Sale at Colvos Creek

Clovos Creek Nursery on Vashon is having a 50% off sale this weekend. Just thought I'd let people know. I saw the sign on my way home today, and would have gone over but they were closing up as I went by.

If some of you are not familiar with this nusery, http://www.colvoscreeknursery.com/ - some rare and unique trees & shrubs that I can't seem to find elsewhere. That's a good discount!

I'll check that out I live near the Southworth ferry then its a 15 min ride to Vashon Is. thanks for the tip, Jim

Darn,didn't read this til Sat afternoon. I wonder if they'll be out of everything by Sunday. I've never been to Vashon Island and would love to go check it out. Are there other fun things to do there that would be open on a Sunday afternoon? I don't *have* to take a ferry, right?, I can get there over a bridge or something?

Gwen

Gwen, the only way to Vashon is by ferry unless you have your own boat or yaght. Jim

Oh! I thought that was the one island with a bridge to it. Guess not. Thanks for pointing that out. We've only lived here 5 years and I haven't been to either Vashon or Bainbridge yet, but am wanting to go check them both out.

Anyone else from this group thinking of going to the nursery sale tomorrow and want to possibly meet up?

Gwen, who doesn't feel like taking the yacht out tomorrow

Just got home from visiting my mom in Olympia. My dad was quite ill and passed away a month ago, so I've been going down as often as possible since August. So... because of that I posted about this sale and took off for the south end ferry without going to it myself. I don't know what they have available at the moment, but they often have interesting and unusual plants at a reasonable price even when not having a sale. They grow everything right there on site and are open for customers Friday and Saturday through the year. They are open this Sunday for the sale, probably until 4:00 or so. I am going to stroll over after lunch. For me, it is a journey of about 100 yards down the street. They let me roll a cart home with my plants when I buy more than I can carry. There is often a sale in the Summer (August) and also in the Fall.
Gwen, I wish I could say Vashon is a prime vacation spot, but I think it would seem quite tame and bereft of action compared with Whidbey Island. Point Robinson Beach (down the road from Colvos Creek) is a nice little public beach with a lighthouse that offers tours on many Sunday afternoons, however it probably can't compete with the parks and beaches you have much closer to your own home. We do have some nice little tea shops, restaurants, bookstores, farmer's market on Sat. am in warmer parts of the year, a single movie theatre, etc. like most small towns. There is a garden tour in June, the Strawberry Festival in July, a farm tour in August, and several art tours at various times of year if you are interested in any of those things. You could go down I-5 and get here via the West Seattle ferry or you could take the long but scenic route across the water from Keystone to Port Townsend over the Hood Canal bridge and to Vashon on the Southworh ferry. If you do decide to make this journey at any time, feel free to d-mail me for a cup of tea. Holly P.S. If you do come by boat anytime (or was the yacht a joke?) I would come pick you up at Dockton and take you over to the nursery.

The yacht was definitely a joke!

I'm sorry to hear about your dad passing. I'm sure your mom loves having you visit and that you're a huge comfort to her.

Whidbey is pretty quiet. In fact, it sounds quite a bit like Vashon. I'll have to come down sometime this summer. I'd like to come for the garden tour - I think that would be fun. Or maybe the strawberry festival.

Lucky you to live so close to that nursery! Let us know if you find anything really good when you go over today.

Gwen

I thought the yacht was a joke, but I figured I'd offer land transport just in case it wasn't, and then angle for a boat ride! The nursery was more cleaned out than I'd ever seen it. I think Mike (the owner) had a big landscaping contract recently in addition to the sale. He uses his own plants when designing for people. I did find some things I have been wanting (native red twig dogwood, a mexican orange blossom to replace one that died this winter, eleagnus maculata, and a winter blooming lonicera) and a few others that were spur-of-the -moment purchases (Chilean guava, pacific coast iris, black mondo grass, and a wandflower). 8 gallon sized plants and 3 four inch pots came to $56. Now to figure out where to plant them. I have completely blown my resolution to have a plan on paper and ground prepared before I go wild buying plants. There is a small garden bed by the house that has some newly dug space. I think some of these things will work out there.
I will try to get wind of their next sale sooner so I can alert people a week or two beforehand.

Sounds like a very successful visit to the nursery! That price sounded rather amazing for what you got - hope you can share pictures soon. And how I enjoy hearing about someone besides myself not being able to stick to their guns about not buying anything without a spot previously picked out for it!!!

Murmur, you asked for pictures...I hope you meant of the plants I bought, as my garden is in a current state of overgrown, unpruned weediness except for my vegetable garden which I have much more experience to manage successfully. Anyway, here is a photo of my Colvos Creek haul. The 3 red twig dogwoods are going in a low area that gets a bit marshy in the winter. The elaeagnus are going to be part of a shrub border (currently non-existent) to hide the neighbor's driveway. That area has poor soil wet in winter, dry in summer. I have heard these are tough shrubs, so I hope they will grow alright there. The lonicera I am considering training up a trellis against the western wall of the house. I was told they are a shrub with a viney tendency. I hope this will not be too hot for it in the summer time. There is small tree that will shade that wall a little when it grows bigger.

Maury, I love those red twig dogwoods - I have a yellow twig, but want to get a red one (or two or three). I'll settle for pictures of the plants, but hope eventually you'll be sharing photos of how you plant them!! All the plants look excellent!

My plan for the Chilean guava is to incorporate it into a yet-to-be-created garden in front of our new studio/shop building (south facing and therefore hopefully warm enough to keep it happy. I will have to put the plant in a 5 gallon pot later on until I have a place ready. There is still internal construction going on and therefore trucks with materials driving up, so I don't want to have plants in the way.

