I’ll use this space to let you know about new plants and seeds at the Desert Northwest, updates to the web page, and other exciting observations and happenings. Your comments and feedback are welcome!
Another day, another goof-up. And of course it’s my fault. If you have recently tried to contact us to no avail, please try again. I’ve just figured out that the zip code provided on the web page was incorrect. I have corrected it now. If it’s not one thing it’s another!!! Just to clarify, our contact information is as follows:
e-mail: mail@desertnorthwest.com
snail-mail and orders: The Desert Northwest, PO Box 3475, Sequim, WA 98382
Apologies for the mistake!
The picture pretty much says it all.
Pardon the blurry picture. I’m not sure why that happened. Our new place in Sequim came with many plants that will not be part of our final design for the garden. We’ll certainly have a few other Junipers – especially those native to the West – but we have other plans for this spot near the entry to our residence.
Pardon me if I sound shelfish, but I’m just so proud of myshelf.
Travelling to multi nursery plant sales means I have to transport a relatively small number of plants over a long distance. I also have to take the ferry more often than not, which would be an additional expense if I used a really large vehicle or trailer. With that in mind, efficient use of space in a fuel efficient vehicle seems like the sensible way to go. So I have built a shelf to hold plants, that fits in the back of both our Subaru Forester and our 93 Honda station wagon. Most importantly it fits in the Honda even with the rear seats still in their normal upright position if desired. It holds six standard-sized nursery flats (approx 11×22 in.) with an optional top shelf that holds three more flats. We’ve already used it several times.
I also built this little table which has room for 2 nursery flats on top and underneath (alternatively 9 #2 pots can just fit on top).
Of course the tables can also be used to help display the plants once I get to the sale, which is also nice.
At some point though, when I have more plants, I think I’ll need a trailer.
Is spring here yet? It’s getting increasingly sunny but it’s still cool. I guess that beats cool and wet. It finally rained Tuesday morning after being virtually dry for a month. That was nice for the plants. Rain always does a better job watering than irrigation, for some reason.
As far as I’m concerned it’s springy enough to start potting up plants in earnest. Then I will have many new and exciting plants to sell this summer. Honestly I am almost out of probably more than half of the plants on the mail order list now. That’s not good since I know folks are still ordering from that list. But don’t despair because a new list will be out just as soon as some of the stuff I’m potting up now reaches a salable size (mid June? let’s hope so.)
In the meantime I’ve made the exciting determination that mail-order plants will be available all year this year. This makes sense because every year I have so much stuff available in the summer and there’s no point in missing out on that business during what is a (relatively) slower time of the year as far as my tasks here are concerned.
Before the season gets too crazy I have accomplished a subtle, but significant web site update. Partly this was in response to some complaints I received early on about the web site. How do I get to the home page? And how to I contact you? Well, it wasn’t that hard before, but now it’s even easier. Please also note our new postal and email address on the “Contact Us” page. That’s right, we’re finally doing all business out of Sequim. And hopefully it will be easier for me to keep up with e-mails since all business e-mail will be going to a separate address. The web site also includes some new features including a specimen plant list (not ready yet, but at least I have the web page set up for it), and some updates to the links and articles (including a Sequim webcam and current weather at the bottom of the links page). Most importantly, it no longer says “the Pacific Northwest and beyondle” on the home page. Where’s Beyondle? Doesn’t sound like a place I’d to visit. Anyhoo, I’m especially pleased with how useful the links page has become; I find that I actually use it myself all the time. If you find any errors on the web page, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m aware of two broken links–one on the ‘articles’ page and one on the mail order plant list (it’s not yet available in .doc format)–which I hope to fix later.
Despite being pretty much moved to Sequim now, amazingly I still don’t have all my nursery supplies moved out of Poulsbo yet. We gave it our best shot on Tuesday with some much appreciated help from the family and a big box truck. But not everything fit on the truck, nor did we have time to finish loading it, so it will still take one more trip to finish the job. That’s unfortunate because the Hood Canal Bridge will be closing for six weeks starting tomorrow, cutting off my access from Poulsbo. That’s part of the reason for me doing the Sequim PO Box and web update just now (though perhaps I should have done it much earlier). I have to get my mail somehow!!
