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One Earth Botanical

It is always exciting to discover a new nursery, especially when so many are closing these days. A friend recently introduced me to One Earth Botanical.  They are located at 24001 NE 28th Street in Camas, Washington and are open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10-3. This is a family-owned nursery specializing in perennials, shrubs and trees. I was impressed by their inventory and saw some plants that I didn't know existed, such as the red-blooming Cestrum called "Ruby Clusters" pictured at the top. Their prices are also awesome (most of the perennials I saw were $7 with larger sized pots around $12 - $15.)  Stephanie gave us a tour of their 8-acre property which includes large display gardens, areas for weddings and other events and an in-the-works yurt which will be opened as a B&B. She says they have to deal with deer and she is knowlegeable about plants they don't like. In addition to all that, they also do beekeeping I need some of their energy!  They are locate...
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Black Tupelo - a spectacular tree for autumn color


This is my favorite tree at the moment. It wins the prize for the most colorful leaves. It is known by a string of different common names - 'Black Gum' (also spelled as 'Blackgum'), 'Black Tupelo', ' Sour Gum' and 'Pepperidge'. I like the name 'Black Tupelo' since we used to live close to Tupelo, Mississippi (birthplace of Elvis). The scientific name is Nyssa Sylvatica - Nyssa after the Greek water nymph and sylvatica is Latin meaning 'from the woods". It is a member of the dogwood family (Cornaceae).

The tree will probably get much larger than I'd like and I'm sure it will cast a lot of shade - not necessarily a bad thing. I did not know until recently that it is a major bird and insect attractant. The female tree produces purple/blue drupes that bees use for honey production and birds love to eat. 

The fall color is spectacular - a combination of bright orange, yellow and deep reds but it was one of the last trees to change color. It does hold them nicely and still has leaves at the moment despite some really strong winds. 

My video shows the tree is various stages over a three week period. The tree is 3 years old and was planted in September of 2018.


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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  1. chavlinessNovember 9, 2021 at 8:18 AM

    Once you explained the name's meaning, Water Nymph From The Woods, I was totally invested in memorizing the latin name Nyssa Sylvatica. The fall colors are wonderful and would get even more impressive the bigger the tree gets.

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  2. Kris PetersonNovember 9, 2021 at 9:11 AM

    Wow! It's spectacular.

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  3. Hoover BooNovember 9, 2021 at 4:41 PM

    A very beautiful tree. The autumn color is spectacular, but the growth habit is also lovely.

    Of course I had to go listen to Van Morrison 'Tupelo Honey'.

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