Archive for the ‘West Valley Nurseries’ Category

My home office

It seems that the peo­ple who would most love to access the gar­den­ing web — you and I — some­times have the hard­est time. Web flu­ency does not come nat­u­rally to those of us over a cer­tain age. But that shouldn’t stop anybody…we are all teach­able and it is so empow­er­ing to learn com­puter skills — I can attest to that. I have been told that the tablet type com­put­ers — such as the Ipad and Android — are eas­ier and intu­itive for email­ing and web surf­ing. Apple is very good at teach­ing their cus­tomers how to use their prod­ucts at free sem­i­nars at the Apple stores. Def­i­nitely worth look­ing into! Iron­i­cally, if you are read­ing this you are obvi­ously on the inter­net already; maybe you could encour­age some­body else? The fol­low­ing are favorite nurs­ery web­sites, gar­den­ing web­sites and blogs:

Web­sites:

SoCal​Nurs​ery​Plants​.com:

Spe­cialty nurseries:

Ven­tura County:

• Aus­tralian Native Plant Nurs­ery.….www​.aus​tralian​plants​.com
• Matil­ija Nurs­ery.….www​.matil​i​ja​nurs​ery​.com (natives, spe­cial­iz­ing in irises)
• Nopal­ito Native Plant Nurs­ery.….www​.nopali​tonurs​ery​.com
• Otto and Sons.….www​.ottoand​sons​-nurs​ery​.com (a lov­ing grower of every kind of rose)

Los Angeles/​East Valley:

• Cal­i­for­nia Cac­tus Cen­ter.….www​.cac​tus​cen​ter​.com
• Theodore Payne Foun­da­tion.….www​.theodor​e​payne​.org (native plants)

Los Angeles/​West Valley

• Papaya Tree Nurs­ery.…..www​.papay​a​treenurs​ery​.com (spe­cial­iz­ing in fruit­ing trees and shrubs)

Los Angeles

• Rolling Greens Nursery/​Culver City.….www​.rolling​green​snurs​ery​.com (orchids, indoor plants, containers)
• Ran­cho Santa Ana Botan­i­cal Gar­dens Grow Native Nurs­ery @ the West Los Ange­les Vet­er­ans Cen­ter.….www​.rsabg​.org (native plants)

Orange County:

• Tree of Life Nurs­ery.…www​.cal​i​for​ni​a​na​tive​plants​.com (native plants)
• Upland Nurs­ery.…www​.upland​nurs​ery​.com (350 vari­eties of plumeria)
• Laguna Nurs­ery.….www​.lagu​na​nurs​ery​.net (unusual foun­tains and antiques)
• Bar­rels and Branches.….www​.bar​rel​sand​branches​.com (Espe­cially good sea­sonal displays)

San Diego County

Cedros Gar­dens.….www​.cedros​gar​dens​.com (spe­cial native plant section)

• Botan­i­cal Partners/​Bamboo Head­quar­ters.….www​.botan​i​cal​part​ners​.com (experts on bamboo)
• Pearson’s Gar­dens and Herb Farm.….www​.pear​son​s​gar​dens​.com (every kind of herb imaginable)
• Buena Creek Gar­dens.…www​.bue​nacreek​gar​dens​.com (demon­stra­tion gardens)
• Green Gar­dens Nurs­ery.….www​.sdgreen​gar​dens​.com (great ser­vice and­land­scap­ing help)
• Simpson’s Gar­den Town Nurs­ery.….www​.simp​son​snurs​ery​.com (includes avin­tage car museum)

Great Regional Nurseries:

Ven­tura County:

• Island View Nurs­ery.….www​.island​viewnurs​ery​.com
• Sea­side Gar­dens.….www​.sea​side​-gar​dens​.com

Los Angeles/​East Valley

• Burkard Nurs­ery.….www​.burkard​nurs​eries​.com

Los Angeles/​West Valley

• Sper­ling Nurs­ery.….www​.sper​lingnurs​ery​.com

Los Ange­les

• Marina del Rey Gar­den Cen­ter.….www​.mari​na​gar​den​cen​ter​.com

Orange County

• Roger’s Gar­dens.….www​.rogers​gar​dens​.com
• Plant Depot.….www​.plant​de​pot​.com
• Vil­lage Nurs­eries.….www​.vil​la​genurs​erieslc​.com

San Diego County

• Anderson’s La Costa Nurs­ery.….www​.ander​son​sla​costa​nurs​ery​.com
• Wal­ter Ander­sen Nurs­ery.….www​.wal​teran​der​sen​.com