While other businesses around here are freaking out over the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge (which will temporarily cut off almost all traffic and therefore tourist money from Kitsap and the Seattle area), this really couldn’t come at a better time for us. It’s a lull between crops and we have the lowest selection of plants in years, until all the new stuff comes along. There will be much potting up to be done and mail-order shipments to be filled, and with few visitors we have a good shot at actually accomplishing everything. We’re hoping to host an open house of some sort in mid July, but we have yet to announce this officially.
If you’re coming this way though, please do stop by, and don’t forget to visit Far Reaches Farm; I’m sure they’d really love to have visitors during the bridge closure as well.
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, please visit us on Saturday, May 2 for a multi-nursery plant sale hosted by the Snohomish County Master Gardeners. It will be at the Snohomish County Extension Office, at 600 128th St. SE in Everett, between the hours of 9:00 am and 2:00 pm. With the Hood Canal Bridge being closed, we’re taking the Port Towsnend/Keystone Ferry and then driving up Whidbey Island to get out there – that will be quite the drive. But at least it’s scenic.
Well that’s not quite exciting enough to be a newsletter, but it’s my way of staying in touch with anyone who might be interested in my doings. Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check back later this summer for the new plant list!! Until then I’ll continue to post more interesting tidbits here as well.
A quick note from Desert-Northwest-land, which will be followed soon by a newsletter announcing the general state of affairs here and the 2009 mail order season.
Most importantly, if you placed an order in 2008, and are owed plants or correspondence from us, please write me at deus_vobiscum “at” hotmail.com I have contacted almost all of you I believe, but a few orders were lost in our move or otherwise, so please write me if this is you. Please know that you have not been deliberately ignored. 2008 was for us a year fraught with numerous disasters, of which more shall be told here soon. Regardless of the cause of such disasters, I wish to offer a sincere apology to those who may have been disappointed in the level of customer service offered by the Desert Northwest in 2008.
2009 is going better, but just barely. The future of this place looks bright as soon as we can get a few more things set up here (a permanent packing/shipping station being one). My goal for the next couple of weeks is to get all caught up on orders before I announce something about a 2009 shipping season.
Finally, I’d like to note that the nursery has moved to Sequim. (Techinically, we’re still not done with that – what an ordeal.) But we’re still using the Poulsbo PO box for now. We are open by appointment.
More details to come!
I just thought I’d post this classic book cover as a literary expression of the story of me trying to maintain a nursery.
Actually, I read this book in high school. Despite the alluring cover and description, the book was lacking literary quality, which was disappointing. I wonder if the Olympia High School library still has it.
Wow. 9 accumulating snowfalls this winter and finally two weeks of fabulous, dry, sunny weather in February (I’d call it ’springlike’ but spring around here usually means sun interspersed with intermittent periods of rain). I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I would have if I had the opportunity to be outside the whole time.
The exciting news is that the spring shipping season is coming up soon (March 15!), and it looks like I’ll have most of the same selection available from last fall, although between floods, snow and freezing I did manage to kill a few things as usual. This year I’m trying to do more plant sales, the first of which will be at the Sequim Soroptomist Garden Show March 15-16. It should be a fun way to get the season going and see if there is much local interest in my plants in the Sequim area. Maybe people will all point at me and laugh…. no, I think most of them will be polite and some may be very interested in Desert Northwest plants.
The move to Sequim is progressing very slowly, but is still underway. Please pardon a 2-3 week delay in order processing until everything is moved. We’re still only up there once every week or two and it’s a challenge processing orders when we have things in two locations.
Other than that I’m excited to start potting up plants and watching things grow once again!! My wife and I hope to save enough money this year for more collecting trips this fall, and, most importantly, a trip to South America to visit her family. Of course any trip to South America will inevitably have to involve plants in some way. Wish us luck – we’ll need it!
Just a quickie to announce the addition of two new articles to the Desert Northwest web site. The first one is called ‘domestic Agaves’, describing and singing the praise of those Agaves native to right here in the good ol’ USA. The second is about how to design and maintain a desert garden. This article is subject to revision and I would welcome your comments on it as a response to this post. I still have a lot to learn and I am sure someone will read it who has valuable opinions to add. Both articles can be found under the ‘articles’ section of the web site (makes sense, doesn’t it??), right at the top.
I also tied up all the loose ends leftover from the fall season. It’s tough keeping on top of a website like this by myself. Now we’ll see if I can find time over the winter to write some more plant descriptions.
