Fall Plant Shopping

Fall is prime planting season here and, with swaths of my garden trashed over the course of our ongoing home remodel and other areas showing the usual stress imposed by our long dry season, I'm anxious to get to work.  I probably should hang back awhile yet but as the Australian Native Plant Nursery (ANPN) in Casitas Springs scheduled a fall plant sale last weekend my friend and I decided to move up our usual fall plant shopping trip.  For me the drive each way is 3-4 hours, depending on traffic, and half that for my friend.

ANPN was our first stop.  Jo O'Connell, the owner/operator, isn't generally open on weekends anymore, which makes it difficult for us to visit.  A weekday trip would put me on the road during peak commuter hours on both legs, adding hours.

There's a plaque at the entrance in the shape of the continent of Australia, decorated with koalas.  We were met by Wallaby, the official greeter, who asks for a tummy rub as the price of admission.

I didn't have an opportunity to ask for an ID on this gorgeous tree-sized shrub but it reminded me of my own Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' - on steroids

Some of the sale offerings (left) and the cashier's shed (right).  That's Jo O'Connell in the orange shirt in the background.

O'Connell and her husband lost their home on the nursery's grounds to the Thomas Fire in December 2017.  They're currently living in what was a guest house at the back of the property but plans are in place to start construction on their new home.  As a resident, Wallaby was exempt from the no trespassing request.

Next, we stopped for a leisurely lunch in Carpinteria about a half hour further north.

Our usual lunch stop in Carpinteria is Garden Market.  We eat on the patio and enjoy the sunshine and plants, like this exuberant Leonotis leonurus.

We also checked out Porch, just a few storefronts down from Garden Market

Our next stop was nearby Seaside Gardens, a garden center we try to visit at least twice a year.  In addition to offering a broad selection of plants, it has a large area devoted to demonstration gardens.  (You can view photos from prior visits here.)

I've picked up numerous Leucadendrons and Grevilleas here but most grow into large plants and I'm running out of room for more

They have a great selection of Phormiums and Cordylines too

These 2 horses mark one entrance into the demonstration gardens

I was somewhere between the California Native Garden and the Central/South American Garden here

This and the next photo were shot in the Succulent Garden

This and the following photo were shot in the Grasslands area

Our last stop was Island View Nursery just one mile away.  This nursery is in the process of changing hands for at least the second time within the decade or so we've included it in our regular run.  While the nursery has a fairly broad supply of outdoor plants, our focus in shopping there has generally involved the succulents, bromeliads and indoor plants it offers.  It's our understanding that the nursery's offerings in that category are about to undergo a major expansion.

Two views of the indoor plants area, composed of 2 huge quonset hut-type structures

As these exterior photos show, the nursery is in the process of adding 3 more structures of similar size.  We were told that they would be used to house an expanded selection of airplants and other bromeliads

So, I had a list of plants I was looking for.  I found none of them on this trip, although I came close in one case at Seaside.  (Right species, wrong cultivar.)  Do you think I came home empty-handed?  Don't be silly.  Here's my haul:

On the left, are Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', purchased at ANPN, and Cordyline 'Can Can', purchased at Seaside.  In the middle, all purchased at Seaside, are: Plectranthus cordifolium 'Caroline's Citrine', Daphne odora 'Leucanthe' (yes, I can be nuts sometimes!), and 2 Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses'.  On the right is Begonia 'Escargot', which came from Island View.

I'm glad we made the trip last weekend.  Our Santa Ana winds are blowing again and there's another major fire burning to the north of us, relatively close to my friend's home, as well as my brother's house.  We could smell the fire here this morning even though we're a good 50+ miles away.  Wildfires have been a fact of life here but they're definitely more frequent and more vicious than those in my childhood years.  The current fire is still only 13% contained with 7500 acres burned.  Twenty-five homes in the valley I grew up in have already been destroyed.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Plant Shopping Extravaganza

As mentioned in my last post, I did some serious plant shopping last weekend.  Although I visited more nurseries and garden centers in a single day on another occasion, I haven't bought as many plants - or spent as much money - in a single day as I did on this trip.  I left the house before 8am and didn't get home until after 6:30pm.  I was spurred on in part by my desire to find plants to fill the space left by the recent removal of a tree in the backyard border and in part by my ongoing search to find plants to fill the remaining blank spots created when we removed our front lawn.  I was also driven by a sense of urgency to get my spring planting done as soon as possible in light of the high temperatures we've already experienced this March.  The only things that kept my spending in check were time constraints and my friend's admonition that her car had only so much room.

