SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 7
I will be on holiday for our traditional Bloom Day event so I am posting a few days early.
On this warm September evening there is still a lot of plants blooming in my garden despite the fact that it is a garden designed with foliage in mind and not flower power.
Many of the succulents are in bloom as well as Tibouchinas, Abutilons, Iochromas, Daturas, Brugmansias , Passifloras, Bougainvillaea and Ginger's.
Here are a few samplings from my Northern California garden.
Bulbinella - a vivacious succulent - If you are a gardener and want job security, then plant this plant !
A Datura juxtaposed against a Canna Pretoria leaf
Bromeliads are also showing a lot of color
Bromeliad
A white Passiflora - there are also several ripe fruits on the vine too.
The last couple of days I have spent scoping out several garden nurseries.
I am ramping up for a planting project and I like to go to the nurseries before I design the planting plan so that I know what is in stock .
I also enjoy the inspiration too.
This photo below was taken at Cottage Garden Growers in Petaluma.
It is a retail nursery but provides a small discount to professionals in the trade.
I like this nursery a lot because it is so beautifully designed and laid out.
I also like and admire the owners who have worked their butts off to get the nursery where it is today.
The succulent area
One of the nursery owners has a penchant for succulents and is extremely creative.
Here he has taken a bird bath and has planted it with succulents.
And another one
There is a beautifully designed raised bed adjacent to the succulent area in the nursery that has a very cool underwater garden scene.
It is planted with succulents, restios, native flowers , perennials and drought tolerant shrubs.
Woven into the tapestry of foliage a school of core ten metal fish swim.
The two photographs below show my most frequented wholesale nursery, Landscapes Unlimited in Petaluma CA.
I have been purchasing plants from this nursery for about 20 years and have always had professional friendly service .
The staff is exceptionally caring and goes the extra mile in assiting landscapers by brokering in plants that they do not grow themselves.
This view below shows one tiny section of the nursery - the one gallon size perennial section
This nursery is so big that you drive your car through the isles when pulling your own plants.
As mentioned above, it is a wholesale nursery, and a strict one at that. If you do not have your C-27 license or landscape architectural license you cannot purchase from this nursery.
Happy Bloom days all !
Michelle
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2 comments:
Oh, I bought some succulents at Cottage Garden Growers last year. I remember that place because we got lost on the way there and had to stop in a bar to ask for directions. I am forever getting lost as soon as I get off 101 in the North Bay.
Wow. It's easy to get bowled away by a trade nursery so big that you have to drive through the blooms to pull plants... but the succulents place was much more impressive IMHO. Great layout, great merchandising, great ideas, and it looks like a fun, low-stress place to shop to boot.
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