Sunset

Sunset at Palisades Park in Santa Monica..a great place to see gorgeous mature trees and dream of planting one!

Hanging gourds photo permission of Organicgreenroots.wordpress.com

And I’m hoping you have the answers:

• From Paul:  Where can I find the best selec­tion of fuch­sias in the L.A. area?

From Susan: I called the South Coast Fuchsia Society and found out the best time to buy fuchsias is in the Spring. They recommend Armstrong Garden Centers , a  chain of nurseries in Southern California, for fuchsias (www.armstronggarden.com).

• From Mario (This is an interesting one): I have a 47 ft sin­gle out­rig­ger sail­ing canoe which I am refur­bish­ing. I am look­ing for black bam­boo in the 6 – 8 inch diam­e­ter size for use as mast and booms. Any leads for such resource in the San Diego county area? Thanks.

From Susan: my  first call would be to Ralph Evans of Botanical Partners/Bamboo Headquarters under San Diego Nurseries on my website.

• From Dana: does any­body know who sells Cal­i­for­nia native and herbal plants? I am a stu­dent of the plan­e­tary her­bol­ogy and would like to find those plants and basi­cally plant them in my garden.

From Susan: You can try Theodore Payne Native Plants /Sun Valley under Los Angeles Nurseries on my website.

• From Patrick:  I like to buy some dragon plant at a nursery near San Diego — I am willing to drive. Thank you.

Any answers would be so appreciated — just go to comments at the bottom of this page, type your answers, and I will transfer them to this page!

Thanks,

Susan

Laura Eubanks’ pumpcullents

These pumpkin/succulent combinations were created last year by Laura Eubanks of Design for Serenity. I attended a workshop Laura taught and learned how easy it is to make these beautiful arrangements. They can last up to 9 months because the pumpkin is not cut. To find out how to make one google “lauras pumpkins” or enter the same on the right of my website, where the search box is. Either way you will get the tutorial. Laura is giving a workshop on Saturday, November 3 at Gardens by the Sea Nursery. Go to her website www.designforserenity.com to register.

A container photographed on my recent trip to Michigan

I get many questions by phone and email for Socalnurseryplants.com. Many people from foreign countries want to know where they can get seeds for exotic plants (I’m no help there!). Others have practical concerns and can be referred to experts on bamboo, succulents and the like. Then there are questions like Sarah’s below, which is quite specific. I’m hoping my wonderful readers, gardeners and nursery professionals alike will be able to participate in my new Q and A feature:

Hello Susan,

I’m a graduate student at UC Irvine, and I’m seeking some advice on nurseries and plants in general. I live on campus and have an unenclosed patio space. I want to keep my neighbors off my patio for privacy reasons (since we are not allowed to put up fences), and I would like to get some plants to block my neighbors from coming into my space, as well. I have been considering getting some reasonably sized cacti, but I know that this would not give me all the privacy I want (since my plants have to be potted and wouldn’t get that large). My patio is 10 feet by 3 feet. Do you have any plant recommendations that would cover that space, provide privacy and help prevent people from coming onto a patio, be able to be potted, and are reasonably priced? I know that is probably a tall order to fill, but if you had any ideas of what to buy and where I could buy it, I’d sincerely appreciate it.

A succulent planter…

SoCalNurseryPlants is undergoing some revamping, which is why you haven’t seen new posts lately. You can look forward to a question and answer forum with an easy to use format. Next week I’m off to the Dahlia Show in Michigan and Niagara Falls.

A lot of nurseries (Potted in Los Angeles, Deep Roots Garden Center in Manhattan Beach, Jackalope Pottery in No. Hollywood, to name a few) are open on Labor Day and having sales. So check out your local nursery and support the fact that they are not out playing on a national holiday, but staying open for you!!!

A Monkey Puzzle?

My love affair with trees continues. I could have easily built a tour around the trees we saw in Ireland! My favorite is the Monkey Puzzle Tree, pictured  above. It’s latin name, Araucaria araucana, is derived from the city of Arauco in Southern Chile, the area it is indigenous to. This conifer (cone-bearing) lives 100–200 years on average and some have been alive over 800 years, reaching heights of over 100 feet. Even the individual leaves can live 15 years.

Monkey puzzle trees have been used by the native people of Chile as a food — they have almond shaped seeds — and for ceremonial purposes. They will tolerate most well-drained soils and a cool, mild and humid climate, exactly what this one is getting in the Connemara area of Ireland. This beauty resides on the grounds of Ballynahinch Castle, in the west.

The leaves of the monkey puzzle tree

On the web:

• Theodore Payne Native Plants, East Valley; Saturday 6/28: Classes on native plant design and collecting, processing and saving native plant seed (www.theodorepayne.org)
• Jackalope Pottery, No. Hollywood, continues to offer some intriguing free classes (www.jackalopepotterynh.com)
• Tree of Life, San Juan Capistrano; Saturday 6/30: Customer appreciation day, 10% off plants all day + Free lunch! (not a misprint — www.californianativeplants.com)
• City Farmers Nursery, San Diego: sign up for the annual pumpkin/zucchini growing contest…www.cityfarmersnursery.com