After Iseli, we boarded our buses for Terra Nova Nurseries in Canby, Oregon. If you’ve ever purchased an unusual Heuchera like ‘Mahogany’ or an Echinacea like ‘Pink Double Delight’ (both favorites in my garden) you’ve probably bought one hybridized by Terra Nova. While we were there, the botanists/biologists explained how they create the test tube babies which become such unique varieties. It was quite a flow chart.
The nursery is way out in the country, but still located on a very busy street. One of the employees joked that traversing it was a trial before employment. If you made it across, you were in. We all laughed as we jogged through traffic to get to the display gardens. In the photo above, you can just see the road behind Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ which is behind Coreopsis ‘Autumn Blush’. Courtesy of Terra Nova, here is a closeup of ‘Tomato Soup’ which looks good enough to eat, doesn’t it?
While there, I fell in love with Agastache ‘Summer Glow’ as evidenced by the ten or twelve photos I afforded it. Actually, I was trying very hard to get one of the many pollinators in action while the Agastache swayed in the slight breeze. As soon as I came home, I traveled to a local nursery and found a couple of pots of this perennial for my own garden. 
Lucky for me, it being the end of the season, they were on sale for $6.99 instead of the the normal $15.99. I also learned from Dan Heims, President of Terra Nova, that we should pronounce Agastache as “ag-ah-STAK-ee”. I would have felt dumb, except I saw surprise on other faces too.
It made me feel better.
I have so many photos of the wonderful new plants from this nursery that I will try to do another post on our visit next week.
Dee–you are really outdoing yourself with such good information. I need to bring my notebook along as you have covered many concerns us seasoned gardeners want to know.
I very much love the study of new cultivars. I would have been in heaven listening to the details. You have done a grand job convincing me to give the Terra Nova’s a good strong looksie.
I really am coming back to take notes.
Anna´s last blog post..An Extrodinary October Flower Extravaganza
How fortunate you were able to visit TN. They are are on the forefront of introducing new perennials. Several of us went to the MANTS nursery trade show in Baltimore this past January. We visited the TN booth and told them how much we like what they do, especially the Huechera hybrids that like the South. To our surprise they gave us lots of free samples. I took home a new burgundy leaved sedum and a new coreopsis. Several years ago I got to hear Dan Heims speak at the Southern Plant Conf. He shook up a room full of old-school nursery people with his wit – and his plants.
Les´s last blog post..A Fine Fall Day
oooo-aaaaa! Thanks for the heads up on pronunciation-I love this one and need to know how to say it right! I have a couple and will be on the look out for this yellow/purple blooming “ag-ah-STAK-ee”! The others are pretty too.
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Hi Carla, mine got some rain after its planting yesterday and looks very dapper in the garden. We’ll see how it weathers our cold.~~Dee
Thanks for taking us to another cool place, Dee – a tag with Terra Nova on it will remind me of you from now on.
I’ve been saying “Ag-ah-STASH-ee” like Robin, but bet that even if I say it right the dang plant won’t grow for me!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Oh, Annie, that’s the sweetest thing you could have said.~~Dee
If I had one nursery to pick to visit in the US, it would be Terra Nova. I love so many of their plants! Heims is big on the proper pronunciation of plant names. I can’t believe you were able to limit yourself to just one plant purchase. I would have wanted it all.
Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog post..October Muse 2008
It was very, very cool, MMD. Maybe you’ll get to take a trip there someday.~~Dee
Love the agastache! That is something I will look for next season.
Marnie
Thanks, Marnie, so glad I could contribute to your plant obsession.~~Dee
That nursery looks amazing, one you could definitely get lost in. I appreciate the lesson on pronouncing Agastache – it’s one of my favorites, and I’ve been saying it wrong this whole time.
Hi Liisa, thanks for coming by. Me too on the pronunciation.~~Dee
Nice flowers! I keep meaning to plant some, but never get round to it…
julian´s last blog post..Goa bean
Thanks, Julian. There’s always next year.~~Dee
Our garden centers don’t have a lot of new plants for sale right now, either. But I’m adding Agastache to my list for spring, no matter how it is pronounced!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens´s last blog post..Bloomin’ Crabapples!
Hi Carol, these two purchases, my Helianthus and the Agastache were just leftovers. I’m thinking about going back & getting the other Agastache ‘Raspberry Summer’ too. I hope it will do well for you in Idianapolis.~~Dee
I’m so glad to know how to pronounce that, I was saying Ag-ah-stash-ee. Love the color of that echinacea!
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Hi Robin, I’m glad it helped. It is a pretty thing isn’t it? It doesn’t look that prolific though in the garden bed.~~Dee
I’d love to grow Tomato Soup in my garden but I’m hesitant because I’ve been so unsuccessful with the orange and yellow hybrids. As for the agastache, I think I’ll have to work on that pronunciation. I’ll walk around the garden mumbling “ag-ah-stak-ee” under my breath and see if it takes!
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Cindy, I’m going to write about Dan’s advice on those cultivars next. I thought what he said was good.~~Dee
I certainly pronounced agastache a different way. Hmmmm I will probably never remember how to pronounce it correctly.
Oh well, the one you have pictured here is a beauty. Can’t wait to see and read more about your trip.
Lisa, I wrote about the pronunciation because I thought it was weird. I think it doesn’t matter that much. Whoops! Did I just write that?~~Dee
Hi Dee, that is a luscious looking echinacea, tomato soup. Great name too, which I think is half the appeal for new plants. Like Gail, I wish we had more exciting plants at the local nurseries. And Gail I thought it was CLEM ah tis. ;->
Frances
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Oh, Frances, you say Po-tay-to, I say Po-tah-to . . . . 🙂 ~~Dee
Hi, Dee–You got a LOT out of that trip! Yay! I think some of those pronunciations are regional. I know there are always discrepancies between how I say certain flower names and a friend of mine in New England says them.
(That’s probably true of more than flowers, right??) 🙂
Kathryn/plantwhateverbringsyoujoy.com´s last blog post..Scarf Initiative Update!
Yes, Kathryn, it was one fun trip, but exhausting. I enjoyed seeing how the Northwest grows.~~Dee
Beautiful Agastache…I wish our local nurseries were carrying more plants for fall plantings. I am always stumbling over pronunciations; no amount of retraining can make me say clem-Ah-tis! Gail
Gail´s last blog post..Beauty and The Bees
Hi Gail, these aren’t new plants at the garden centers. They’re leftovers from summer. Late summer, fall bloomers always get the short end of the stick because they aren’t in bloom while people are trolling the nurseries.~~Dee
Still struggling with that pronunciation. Old tricks. Hard to change. Loved that place!
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Me too. I’m glad we shared it.~~Dee