Hi Maury, I've grown Chilean Guava for some time. There's a note somewhere that they are naturalized in Ireland. In a container I put them in part-shade but in the ground add some peat and treat them like Salal. Trim them a bit to keep them bushy. One of my favourite plants and the fruit tastes delicious.

The studio/shop looks like a dream come true - something you've planned on and wanted for a long time? Really looks good!!!

Right now, I have it inside the shed because we have had heavy frosts and it had been in a greenhouse (unheated but still warmer than outside with no protection) at the nursery. Do you think I will really get guavas? I was willing to settle for the edible flowers, but guava jam would be great!

Ah, a friend made jelly with the fruit and I can still remember the flavour almost a decade later. Well worth it and they will mature on the south side of the house. They really don't like going too dry and prefer the acidic soil so if you can keep it kinda moist in summer, they'll thrive. If you keep it somewhat trimmed, it promotes bushiness and they can become more stonoliferous (underground stems). This is one I did from cuttings a few years ago.

Thanks Murmur, I shared your positive opinion of our new building with my DH who has been building it for the last year, in between his regular work. There was a falling down old shed there when we bought the place that had been pickers' quarters for the currant farm that used to be here. We are going to have two rooms inside, the front part for my son's drum studio, and the back part for tool shed and workshop.One of the windows in the front is a windowbox so I will have a tiny 'greenhouse' in it. My house is a manufactured home with very little storage space and the drums are currently taking up the dining room. The only work we have hired done on the new building is the concrete pour for the foundation and the roofing. The big machine dirt work we traded with a man who owns an excavator. He gets to store his numerous old vehicles and other items of value? on one section of the property in exchange for labor. I will be glad when this is all over in a few years. He is supposed to be selling his valuable items, but right now anybody who comes to visit me has to drive by what looks like a junk yard.

Ask him if he has any old Chevy parts. I just bought a 57 Chevy door for my truck yesterday for $225. His "junk" is gold to guys like me.

He is actually a very nice guy, but I don't think he has vehicles of that vintage. I will ask when I next see him around. My husband has a 48 Chevy truck which was running a few years ago and has some parts as well, but he doesn't think 48 parts match 57 parts.

Thanks! My 58 Chevy runs well but always good to have backup parts. Love to see that 48.

You're just down the road from Colvos Creek - ever thought of asking Mike if he'd sign-up on davesgarden.com as a vendor?

Growin, haven't seen our junkyard friend this week. Below is a picture of "Old Blue" our 48 chevy. She is looking pretty bad. When we moved here, she towed our small shed and then ended up out in the field. She has quite a bit of nostalgic value for us, and hauled numerous loads of firewood and manure in her time. We ended up getting another truck when our son was small because Old Blue has an unheated cab and no seat belts.
On another topic, what does it mean to be signed up as a vendor on Dave's?
And yet another, now that my confusion about which guava is which is cleared up, I think I want to plant both kinds eventually.

Mauryhillfarm, that a great looking truck! Thanks for the pic. I call mine OldBlue58 'cause it's the same colour. If your husband needs parts, advice, etc check out www.stovebolt.com.
A vendor is the nurseries that have signed up with Dave's Garden and when you search for a plant and they link to the nursery under the plant. Colvos Creek has some rare plants so it would definitely benefit them.
Personally I prefer the Chilean Guava and think its better suited to our climate and you'll get more fruit than the Pineapple Guava.

Here is the front view of our Old Blue (funny that our trucks have the same name). I have much better looking pictures of her when she was a running vehicle, but they are all on regular film.

You can see my blue truck in these photos from a stovebolt get together on Saturday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/growin/sets/72157594529071525/detail/
You have a great truck! I'd definitely get it going again for dirt hauling, manuer, etc.

That's a well cared for, good looking truck you have. We could tell which one was yours because of the familiar blue. My husband really enjoyed the stovebolt site, and meandered around it for more than an hour yesterday. Our truck is a 3 quarter ton Chevy Thriftmaster, put together with spare parts after World War 2. That makes it fairly difficult to come up with parts, though we do have pieces of a parts truck in the shed. To get it running, it needs a new master brake cylinder, a complete tune up, and maybe more. Our problem is, we currently have too many vehicles to license and insure them all. My husband uses a '93 Chevy 3/4 ton gas guzzler to haul soda ash from the mainland for a water system he works on, and he has a little rustbucket Toyota truck (which we got free off of freecycle) to get around to his many work sites on the island. Maybe we'll figure it out somehow. Old Blue doesn't deserve to be left in the field until the blackberries take over.

Here is my attempt at planting some of the items I bought at the sale, as well as other things that have been languishing in pots on my back porch. The winter blooming lonicera standishii is planned to train up the shed wall, though I probably have to come up with some kind of support for it to do this. That is a helianthemum next to it, which may not have enough room there after the other gets big. Spacing is NOT my forte. A dwarf phormium is to the right, as well as some blue eyed grass which didn't make it through the freeze and may be dead :(

This is the black mondo grass, which barely shows up, but is a good contrast to the heuchera "caramel'. The light green stuff is corsican sandwort, which I want to eventually fill in between the paving stones. The twisted twig beyond the heuchera is a mini caryopteris, but I don't know if it made it through the winter.

You've got some great combinations there, Maury! I am very fond of both the black mondo grass and the heuchera 'caramel.' And both will be dividable (is that a word?) in a short time!