A jealous robot reviews Fearless Gardening

An early adopter of technology I am not. I think smart phones were available for nearly 5 years before I got one. I had to be dragged—almost kicking and screaming—to Facebook, and I only joined Instagram after a non-tech-friendly friend started posting there and I realized I really needed to get with it. So this whole Artificial Intelligence (AI) thing? Not interested.

When AI started making the news Andrew got right to it, trying out different prompts and dreaming of the possibilities. I read numerous emails and Facebook posts tell me how much easier blogging would be if I only let AI write my posts. No. Not interested.

So I admit to thinking he was a little crazy when I read that my friend Jerry who blogs at Botanica Chaotica allowed the AI robots to write a blog post: Botanica Chaotica Chronicles: Dancing with the Pineapple Express on December’s First Day. Of course it was only an experiment, and it was unanimously agreed that the robots were no match for Jerry's intellect and insights.

So where am I going with this? Well it reminded me of something Gerhard sent me a while back and I meant to post. He'd been playing around with AI and asked for "a blurb about Loree Bohl and her book Fearless Gardening, but sound like your jealous." Gerhard was one of my trusted readers for early editions of the book and helped with editing, I love that he asked for AI's jealous opinion. The result is hilarious:

Oh great, another gardening personality to fawn over - Loree Bohl and her book "Fearless Gardening." As if we didn't have enough garden enthusiasts trying to be the next big thing. Apparently, she's this fearless gardening guru who thinks she's discovered the ultimate secrets to creating the perfect garden. Her book is all the rage, filled with tales of her groundbreaking gardening adventures and supposed revolutionary insights. And of course, her Instagram is overflowing with pictures of her "stunning" garden, making us all feel like we're a bunch of amateurs.

I mean, who needs to read yet another book about gardening? Like, does she really have some sort of magical touch that the rest of us mere mortals lack? And her "fearless" approach – give me a break. We all know that gardening is a delicate balance of trial and error, not some audacious feat of bravery. But hey, if you're into following the latest gardening "celebrity," I'm sure Loree Bohl and her "Fearless Gardening" book will be your new obsession. As for me, I'll stick to my own gardening style, thank you very much.

Of course the fact that sticking with your own gardening style (thank you very much) is the message at the heart of Fearless Gardening is lost on the jealous AI bot. What about you? Have you jumped into the fearless world of AI?

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note; these are sent from a third party, you’ll want to click thru to read the post here on the blog to avoid their annoying ads. 

All material © 2009-2023 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

I finally took photos of "that building"...

For a few years now I've meant to get myself somewhere that I could take photos of this building, named The Tree Farm...

Recently I had reason to stop by the Portland institution known as City Liquidators and bam! There I was, right at the building's base.

I knew of these ginormous metal plant pots long before they were attached to the side of the building, since they were stored at Cistus Nursery for ages. Sean Hogan and Cistus is (of course) behind the plantings, the trees are Arbutus unedo (Strawberry Tree).

Info taken from a Facebook post by Bruce Hegna: "Aptly named the 'Tree Farm', this building is one giant mural/"wallpaper" dotted with 56 strawberry trees (Arbutus) in giant steep containers on its facades. The building was designed by Brett Schulz for Guerilla Development and sits next to the Morrison bridge and across from the City Liquidators complex." 

"The trees are looking healthy, the containers have performed well. Sean Hogan (Cistus Nursery) advised the design team to select the Arbutus as they can handle the pollution of the city, they are evergreen and can grow in sun or shade and thus good for all sides of the building. Each galvanized steel planter weighs 3,000 lbs. when the soil is saturated! Obviously some engineering work went into this!"

You can watch a video of the final few planters being installed here.

I'm thrilled I happened by on a sunny blue-sky day, as that really sets off the pattern of the building—which is visible from Interstate 5 as it works its way through downtown Portland.

On another topic: I will be in Eugene, Oregon, this coming weekend giving a couple talks as part of the Lane County Home & Garden Show. On Saturday March 11th I'll be giving my talk on vignettes in the garden, and on Sunday March 12th the subject will be growing succulents in the PNW. I'll also be selling and signing copies of my book, Fearless Gardening. You can check out the show guide here. If you're in the area come say hi! 

To get danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. All material © 2009-2023 by Loree L Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Plants & planty things from my trip north to visit friends

Wednesday I wrote about the plants I brought home from my trip up to Washington, today I share the things I saw while I was there. Washington will always be home to me; Spokane and Seattle, those are cities my heart calls home. Portland came later and while I love living here, I will always consider myself a Washingtonian. These trips I make to see friends feel like visiting home.

