Our second nursery stop last Saturday was Terra Sol Garden Center in Santa Barbara County. It's much smaller than Seaside Gardens and doesn't have any display gardens but I've always found it to be a great resource for new plants. I don't think I've ever left that garden center empty-handed, often spending more there than I do at Seaside. (You can view my earlier post on Seaside here.)
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| Views of plants for sale |
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I was surprised at how much this plant looked like the Acacia 'Cousin Itt' I grow in my garden. It's 'Itts' bigger brother, Acacia cognata, aka river wattle. The flowers are just like those currently peppering my "little river wattle".
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Plants I noticed but didn't purchase included, clockwise from the upper left, Pilea peperomioides in flower, Pyrrosia (?) in a hanging basket, and Veltheimia. I came very close to buying a Veltheimia as I've admired the flowering bulbs a neighbor has scattered through her street-side succulent bed but I planted 2 of these bulbs years ago and, even given this year's rain, they haven't bloomed in recent memory.
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Terra Sol offers a lot of garden decor items and a many pots outfitted to serve as fountains
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Statues, especially Buddhas, are plentiful, if pricey
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The garden center has a well-rounded selection of small-to-large succulents, and it frequently has succulents you don't commonly see elsewhere.
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This Hildewintera colademononis, aka monkey tail cactus, was one of the rarer specimens on display on this visit. (You can see it in flower here.)
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While Terra Sol doesn't have landscape displays, it has a lot of containers planted with succulents. Some of these were for sale but the larger ones are provided as inspiration. The bottom photos are 2 sides of the same fountain-style planter.
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So what did I bring home from this trip?
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This was my haul from Terra Sol, shown below in my garden
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My biggest investment was the 2-gallon Leucosperum cordifolium 'California Sunshine' shown in the upper left, which currently looks very small in the spot I selected for it (formerly occupied by an 8-foot tall Duranta). Clockwise from the top right are: Carex 'Feather Falls', Anemone coronaria 'Mistral Bordeaux', Gasteria morombe, and Sedum 'Cape Blanco'.
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And, for the record, here's what I took home from Seaside Gardens.
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Prior to planting
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Top row: Lophomyrtus x ralphii 'Little Star', including foliage closeup
Bottom row: Leucadendron laxum (still unplanted), Cuphea 'Starlight' (also sold as 'Starfire Pink'), and Coprosma 'Evening Glow'
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As it turned out, we timed our trip well. The skies opened up once more on Wednesday and again on Thursday. It was dry and sunny all afternoon yesterday even though gray storm clouds hovered in the background. There's a slight chance of rain again on Monday but at present it looks like it'll pass us by. Another forecasting agency suggests that there's currently a 58 percent chance of yet another storm a week from today but I'm not convinced of that prospect at present.
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Yesterday morning's view of Angel's Gate, the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles, from my back garden
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Best wishes for a pleasant weekend, in the garden or not. I stopped by my local garden center Thursday afternoon to pick up things to fill in around recent plantings and serve as groundcovers in bare spots so I'll be busy for awhile at least.
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Great selections. I have been considering that Carex 'Feather Falls'. I've rarely met a Carex I didn't like. Rainy here and half of next week. But warmer so the combo should melt my snow. These two posts of yours have me champing at the bit to go shopping. Most nurseries here won't open for another 2-3 weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe above comment is from me.
DeleteCoincidentally, I saw Carex 'Feather Falls' used in a planted pot combination in the copy of Fine Gardening I received this week. As I put the 2 plants I picked up in the ground, it struck me (before I saw the article) that they might look better in pots, where they can gracefully hang down. I'm going to see how they like their current placement before considering a move, however.
DeleteWhen I saw the photo of Veltheimia, I immediately remember seeing it on Gerhard's blog; it looks like an aloe bloom, only pink, which made it stuck in my head: unusual and gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThe succulent displays are so fabulous and inspirational. I grow Sedum 'Cape Blanco', it's such a hardy and easy to grow filler.
I looked at your new Leucosperum online: it will have fantastic yellow blooms with red tips. Waiting for it to flower is tough.
Chavli
I got excited about Veltheimia again when I saw it doing so well in a neighbor's garden. Maybe I just need to move my 2 plants - the foliage comes up every year but they haven't bloomed since the first year I planted them. Good to hear about 'Cape Blanco'! Surprisingly, Sedums in general haven't done well here but there are always outliers and my fingers are crossed this'll be one. That Leucospermum has a few buds so I might see the blooms this year, although my experience is that even if that happens, the plant will take a year or 2 to settle in before it blooms again.
DeleteWhat a view from your back garden! You have been busy, beautiful new selections.
ReplyDeleteThanks tz.
DeleteYou got some great plants there! The Leucospermum looks really fresh and healthy--all of them do, actually. Our rainy winter has made for some very healthy plants--good time for plant shopping.
ReplyDeleteK got a 'Rainbow' Leucospermum at Armstrong's the other day--there were two others, and they were very tempting, but I've no space for one at the moment.
We may have seen the last of the rain for the season--I'll miss it, but we have to start drying out at some point.
I'd guessed that the storms this week are our last for the season, although yesterday one TV forecaster cited a chance of rain on Monday and a friend quoted AccuWeather's posting of a 58% chance next Friday. However, both prospects seem to have evaporated overnight. It has been nice to be free of the irrigation system for such a long period.
DeleteIt looks like you got a good haul of plants there! Succulents always remind me of my Grandad as he used to have them in his conservatory.
ReplyDeleteSucculents are a necessity in my climate, Nikki!
DeletePerfect timing. In the ground and then nicely watered in. It's an exciting time of year when the garden centers are full of new plants. It sounds like you had a lovely day and was worth waiting for. Enjoy the weekend
ReplyDeleteYes, I took advantage of what may have been our last rain of the season. Our rainy season generally comes to a halt in April but then the predictions for the winter months were dead wrong ;)
DeleteI didn't know you had a garden website, Elaine. I've bookmarked it.
I do have one but unfortunately I rarely get in there to update it. Best laid plans.
DeleteIt's interesting to learn about what you're up to. I can understand the hassle of keeping the site updated. Blogging can interfere with doing at times too.
DeleteAlready planted even, you're good! I was out and about at nurseries south of town yesterday (including Little Prince) and brought home many new plants. It will be awhile before I get them in the ground though...
ReplyDeleteI don't usually plant things that quickly, Loree, but I wanted to take advantage of the then-pending rainstorm. I haven't been nearly as quick with the small plants I picked up on Thursday.
DeleteYou're getting me so excited for the growing season ahead, and now it's just around the corner for us. Your new plants are really special!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes forget that not all part of the country have plant nurseries and garden centers that operate year-round, Beth! I hope spring takes off for you soon.
DeleteMore rain?! Lucky you. I would have gone home with one of the wooden mushrooms, if it wasn't too expensive. For some reason, mushrooms are a weak spot in my "don't buy art" armor. Your Leucospermum cordifolium reminds me a bit of Bupleurum fruticosum in form. I know the flowers won't be the same, but sometimes we can get a similar effect in the garden from vastly different plants in completely different regions.
ReplyDeleteI paused over the wood mushrooms myself, Jerry. My biggest concern was that they wouldn't hold up in the garden itself - and I have some ceramic mushrooms already ;)
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