Rhody, Carson and I are still here. We should be in Washington now. We were supposed to leave at about midnight between last Tuesday and Wednesday. Now, we plan to leave at about midnight between Sunday and Monday, and stay in the Pacific Northwest for as long as initially planned. I wrote about the delay earlier. It is why I posted no pictures of our trip yet. Instead, there are three ‘X’s and three eXotics, although the last might really be an undocumented native species. The first three ‘X’s are between generic and specific names of three interspecific hybrids. By next week, I should get six pictures from Oregon and Washington. Incidentally, the Official State Flower of Washington was nicely named after Rhody.
1. Prunus X subhirtella, winter flowering cherry was featured for the garden column last week, or later in some papers. This picture was not used. I did not want it to go to waste.
2. Pelargonium X hortorum, zonal geranium is nothing special, but I happen to like this red too much to discard it after it was clobbered by a car. I can only hope it was a Buick.
3. Freesia X hybrids, freesia is likewise nothing special, but got my attention just after I mentioned feral freesia in the garden column. It is misplaced but too colorful to be feral.
4. Vinca major, greater periwinkle is an aggressively invasive naturalized exotic species. Less pretty aggressively invasive naturalized exotic species would replace what I remove.
5. Allium triquetrum, wild onion is supposedly another aggressively invasive naturalized exotic species. It is so established that I had always considered it to be a native species.
6. Thuja plicata, Western red cedar is supposedly a naturalized species, but could be an undocumented native species. No one seems to know; but it is not aggressively invasive.
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/
Tony Tomeo 
Very flowery for you this week, Tony! Except the thuja, which is one of favourite conifers. Have a good trip, looking forward to the photos.
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They were not planned, although I did consider replacing the Thuja with something floral, just to see if anyone noticed how inconsistent that is with my style. Too late.
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Enjoy the Pacific NW! We are toying with the idea of a trip this summer to visit old friends and see how Seattle has fared since I was last there, I think in 2017. Not sure if it will happen – I kind of want to use money to do a few things around the house, so we shall see!
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Oh, I intend to enjoy my trip. First, I will go to Tangly Cottage Gardening in Ilwaco. Then, I will prune apple trees on the farm. For the past few years, I have been going there annually prior to the bloom of the apple trees, and every year, there is a delay, although I eventually get there at about the same time as I do annually. I can see the tops of the skyscrapers of Seattle to the East, but have been there only once. Because I live here, I do not need to see another big city. Afterward, I go almost to Phoenix. I can see the glow of Phoenix at night, but have not been there yet.
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Now, you have got me thinking… we have Vinca growing wild in our woods, and I have always assumed it is Vinca minor. I must take a closer look!
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Vinca minor is supposedly more commonly invasive within more regions. It just is not so here. Vinca major is instead. In other regions, Vinca major is actually planted intentionally, and is not considered to be invasive; just as we might plant Vinca minor intentionally.
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