As summer approaches our availability continues to grow. We have been busy propagating and potting. Check our June Inventory list for the latest. We hope you will come by and see for yourself. Open 7 days a week. Monday - Friday 9 - 5, Saturday and Sunday 10 -4.
Who doesn’t admire the magnificent Matilija Poppy? This much admired California native is blooming in gardens and landscapes now. Can be tricky to get it going, but once established it is stalwart. Requiring full sun and room to spread, this beauty carries huge white flowers with crinkly crepe-paper like petals surrounding a shaft of bright yellow stamens. We have some very nice one gallon plants available.
We have lots of sages (Salvia) now, both native and non-native. A must for the habitat garden, sages are magnets for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Offering many shapes, sizes and flower colors, there is a sage for every garden. The California native sages are quite drought tolerant once established and put on a beautiful floral display once a year. Their architectural seed stalks produce an abundance of seed relished by goldfinches and quail. Some non-native sages require more water, but for the most part are thrifty and tend to bloom over longer periods. With over a dozen sages in stock, there are too many to detail here. Come in and check out our large selection.
The buckwheats (Eriogonum) are becoming available too. Excellent candidates for the dry garden, buckwheats offer a diversity of growth habits, foliage and flower colors. The showy flowers are highly attractive to bees, butterflies and other pollinators and the seeds provide food for birds. We have four inch pots available now with gallons coming along in the next couple of weeks.
We are excited about a chance seedling of seaside daisy that germinated at the base of a decorative pot of Erigeron glaucus ‘Cape Sebastian’. It appears to be intermediate between ‘Cape Sebastian’ and another seaside daisy cultivar that we grow, ‘Bountiful’. It has a very nice habit, forming a compact mound, a little taller than the very low growing ‘Cape Sebastian’. The flowers are large and dark, much like ‘Bountiful’. Seaside daisies bloom over a long period and offer both nectar and pollen for pollinators. We think this seedling deserves a better cultivar name then “Cal Flora Seedling”. “Cape Bountiful’? Ideas anyone?
We grow a few different cultivars of the native coffee berry. Our crop of one gallon Rhamnus californica ‘Eve Case’ are looking good. This compact evergreen shrub grows 4-6 feet tall with handsome broad leaves and showy fruits. As the fruits ripen they go from yellow to orange to black and are enjoyed by birds. The tiny yellow flowers attract a wide array of pollinators. Versatile and adaptable, for sun to light shade. Drought tolerant once established but this cultivar is best with occasional summer water. Coffee berry does double duty in the garden, dependable landscaping subject and awesome habitat plant.
Elderberries are another excellent habitat plant. The western elderberry growing at the nursery is looking particularly wonderful this year. Loaded with huge flat-topped sprays of soft-yellow flowers which are abuzz with pollinators. The clusters of blue-black berries are relished by birds. Last year we enjoyed watching blue birds tugging at the clusters, feasting on the fruits. Elderberries grow fast. We have nice, full one gallons ready to plant.