Our first stop was Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria.  In addition to offering a great selection of California-friendly plants, it has wonderful demonstration gardens.  The first thing we saw when we got out of the car was a hummingbird flitting among the flowers of Grevillea 'Ned Kelly.'

The hummingbird was not at all intimidated by the fact that 2 women were standing 2 feet away aiming cameras in his direction 

A busload of ladies from the Red Hat Society arrived shortly after my friend and I so I didn't get many pictures of the demonstration gardens during this visit but you can find photos of my November visit to Seaside here.

Views from Seaside's various demonstration gardens

It looked to me as though our earlier heatwave may have already taken a toll on the California poppies' show

As we visited on the second day of spring, Seaside was especially well stocked.

There were some gorgeous plants up front that made my heart flutter but one look at their price tags nearly made my heart stop.  None of these plants came home with me.

Clockwise from upper left, all costing over $100 in nursery pots: large specimens of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream,' Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike,' Leucospermum cordifolium, and a plant I didn't get the name of Leucospermum reflexum (thanks for the ID, Evan!)

I left with 9 plants but there were several others I've had some misgivings about leaving behind.

Clockwise from upper left: Veltheimia bracteata 'Yellow Comet,' Halimium lasianthum, Petrea volubilis, Lonicera japonica 'Mint Crisp,' Boronia megastigma, and Leucadendron 'Jester'

After lunch, we headed back south, getting off the freeway and turning east upon reaching Ventura.  About 15 minutes later in the town of Casita Springs, we found our next target: Australian Native Plants Nursery.  This nursery is generally open only by appointment but my friend had made arrangements for the stop earlier and the gate was open when we arrived.

My friend was immediately entranced by the beautiful purple-flowered shrub next to the entrance, which I recognized as a Prostanthera.

I initially thought this must be Prostanthera linearis but, after checking ANP's website, my guess is that it's the non-variegated form of P. ovalifolia

Meanwhile, I was attracted by a large Acacia on the other side of the gate, as an Acacia was on my list of prospects for my back border.

I didn't ask which Acacia this was as it was too tall for my needs

As this is a true nursery, there weren't many flashy plant displays but there were plants stacked on tables, plants lined up in rows, and plants in hoop houses, some of which were open to visitors and others which were not.

A number of plants caught my eye but were ultimately left behind, at least this time.

Left to right: Hakea petiolaris, Leucadendron discolor, and Grevillea rivularis

Jo, the owner, located all the plants I asked for.  As I was checking out with 5 plants, my friend and I heard a frog croaking at our feet.  We never did see the frog but we did see this:

Grevillea 'Pink Midget,' not currently available

After we squeezed this round of purchases into my friend's car, we were off again, headed to one of my favorite nurseries, Sperling, in Calabasas.  To my knowledge, the property is still for sale but on this early spring day, it was well-stocked and crowded with visitors.  As we'd gotten caught up in a hideous traffic jam on our way south and it was already late afternoon, I didn't linger to take more than a few photos before filling my cart with 21 more plants.

Metal goats appear to be popular!

The succulent in the photo on the far right is Euphorbia xantii (aka Cherry Blossom Euphorbia)

Here's a different view of my purchases.  I managed to get almost all of these in the ground before the current heatwave struck.

The photo on the left shows the entire collection of 35 plants.  The photo on the top right shows Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid,' Helleborus 'Anna's Red, and Leucospermum cordifolium (yellow form); the middle photo shows Ceanothus arboreus, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder,' Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred,' Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame,' Heuchera maxima, Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and Phomium 'Ed Carmen' (which seems more yellow than the photos I see on-line, possibly due to its youth); and the bottom photo shows Argyranthemum frutescens, Centaurea 'Silver Feather' (which may require more water than the tag led me to believe), Gazania 'New Day Yellow,' Lagurus ovatus (Hare's Tail grass), and Osteosperum 'Zion Copper Amethyst.'  Somewhere in the collection is also a one-gallon container of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' but even I can't pick it out in my photos (behind the Callistemon maybe).

Hopefully, if the heatwave passes within 2 days as expected, all will survive.  I'll show photos of the plants in the garden when I get a chance.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party