A damp day of plant shopping

When my friend and I scheduled a plant shopping trip to Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties for late April the last thing we expected was rain.  But the further north we drove, the darker the sky got.  The windshield wipers were going well before we reached our first stop, Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria.  Although the rain was little more than a drizzle, we had the place practically to ourselves.  I took advantage of the cloudy skies to capture some photos of Seaside's extensive display beds.

The chief attraction in the Asian Garden was the white-flowered tree, which I think is Chionanthus retusus (aka Chinese fringe tree)

The Cottage Garden was in full flower but many of the blooms were looking rain-sodden.  The lavender-flowered Phlomis purpurea and the yellow-flowered Phlomis fruticosa were exceptions.

The Grassland area looked properly moody

While the California poppies had all closed up shop, the Echiums in the California Native Garden laughed at the rain

Part of what I assume was a rain garden meant to channel water under the low bridge shown in the prior photo

I took a lot of photos of the Echiums.  I'm guessing these are two Echium fastousum 'Pride of Madeira' framing a variegated E. candicans 'Star of Madeira'.

Even under gloomy skies, the Succulent Garden was perhaps the most photogenic.

Even when in the background, Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' glows

A lovely combination of red and blue

I think this is Euphorbia xanti (aka cherry blossom euphorbia and Baja spurge).  It's fragrant flower-like bracts are always surprising. 

Tree aloes (Aloidendron barberae) in the background and blooming coral aloes (Aloe striata) in the foreground

I take a photo of this aloe mass almost every time I visit.  I didn't see a tag for it but one of my prior photos identifies is as Aloe arborescens.  It doesn't look much like the others I've seen, though.

Of course, I did a little shopping.  I only came away with 2 plants from Seaside on this trip but I was sorely tempted by some pricey pots.

I couldn't justify $150 for a pot this size even if each was unique

We made stops at two more nurseries, where I managed to let go of more cash.  I didn't take any photos at Island View Nursery but I bought several succulents, a small pot, and a pretty Rex begonia.  After lunch, we drove to Terra Sol Garden Center in Goleta.  As it was our last stop of the trip, I was freer with my wallet, although none of my purchases was especially unusual.  I stopped myself from going nuts.

This beautiful spiral cactus (Cereus forbesii maybe?) was $425

I've thought of introducing some sea-style features in my garden but this mermaid statue was a bit outside my budget at $289

Here's a photo of most of what I brought home.

From Seaside: Corydalis 'Porcelain Blue' and Cassinia (Ozothamnus) leptophylla.  From Island View: an assortment of succulents, a tiny pot, and a begonia (shown below).  From Terra Sol: 5 Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' (not shown), 2 Mimulus, 3 Osteospermums with spoon-shaped petals, and a 6-pack of lavender.

My noID Rex begonia from Island View, potted up and tucked into my shade house

Like the Corydalis shown here, almost everything I purchased last weekend and during my recent plant sale visits have been tucked into the ground or pots

I REALLY should stop buying plants.  I'm running out of places to put what I pick up on the fly.  Of course, if I manage to clear more of the ivy and honeysuckle from the back slope or redesign the bromeliad bed the raccoons keep digging up, I might be able to find a bit more room...

Have a great weekend!


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