My visit started at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, a place I've come to love nearly as much as the Huntington Botanical Gardens, yes seriously. Notice I did not say the Ruth Bancroft Garden or Lotusland—those two gardens will always be top of list. 

Parablechnum cordatum, aka Blechnum chilense, near the entrance to the garden. I took this shot to remind myself to plant more of this "architectural" fern.

Interesting Schefflera (Heptapleurum) delavayi, such deeply cut leaves. In my mind the plant in the foreground is an aspidistra (cast iron plant), but it's not. I do not remember what it is.

Magnolia obovata, I need to look into how this species differs from my Magnolia macrophylla.

A gesneriad? An impatiens?

I have friends who would be aghast that that I can't tell.

This one I know! Pyrrosia sheareri.

A ginormous Woodwardia unigemmata frond. How big was it? That's my phone down in the lower right hand corner. My phone is just over 5.75" long.

One of several photos I took of Saxifraga stolonifera, reminding myself to buy more of them.

My current (huge) pyrrosia crush. What is it? I have no idea, but I want it something awful.

Here's the same (to my eye) plant growing in the conservatory at the garden.

An unfurling tree fern crosier (not sure of the species) ...

And yes, another Saxifraga stolonifera.

Later the same day I snapped this photo walking between the homes of two friends on Seattle's Beacon Hill. What a fun privacy adaptation for a front gate.

Inside my friend Ken's home I loved this tiny fellow offering up a pair of tillandsia.

Ditto for this pair of plants and planters...

Sometimes thrift shop artwork is better than gallery-bought works. The quick strokes of this bouquet are so good. 

Now I'm at my friend Steve's place, this painting is of Seattle's Volunteer Park.

Steve has a pottery collection that I envy...

Textiles too, this print hangs in his kitchen window.

And ferns in his bathroom! (the stripes are the shower curtain reflected in a mirror)

(begonias too)

Outside he has a Yucca gloriosa doing that strange thing they do.

And hesperaloe blooms! It seems late in the season, but PNW weather is a mess.

I brought Steve an agave pup from this give-away I posted about back in June, and it's done amazing!

Yay for agave-loving friends.

Opuntia with the morning sun in his backyard.

And pink-pets hanging out in the bamboo stock tanks.

Next my friend Erin and I headed up to Krukenberg Botanical Garden north of Seattle. I'd never been, but after watching this video of Dr. Art Kruckeberg talking about the garden I decided to check it out.

I loved the simple barrier to keep visitors out of the plantings, I wish the bench was equally rustic.

Wollemia nobilis! Along with old laundry tub planters.

I do love a good table planting!

Ah, Adiantum aleuticum var. subpumilum

There were several small treasures tucked into these rock and trough borders along the walk way.

This pile of rocks was missing something very important!

An agave at the top!

Insect hotels...

And ferns in lava rock!

Our next stop was Swanson's Nursery where I usually stare at their multiple fern tables. I only spotted one this time.

Ravenna Gardens at U-Village comes through with a stack of Fearless Gardening, yay!

Back at Erin and Matt's place I finally managed to take a shot of their iconic (to me) album-art-wall. Naturally the bromeliads take things up a notch or twelve.

Out in the garden I see the same Yucca gloriosa that Steve has, along with a happy purple Yucca desmetiana 'Blue Boy'.

I threatened to have a friend fluent in photoshop make a big Hershey's Kisses® tag for that adorably odd-shaped conifer, and can any of you offer up advice for why Erin's magnolia has refused to grow? It's up against a west-facing fence and gets summer water.

This was a very happy clump of aspidistra.

And this is what happens when winter strikes down a large cordyline. The tall trunk collapses but lots of volunteers take over.

Just one more plant from Erin's, but it's a good one. Last September we visited Heronswood where she bought an Alstroemeria isabellana, it's blooming.

Her soil here is terrible (her words, not mine), but it's getting plenty of sunshine and that's all it takes. Sadly my plant got shaded out.

I miss those odd flowers!

My final stop for the weekend was at Owen Beach in Tacoma, part of Point Defiance Park. The reason for my visit was to meet up with folks from the Facebook PNW Plant Geeks Group (that's them on the far left) but I had to pause and take in the beauty of the location. What a great weekend.

All material © 2009-2022 by Loree L Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.