More Web­sites

www​.blotan​i​cal​.com.….gar­den blogs from all over the world

www​.sun​set​.com.….includes Sun­set Mag­a­zines “plant finder”

www​.fine​gar​den​ing​.com.….includes arti­cles from the magazine

www​.authen​ticprovence​.com.….beau­ti­ful Euro­pean gar­den accessories

www​.flor​agrubb​.com.….great ideas for con­tain­ers and flower arrangements

www​.gar​den​visit​.com.….gar­dens to visit from all over the world

www​.back​yardgar​dener​.com/​f​o​r​ums.….forums on every topic imaginable

www​.dirt​cou​ture​.com.….cat­a­log of hand­made items

www​.gar​den​guides​.com.….every­thing garden

www​.cal​-IPC​.org.….info on inva­sive plants

www​.rar​eforms​.com.….where food,art and gar­den­ing meet — great photos

www​.ros​alind​creasy​.com.….edi­ble land­scap­ing — great photos

www​.plant​na​tive​.org.….info on native planting

www​.thewil​low​farm​.com.….every­thing wil­low includ­ing fencing

www​.straw​bale​gar​dens​.com.….how to make a straw bale garden

www​.gar​den​con​ser​vancy​.com.….source for info on Open Days gar­den tours

www​.mas​ter​gar​den​erssandiego​.com.….access to services

www​.plantfinder​.sun​set​.com.….Sun­set Mag­a­zine plantfinder

www​.mon​rovia​.com.….search their plant cat­a­log using spe­cific criteria

Blogs

(n.) Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a pub­licly acces­si­ble per­sonal jour­nal for an indi­vid­ual. Often updated daily, blogs may reflect the per­son­al­ity of the author. Blogs are dif­fer­ent from web­sites as the con­tent changes fre­quently based on when the writer pub­lishes their post, or con­tent. These are some of my favorite gar­den­ing blogs:

www​.far​m​girl​fare​.com

www​.freshdirt​.com (Sun­set Magazine)

www​.chance​ofrain​.com

www​.urban​gar​dens​.com

www​.acces​so​ra​tor​.com

www​.mich​blog​ging​.blogspot​.com

www​.gar​den​rant​.com

www​.dirt​du​jour​.com

www​.ram​blingLA​.blogspot​.com

www​.the​gal​lop​ing​gar​dener​.blogspot​.com (gar­den travel)

www​.whiteon​rice​cou​ple​.com

Kan­ga­roo paw flower

I would like to wel­come a new adver­tiser to the web­site: Aus­tralian Native Plant Nurs­ery. I was in Ojai last week­end and had to stop by; this nurs­ery is a ver­i­ta­ble smörgås­bord for plants lovers. I didn’t know much about Aus­tralian plants until I started my web­site, although I have always admired pro­teas and kan­ga­roo paws. Owned by Aus­tralian hor­ti­cul­tur­ist Jo O’Connell, the prop­erty is resplen­dent with “new and diverse plant mate­r­ial for drought prone areas” and ded­i­cated to “hardy, drought tol­er­ant, cut flower pro­duc­ing and bird attract­ing” plants. A great exam­ple would be the pop­u­lar kan­ga­roo paw, or Anigozan­thos “Royal Cheer”, above. They are part of the 7% of earth’s life forms found on the vast and iso­lated con­ti­nent of Australia.

Jo has a ter­rific web­site, with lots of pho­tos and con­tent. I asked her about ship­ping, never hav­ing been brave enough to order a plant online. The prices include ship­ping UPS in a sturdy box with the plant securely anchored and packed in peanuts. The fol­low­ing nurs­eries (all on my web­site) also carry her plants: Sea­side Gar­dens (Ven­tura Nurs­eries) www​.sea​side​-gar​dens​.com; Rib­bet Tree and Plant Nurs­ery, (West Val­ley Nurs­eries) www​.rib​bet​tree​and​plant​.com; Vil­lage Nurs­eries (San Diego Nurs­eries) www​.vil​la​genurs​eries​.com and Bar­rels and Branches Nursery,(San Diego Nurs­eries) www​.bar​rel​sand​branches​.com. You can click on the ad on the top right of my web­site to go directly to Aus​tralian​plants​.com.

And yes, the plant is named for the kan­ga­roo paw it resembles.….

the claws on the kan­ga­roo paw flower

On the web:

Mas­ter Gar­dener Hot­line: gar­den­ing ques­tions answered by trained vol­un­teers Mon­day — Fri­day 9am — 3pm @ (858) 694‑2860 /​www​.mas​ter​gar​den​erssandiego​.org

Also, to get gar­den­ing events, go to http://​www​.paci​fi​chor​ti​cul​ture​.org/​c​a​l​e​n​d​ar/ and click on South­ern California.

