A view of Mt. Baker from the ferry that shuttled us between the San Juan Islands

Sally and I just got back from a much needed vacation to the Pacific Northwest.  This post is not a back handed attempt to make you look at my vacation photos.  However, I saw so many amazing horticultural things while I was there, I didn’t think you would mind. Since most of us grow in a place with too much heat and not enough water, I thought you would enjoy seeing what happens to plants when they get plenty of water and just the right amount of heat. 

These flowers were organically grown in the field on San Juan Island. This picture was taken on July 29. I promise, there is nothing like this blooming in “my fields” on July 29.

Our youngest daughter Whitney recently moved to Seattle to build a floral design firm that specializes in organic, field grown, fresh cut flowers.  Because of all of her contacts, she was a great little tour guide.

The Madrone is a native tree to the area. It has red bark and lime green skin. While photographing this, an attractive, sharply dressed 60ish woman told me the first time she “dropped acid” she saw one of these and thought it was the drugs that made it turn such crazy colors. I assure you, I have never heard a story like that in Brenham!

Our first stop was The Good Earth Centre.  This organic vegetable farm is the brain child and passion of Gary Miller and Amy Plant.  Gary and Amy are two people that are truly committed to leaving the earth better than they found it.  This farm is much more than a business.  They practice no till, 100% organic and sustainable methods to provide the highest quality produce possible to the local restaurants that serve a clientele that cares very strongly about how their food was produced.   By serving as a host farm for interns from the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms and hosting self-sufficiency workshops and seminars, they are influencing the way the next generation of farmers grow and care for the earth. Whitney met this couple when she was WOOFing on their farm.  It was indeed a pleasure for me to meet the two dedicated and visionary people that made a big impact on my daughter’s future in the world of sustainable agriculture.

The fields of the Good Earth Centre. If you are going to farm, you might as farm in a place that looks like this!

After leaving the Good Earth Centre we made our way to Lopez Village.  We spent the next three days exploring all that the San Juan’s had to offer.  Even though the natural beauty was over whelming,  the ornamental plantings are what really captured my attention.  I was surprised to see the same flowers growing up there as we grow down here.  However, their flowers were bigger, brighter and healthier.  One of the first things that stopped me in my tracks was a bed of FIVE FEET TALL DAISIES!   Evidently, if you are a flower grower that wants to grow the best possible daisies, lavender, snapdragons,  buddleia or anything else, the the Pacific Northwest is the place to be.  Everywhere we went I kept thinking “This must be what the Garden of Eden was like and I live in the place that God sent them to after the unfortunate incident with the apple”.

My lovely wife in front of a bunch of gerber daisies that are almost as tall as her!

 Now before I carry on too much about how horticulturally wonderful things are up there, let me assure you that I did find at least one thing that they can never do as well as we do here in Texas  —  grow a tomato!  Since tomatoes need high temps with hot nights to properly develop their sugars, the Northwest will never ever be able to grow a tomato that tastes any better than those pale and pasty things offered by the chain grocers.

I found these lovely hierloom tomatoes at the Friday Harbor Farmers Market on San Juan Island. They sure were pretty and I paid $1 a piece for some. They were sweet and watery. They may grow pretty flowers but they need to leave the tomato growing to us!