Bringing Lotusland weirdness to Northwest gardens

In answer to a reader's question on where to find a soil sieve or "riddle," Anita Kaplan e-mailed that Smith & Hawken sells them online for $25 at www.smithandhawken.com. Made of galvanized steel with ¼-inch mesh, they look sturdy and a handy size.

Q. My wife and I toured Lotusland near Santa Barbara, Calif., in October, and fell in love with how weird it all was. Now our garden looks boring and too sweet, but we know we can't grow many of their tender oddities and cactus here. We'd like to mix in just a few weird and unusual plants. What would you suggest? We aren't expert gardeners but are willing to experiment.

A. Lotusland is a richly atmospheric estate garden formerly owned by opera singer Madame Ganna Walska and now open to the public by appointment (www.lotusland.org). It's known for its fantastical plants, like tree euphorbias, aloes, bromeliads and cacti, many of which aren't hardy in our climate.

Yet there are plenty of strange and unusual foliage plants you can add to your garden that'll thrive in our climate. For maximum impact, think vivid and dark foliage colors, dramatic leaf size and shape. You might want to start with a backdrop of hardy banana trees (Musa basjoo), tree ferns and even hostas with huge leaves, like 'Sum and Substance.' You can always grow exotics like bromeliads, aeonias, brugmansia and elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) as annuals, or bring them indoors to winter over.

To create a touch of Lotusland's otherworldly atmosphere, drape your garden in vines. Then mix in the surprise of a few carnivores like pitcher plants (Sarracenia) and slightly sinister-looking cobra lilies (Arisaemas). Hardy agaves and yuccas add spikiness and structure. There are even cactus that live through our winters if you provide good drainage, including the cartoon-shaped prickly pear (Opuntia cycloides).

Sources for these dramatic, climate-zone-stretching plants include Jungle Fever Exotics near Tacoma (5050 N. Pearl St., Ruston; 253-759-1669), and Mesogeo Greenhouse and Garden on Bainbridge Island (www.mesogeogarden.com). Be sure to check out the weird and wonderful offerings at Plants Delights Nursery (www.plantdelights.com; 919-772-4794), whose full-color catalog is almost as good as a trip to Lotusland.

Q. I grew sweet peas for the first time last year and have just ordered more seeds, as I love their fragrance. But mine didn't do all that well and petered out before the end of July. Any tips?

A. Although it's traditional here in the Northwest to plant sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) around Washington's birthday, if we have one of our cold, wet springs, it's better to wait until the soil dries out and warms up a bit. I've learned that as long as I get the seeds into the ground before the equinox (March 20 this year), they'll bloom by the middle of June.

Sweet peas love sun, good air circulation and deep enriched soil. Dig the soil down to 18 inches, and mix in plenty of manure. Despite their sweetly ruffled looks, sweet peas are gluttons. Provide support for the vines on fences, trellises or even a sturdy wigwam of sticks.

Remember one of the great joys of sweet peas is the more you pick, the longer they'll flower.

Valerie Easton also writes about Plant Life in Sunday's Pacific Northwest Magazine. Write to her at P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111 or e-mail planttalk@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.