Q: I’m interested in the green pavers, with raised detail on them, in the garden that won the Founder’s Cup award at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show. They were at the entry to the garden with all the painted animals. I’ve never seen anything like them and want to know if they’d hold up outside. Are they ceramic tiles? And where to buy them?

A: Judith Jones and Vanca Lumsden created the display garden, profiled on this page, with the eye-catching, acid-green pavers. Their award-winning garden sizzled with the work of local artists and craftsman, including the pavers you admired from Broken Stone Studio on Whidbey Island.

The pavers are concrete, cast from old Victorian ceiling-tile molds. They’re made to be used outdoors as garden paths or patio, set in sand or mortared in place.

The 2-foot-by-2-foot tiles weigh 65 pounds each and come in nine patterns that can be mixed and matched. Broken Stone Studio does all custom work, and the cost of the pavers depends on location and installation, but generally runs about $16 per square foot for delivered and installed pavers.

Q: Not really a question, but I was appalled at the televisions and cars in the displays at the Flower & Garden Show.

A: I agree, especially on the televisions — but you have to admit that tiny blue electric car was kind of cute.

Q: I loved the tall palm trees in the “Caravanserai” exhibit at the garden show. What kind are they? Can I grow them outdoors? Also, what plant smelled so good in that garden?

A: The elegant palms in the AW Pottery “Caravanserai” garden were Trachycarpus fortunei, one of the hardiest of all palm trees. Known as fan or windmill palms, these are fast-growing trees hardy to 10 degrees or colder.

Fragrant star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) was popping into bloom all over that garden, no doubt the source of the scent you noticed. Winter jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) was also in flower, but it isn’t as fragrant.

Q: Is it a good idea to recommend Melianthus major when it is an environmental weed in Australia? Some of Australia has our climate. The last thing we need is another environmental weed here! What do you think of this plant running amok?
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A: Since I’ve managed to kill off a Melianthus major (also known as the South African honeybush) or two, it seems to me the question is how can we keep them alive here, rather than how do we keep them under control? I’ve always wished these beautiful plants with their pewter-colored leaves would run a little more amok in my garden.

However, it’s always a good idea for gardeners to consider the possible invasiveness of any plant native to another climate. So I checked in with Dr. Sarah Reichard at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. She says that while it’s true Melianthus major is invasive in Australia and it might become a problem in some parts of California, it is not invasive here.

So feel free to try to grow this showy focal-point plant with peanut butter-scented foliage.

source : seattletimes.nwsource.com