Sat­ur­day, March 26:

• San Diego Hor­ti­cul­tural Soci­ety Gar­den Tour, 9am — 4pm /www.sdhortsoc.org/
• Des­canso Gardens/​Outdoor Bar­beque, 11am — 3pm in the pic­nic area, by Patina Restau­rant Group, thru May 8 /​www​.des​can​sog​a​r​dens​.org/
• Nopal­ito Native Plant Nursery/Ventura:Succulent Wreath Work­shop, 10am — 12pm/www.Nopalitonursery.com

Sun­day, March 27

• The Theodore Payne Foun­da­tion for Wild­flow­ers and Native Plants Spring Plant Sale and Festival/​8:30am — 4:30 pm/www.theodorepayne.org/

Alex and his caper berry tree

If you go visit Alex, owner of Papaya Tree Nurs­ery in Granada Hills, plan to be trans­ported into his mag­i­cal king­dom, aka his back yard! Noth­ing is as it seems in his realm; there is the mango tree with 7 dif­fer­ent vari­eties grafted onto it, the banana clus­ter with the dove nest on top…not to be picked until the babies were gone…best bananas I ever had! He has spe­cial cherry trees that bear fruit in warm cli­mates (very rare) and and caper berry trees for the purist who must pickle their own! Alex actu­ally does a lot of busi­ness with chefs and cooks. He is an expert on graft­ing and prun­ing. He can also design a scented gar­den. All this knowl­edge and the nurs­ery comes from his father, an engi­neer who started the enter­prise 26 years ago. He is obvi­ously a favorite with the Cal­i­for­nia Rare Fruit Grow­ers — LA chap­ter. And the SoCal Che­r­i­moya Soci­ety. Oh, you never heard of them? What about the East Indian curry leaf tree.….….Oh, and you could have a nice lit­tle meal at his nurs­ery, just sam­pling the fruit.

Best bananas ever — can you see the dove nest on top?

Papaya Tree Nurs­ery (www​.papay​a​treenurs​ery​.com) 12422 El Oro Way, Granada Hills, CA 91344 (818) 363‑3680 (always call first), 7 days a week, 8am to 6pm, accepts Visa and Mastercard.

Otto and Sons rose nurs­ery in Ven­tura County

Nurs­ery geek — that would be me. I’m proud of it too –gave me the idea for SoCal​Nurs​ery​Plants​.com! Over the last year I’ve vis­ited almost every nurs­ery out of the 141 nurs­eries on my web­site. I plan to see them all. The list below is just for fun; feel free to con­tact me and add to it! Or you can add a com­ment that will be seen by thou­sands of readers.

In no par­tic­u­lar order, nurs­eries that are the:

• Old­est : As far as I can tell, that would be Mis­sion Hills Nurs­ery (100+ years), in the San Diego sec­tion, fol­lowed by Belle­fontaine Nurs­ery (70+ years) and San Gabriel Nurs­ery (80+ years), both in the East Val­ley section.
• Most well known: Roger’s Gar­dens in New­port Beach.
• Biggest: My guess is Simpson’s Gar­den Town Nurs­ery @ 25 acres –also includes a car museum; in the San Diego section.
• Small­est: Laguna Hills Nurs­ery, because Gary Matouska is sell­ing out of his house: go to www​.lagu​nahill​snurs​ery​.com.
• Most unique: Eden Top­i­ary Nurs­ery: mostly top­i­ary, and M and M Nurs­ery: minia­ture and rail­road enthu­si­asts, both in the Orange County section.
• Most spe­cial­ized: Otto and Sons for all things rose, in the Ven­tura sec­tion and Nuccio’s Nurs­eries for camelias and azealias (East Valley).
• Nurs­ery with the most vari­eties of any one plant: West­er­lay Orchids: all orchids — in the Ven­tura sec­tion; Upland Nurs­ery has over 350 vari­eties of plume­ria; in the Orange County section.
• Num­ber of nurs­eries (that I have been able to locate) in each county/​area: Ven­tura — 13, East val­ley– 20, West Val­ley — 8, Mal­ibu — 3, Los Ange­les — 16 (does not include branches of Arm­strong and Anawalt — they are counted once), South Bay — 13, Orange County — 22, San Diego County — 21.
• My favorite nurs­ery: I’ll never tell; what’s yours? Tell me why and I’ll put it in a post!

FYI: I’m very for­tu­nate to be an attendee and a ven­dor at the Pacific Hor­ti­cul­ture Sym­po­sium Sep­tem­ber 23 — 26 at the Los Ange­les Arbore­tum in Arca­dia, CA. Titled Gar­den­ing under the Mediter­ranean Skies VIII: Style and Whim­sey in the Sus­tain­able Gar­den, this sym­po­sium is packed with infor­ma­tive talks, work­shops and gar­den tours. I will be shar­ing my expe­ri­ences and pho­tos in the com­ing weeks. There is still some last minute space; if you are inter­ested con­tact Susi Torre-​Bueno @ (760) 295‑2173 (after ⁹⁄₂₁ reach her at (619) 977‑0584) or go to the web­site @ www​.Paci​fi​chor​ti​cul​ture​.org/​e​d​u​c​a​t​i​o​n​-​e​v​e​nts.