers. Your gold coin is the bomb. It is just gorgeous. You really have an eye for creating a clean, pleasant looking yard. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks to all!

Your words of praise only stoke the flames that result in better ideas. Today, I spent about 5 hours "resetting" a couple areas that just weren't working. I know the plants that I need for those spots. Later this year it should be done. I expect the outcome to be magnificent.

A conifer garden is like a huge etch-a-sketch. Every now and then it just needs a good shaking.

~Dave