The first of these were taken at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge by a friend of mine (who wishes to remain anonymous) last Tuesday as our first heatwave came to a conclusion.
The same friend and I swept through 3 nurseries on Saturday - Seaside Gardens in Carpenteria, Australian Native Plants Nursery in Casitas Springs, and Sperling Nursery in Calabasas. The coming heatwave be damned, I came home with record booty. (Details to come.)
All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Love your attitude here! Hurray for rebels! I'm off to get more roses, and some dahlias and lilies today! Even though we passed on winter this year, I want a spring and a summer. We'll paint our own rainbows (seasons), won't we?
ReplyDeleteYes, we will, Jane - even if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate!
DeleteSounds like the best way to deal with a heatwave! Bring on the Aussies...! (Do I see a hellebore??)
ReplyDeleteYes, you see a hellebore. I couldn't resist the foliage - it's 'Anna's Red.'
DeleteFlower power! And can't wait to hear more about your record plant booty!
ReplyDeleteI went a little crazy (but the good news is my husband isn't planning to divorce me).
DeleteI do like a car with good plant carrying capacity. They should mention it in the brochures.
ReplyDeleteThat has been one of the most essential attributes of every car I've owned (at least since the first one)!
DeleteOne of the real joys of garden blogs is realizing how narrow we get focusing on our own weather and gardens. At the same time, I can hardly fathom the lush landscapes you are showing here. And your booty! I am supposed to get a shipment of snowdrops "in the green" today. Think they will be living in pots inside for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteYour spring is being hijacked too, Linda! In your case, winter is still extending its icy tentacles, while in our case it's summer with its weapons of heat and rain-less skies.
DeleteI'm worried that we won't have a spring at all here, our weather today was cold, windy and it rained all day. I think it will just suddenly become hot. I'm glad you're having fun despite the weather, that car looks pretty full! I spy a Hellebore, I'm assuming that must be for your friend????
ReplyDeleteJeepers, Kris, did y'all leave anything behind for the other shoppers?
ReplyDeleteLots was left behind! I could easily have spent twice what I did but then thoughts of preserving my marriage held me back. The Australian Native Plants Nursery held all kinds of tempting plant possibilities.
DeleteQuite a haul Kris. I'll gladly take some of that heat from you, still cold here and we've to get a wee sprinkle of snow tomorrow... I'm fed up!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to reading all about your new plants, I think your car was full to capacity after this trip.
I'd gladly send you some of our heat in exchange for some of your rain, Angie. Wouldn't it be nice if Mother Nature permitted such an exchange?! Actually, there was still plenty of room left in my car (I could have put down the backseat on the driver's side to hold plants too!).
DeleteThat's a lovely selection of plants and looking at Descanso Gardens reminds me of a cool temperate scene. It's amazing that Los Angeles can be coaxed into such lush, spring bounty even in the middle of this heartbreaking drought.
ReplyDeleteI've never been able to understand how some of these LA botanic gardens manage to grow tulips when I repeatedly fail. Descanso is inland, where it's generally colder in the winter months, so perhaps that's their secret. In my case, the Santa Ana winds usually knock off the vast majority of tulips before they bloom, making them a poor financial investment (not to speak of the emotional upset associated with the loss).
DeleteHere's an old article that tells you how they do it:
Deletehttp://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-01/news/vw-713_1_descanso-gardens
I've never seen this information before. I'm glad you posed the question.
Thanks for the link, Jane. I knew about the chilling requirement but not the rest. The next time I feel compelled to grow tulips, I'll at least try doing it this way!
DeleteOh, I see a Hellebore in that haul! Was that for your own garden?
ReplyDeleteEverything shown in the photograph was my personal haul. My friend took home a single succulent. (She lives in an inland valley, which gets even hotter than my area during heatwaves, so she's stopped planting.) Yes, that was Helleborus 'Anna's Red,' which I picked up for a shady section in my front garden. It was one of the pricier purchases but there were some that were pricier still - I brought home 32 plants.
Delete"record booty"!!!!! I can't wait to read all about it, especially your trip to Australian Native Plants Nursery.
ReplyDeleteAustralian Native Plants is a true nursery. There weren't many displays, just rows and rows of containers and hoop houses but I did get some photos of the grounds before I got caught up making specific plant requests.
DeleteYou are a girl after my own heart, when you go plant shopping you do it properly. I have friends who buy one plant as I am struggling out with trolleys and filling my car. How can they do it I want to know. Such self- control is quite beyond me. Just imagine if you and I went plant shopping, we' d be urging each other on to ever greater extravagance.
ReplyDeleteWe'd need a truck, Chloris - a large truck!
DeleteSerious booty. What's that silvery-bronzy-silky beauty on the right in the last photo?
ReplyDeleteYour friend took some great photos.
That's Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid,' my selection to fill the space left by removal of the Agonis flexuosa in my back border. It was one among a list of possibilities but, once I saw that foliage, the deal was clinched.
DeleteIt was nice of my friend to allow me to use her Descanso photos. I couldn't bring myself to slog through downtown LA on a weekday in order to join her.
You had a fun day! What great pics taken by your friend. The Wisteria is amazing!
ReplyDeleteDescanso is a great botanic garden and especially pretty this time of year. Should you find yourself in Southern California, it and the Huntington Library and Garden are musts for visits. Oh, and the Getty and the LA Arboretum.
DeleteI always love the stuffed car shots! You could have fit more in though if you really wanted to!
ReplyDeleteIn my car, yes, but my friend drove and her car doesn't hold as much.
DeleteDescanso Gardens is a treat! The spring images could have been shot on my side of the country! Except that we are not that far into spring yet. Temps are still going down close to freezing on some nights. We always hope for a long spring, but sometimes summer seems to come in right on the heels of winter. From the booty in your trunk, I say you had a successful shopping trip!
ReplyDeleteThese temperature extremes are incredible. It's still winter on your side of the country but more like summer on mine. I hope you warm up soon!
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