Hello friends,
Well six weeks into the fall shipping season, which has been busy enough to keep me on my toes despite only limited announcement, I find a chance to sit down a type a quick update of what’s new here at the Desert Northwest. We’ve gone from a busy summer to an even busier fall, as we endeavor to pack up all the plants, pots and other supplies and move them to our new location over the coming weeks, while still performing the usual tasks to take care of them, doing thousands of cuttings for next year’s plants, and building new greenhouses before winter. So 2007 will go down as “the year that was completely crazy” in my memory. Unfortunately (and probably needless to say) the thing I probably won’t be able to make time for is any major collecting trips. New Agave and Yucca seeds will have to wait one more year, I’m afraid, barring a miracle.
I am finally organized enough to send out newsletters via e-mail to everyone who requested to be added to the list of e-mail updates on my order form! So this will be the first such newsletter. If this message has reached you in error or you wish to be removed from my list, please accept my apology and send me a note back indicating this is so.
While the Eastern US has been enjoying unseasonably summer-like weather, it has been downright wintry out here, with lots of rain, wind, and significant mountain snows. Summer was rather cool and clammy, but not too out of the ordinary when one looks at the statistics – but I can hardly remember such “bad” late September and early October weather. After enduring 28 consecutive days of below normal temperatures, our average high of 63 (anticipated tomorrow) seems downright balmy. The record highs seem impossible to believe! Did it really get to 83 on this date in 1991? Oh yeah, it’s not winter yet. Well, on the plus side, I haven’t had to do very much watering.
As the rains come early to the Pacific Northwest, we are reminded that fall is considered the ideal time for planting by “normal” horticulture professionals and specialists alike. Giving plants a little extra time now to put down roots will give them a significant edge come spring, and with the weather we have had, you can plant right away without worrying about irrigating them. Of course, a little frost protection may be necessary to overwinter certain plants successfully, depending on your climate.
My biggest sellers continue to be the Grevilleas: not surprisingly, as these plants have so many virtues; and, I believe, are on the verge of making it big in the Pacific Northwest. Many of them are good performers in the South as well. It doesn’t say this on the web site, but I have under-produced them so get yours quick before it’s too late! This fall I am doing hundreds of Grevillea cuttings to hopefully meet next year’s demand. Don’t forget the South African Proteas – I have quite a few of these now growing large enough to ship and they are frequently even showier.
I have an increasingly diverse selection of offerings for the cold-hardy desert garden. A better selection of hardy cacti and Agaves is the obvious addition, but no exotic garden should be without my special hardy Furcraea selections: these Yucca impostors are among the most rewarding and impressive deserty type plants we can grow, and they also blend nicely into any tropical themed garden.
To make your desert garden really authentic you might also consider adding plants such as an evergreen oak or one of my manzanita selections, both of which complement any cactus garden splendidly. These tough and durable plants also stand very well in their own plantings and are excellent for covering dry sunny banks or areas difficult to reach with the hose, for gardeners trying to get away from the same old stuff. Consider the rugged yet easily grown Arctostaphylos hookeri, or one of my super-grey A. viscida selections.
For the admirers of antipodean flora, I now offer an expanded selection of New Zealand and South American native plants. Some of these will be available only sporadically so get them while you can! Finally, for those of you who have been asking for Callistemons, I now have a splendid selection of hardy species and forms from which to choose, with flower colors ranging from cream to red to purple.
Thanks for making it another successful year. Successful enough, at least, for the nursery to continue forth, and for the likelihood of an even more exciting plant selection to come. Hopefully I’ll send out one more newsletter before the end of the shipping season with some commentary on my plans for the exciting new nursery location. Stay tuned!
Ian Barclay
The Desert Northwest
E-mail: deus_vobiscum@hotmail.com
Current Availability: Click Here
Ron Brightman showed me this huge specimen of Arctostaphylos manzanita in a Seattle garden years ago. Now it is even bigger. It must be 18 feet tall and 30 feet wide!
I also found this rather large plant (perhaps 11′ tall) that appears to be A. columbiana in North Seattle. One wonders if it is a preserved native plant, or was planted.
While we’re at it here’s an impressive interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii) in north Seattle. It’s not common, but it obviously does great here.
