Destination Garden Center

During peak garden seasons, I usually end up at my local garden center at least once every week or two.  Summer is not a peak gardening period; however, fall is the best time to work in the garden in coastal Southern California.  Although it's entirely possible that we'll have periodic heat spells for a time yet and we're unlikely to see any measurable rain until November, the shorter days and cooler nights make it less problematic to start planting.  When a friend and I made arrangements to meet for lunch in Orange County this week, she suggested the the Farmhouse restaurant at Roger's Gardens and I was agreeable (as she suspected I would be).  It gave me an opportunity to check out the inventory at one of SoCal's largest garden centers.  According to my records, I haven't visited Roger's Gardens since November 2022.  I'm not sure how that happened!  In any case, a visit was long overdue.

Halloween decorations are big business at Roger's so I wasn't surprised to see a focus on pumpkins and holiday decor.  I'll wait until October to cover the latter but it's not too early to talk about pumpkins.

This is a view of the main entrance

As soon as I walked in I saw a plethora of succulent-topped pumpkins.  They were pricey, as you may note on the tags attached to the 3 shown in closeups.

Pumpkins have displaced the seasonal plants that usually dominate the areas shown here

There's nowhere else I know of to find a wider selection of pumpkin varieties, however.  But even the "naked" pumpkins cost a pretty penny.

Roger's has themed gardens spread throughout its grounds, although I noted that a few were awaiting replanting.

The bird and butterfly garden is a little bare behind that mosaic

Vertical garden space covered in succulents

A small waterfall emptying into a pond

They've updated this waterwise garden since my last visit.  It's heavy on Mangaves and Westringia 'Morning Light'.

This is another, less flashy waterwise garden space

I think this is the only time I've seen this demonstration garden without plants in the 20+ years I've visited.  They seem to be in the process of setting up the miniature train that's a central feature of the Christmas holiday display.  The year-end holiday decorations are due to be revealed in early October.

I checked out a wide variety of plant displays.

These obviously aren't plants but they caught my attention.  Our backyard fountain was out of commission for a time in July and August and we were considering replacements but I couldn't find anything I liked at the time and my husband managed to repair the one we have.  If we do replace it at some point, I'd like something simple and streamlined like those shown here.

I was actually more interested in some indoor plants than most of the outdoor plants I saw during this visit

The container plants are attractive but I prefer to put together my own combinations

Roger's has expanded its succulent plant collection over the years.  The 'Sun Glow' Agaves shown on the right practically screamed at me but at $300 I tuned them out.

Overhead view of the lower area of the garden center

Surprisingly, I didn't find any shrubs or perennials I couldn't live without to fill the empty spots in my garden, although I spotted a few things to consider further after lunch with my friend.  I headed to the Farmhouse to meet up with her.

Views of the Farmhouse from the outside.  The seating is in an open air setting, perfect for a 3 hour lunch!

I rarely leave a garden center empty-handed and this visit was no exception.  Nothing I purchased was anything I "needed" but then that seldom makes a difference.

I purchased 5 plants.  The orchid was a splurge.  Clockwise from the upper left: Asplenium 'Hurricane', Celosia 'Twisted Yellow', Helianthus 'Sunfinity', a 6-pack of Nasturtium 'Alaska', and an Oncidium.  The fern, Celosia, and orchid all found a home in my lath house.

Finally, here are shots I took in the parking lot and along the beds bordering the street.

This stretch of plants along the driveway entrance was simple but very attractive.  Aloes, Westringia ('Morning Light' again) and Lantana dominate the space but there were some Leucadendrons backing up those plants.

I was surprised at how much I liked the orange pumpkins dotting what I recall was red-flowered Vinca (left).  Phormiums and Leucadendrons dotted the parking medians (right).

The area surrounding the gazebo was packed with large succulents the last time I visited but there are clearly new plans for planting the area.  I didn't take time to survey the area there or along the street but I was struck once again by the widespread use of Westringia.  I also noted what I think was Chondropetalum. Lomandra, and the repetitious use of Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light'.

I may try to make another trip to Roger's in early November in the hope they'll have restocked their plant shelves but, once the Christmas trees arrive arrive before Thanksgiving, plant shopping will come to an abrupt stop until the holiday season is over.

My thoughts are with all those in the path of Hurricane Helene this weekend.  Stay safe!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party