Let me help you find a nursery in the Southern California & Los Angeles areas.
Glorious Gardens Landscape: a succulent destination
Glorious Gardens Nursery
Anyone who has known me for more than a minute soon realizes I have an obsession with succulents. It seems as if the rest of the world is joining me — hence we have more succulentcentric nurseries such as Glorious Gardens Landscape. Located in Leucadia in San Diego just off the 5 freeway, Glorious Gardens Landscape may carry the largest variety of succulents, cacti and tillandsia in San Diego County. Started by landscape designers Emma Almendarez and Linda Fox 2 years ago, they specialize in the unusual, whimsical and unique. Customers can select plants and pots and the nursery will plant them while you wait. They are going to be offering classes; the first will be in February and will demonstrate glass blowing. Go to their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gloriousgardens) to see their landscape projects. (www.agloriousgarden.com)
By the way, I know it’s painful for my east coast/midwest readers to see be able to look and not touch these succulents year round. While it’s always best to support your local nursery, in a pinch the West Elm (www.westelm.com) website is offering boxes of very interesting smaller succulents for sale. They also have information on planting a terrarium.
How to repurpose your used vehicle.…On the web:
Sales:
- Plant Depot/San Juan Capistrano has an internet coupon thru 3⁄16 for $10.00 on a 50.00 purchase. (www.plantdepot.com)
- Sheridan Gardens Nursery/Burbank starts a Superbowl Saturday sale today — 25% off almost everything (www.sheridangardens.com)
On the web:
Saturday, 2⁄4:
- Annual Camelia Festival @ Descanso Gardens/La Canada/Flintridge: Come and see the largest camellia collection in North America in full bloom. Also: Faery tours of the enchanted forest, walk and talk, tea time and more. (www.descanso gardens and more)
- Theodore Payne Foundation/Sun Valley: “Natives: The big picture” with Lisa Novich (www.theodorepayne.org)
- Los Angeles Arboretum/Arcadia: Pacific Rose Society Annual Auction (www.arboretum.org)
Cloud Hedges
An English cloud hedge with a Japanese ladder from Niwaki.
Now that I’ve discovered “cloud” hedges, the green blobs that hedges have been to me in the past are no longer a necessary evil. Belgian designer Jacques Wirtz has brought this style to public consciousness, although variations have been around forever, especially in Asia. This horticultural manipulation requires patience, a building block of the gardener’s arsenal. Mature plants are needed to sculpt into the valleys and peaks of cloud hedges.The words “courage and insanity” have been used to describe the process in the beginning, but it seems to pay off in the end. Or in the immortal words of Phyllis McGinley: the trouble with gardening is that it does not remain an avocation. It becomes an obsession.
For more information go to www.jakehobson.com; for tools, www.niwaki.com.
USA!">Nifty gifts.….Made in the USA!
Thigamotrope Satellites with Air Plants from Flora Grubb
Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco is selling this little gizmo at www.floragrubb.com. From their website:
Thigmotrope Satellite is the easiest way to make a vertical garden indoors. Just screw it in the wall and your tillandsias have a stylish new home. Thigmotrope Satellite is a steel tripod with a threaded base, designed to be a screw-in perch for tillandsia air plants.
These can be purchased with or without the tillandsia. Tillandsia, aka air plants, don’t require soil and have very modest water and light requirements. For more information on tillandsia go to www.airplantsupply.com.
A close up thigamotrope
You may remember the gorgeous “Pumpculents” designed by Laura Eubanks of San Diego and featured on Socalnurseryplants.com in October (see Archives — San Diego Nurseries-Laura’s pumpkins). Laura is at it again with these innovative succulent ornaments. She also is carrying holiday pumpkins. Her website is www.design4serenity.com.
A Christmas ornament from Laura Eubanks
On the Web:
Australian Native Plants Nursery (Ojai) is featuring a very beautiful plant this week called Eucalyptus “Moon Lagoon”. Owner Jo O’Connell also has a new shipment of books for holiday gifting. Check out her website by clicking on the button to the right.
Attention: Palm and Cycad lovers: Owner Phil Bergman of Jungle Music (Encinitas) is offering a very desirable selection of palms and cycads, many of them new to his nursery. Some are collectable; there are cold tolerant plants on offer. Phil is very helpful to beginners and will make sure you get the right plant for your needs. He is also well known to collectors, and carries specimens from all over the world. Go to www.junglemusic.net (619−291−4605) for photos and info.
College of Charleston
C of C campus
The first leg of my September trip to the Low Country was booked through Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostel — I really love their new name). Road Scholar is a nonprofit tour company dedicated to “lifelong learning”. They have a mouthwatering array of trips in their catalog, many involving some type of volunteering. My Charleston leg was orchestrated by the College of Charleston, a very old (1770) and wonderful public liberal arts and sciences school. We stayed in a lovely hotel, the Francis Marion, and ate our meals in the student dining room. That was so much fun; carbo loading and enjoying the high energy of the students. In the morning we would hear talks given by experts on the history of the Civil War, Charleston, cooking, music and more; afternoons were devoted to sightseeing. Many of our group had enjoyed 6 or more trips with RS. I would have to give Road Scholar and College of Charleston an “A” for my experience!
The C of C campus has amazing old oaks
On the web:
Australian Native Plant Nursery has a new shipment of books from…Australia! Click on their website to the right of this post.
Thursday, November 10: Huntington Gardens (huntington.org) Talk and sale on Native Trees for Native Gardens by Lili Singer
Saturday, November 12:
- Descanso Gardens (Descansogardens.org) La Canada: Flower Market Tour, Fruit tree pruning and Fall color walk
- San Diego Botanic Garden (sdbgarden.org) San Diego County: Bromeliad Bash
- Theodore Payne Native Plants and Flowers (theodorepayne.org) Sun valley: Irrigation 101 and Native Plant Horticulture
