Flora Grubb & San Francisco
Neil
8 years ago
Thanks to Andy from our GW Forum, I paid a visit to the Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco this past week. I've heard about it for a long time now and have always wanted to go so, thank you Andy for reminding me about it!!
What an awesome nursery! Thought i'd died and gone to heaven : )
The prices were a lot more than in San Diego but, I couldn't help myself and bought something or 2 or 3...! Hope everyone enjoys the pics and share their own experiences with this garden.
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Critique my design and suggest Z9 plants!
Comments (6)I think you have a couple of options to take. You can take advantage that you live in one of the richest horticultural growing areas in the world and have a drop dead gorgeous garden of unique plants in a harmonious layout OR you can go the way of a paint by numbers garden design using tried and true plants that are considered easy care ( boxwood, agapanthus, dietes , yawn, yawn yawn. ) OR you can bump it up a notch and plant a few eye catching horticultural treats mixed with some every day easy care plants that are arranged artfully. I have an identical house to yours with the addition of a simple picket fence and gate that encloses the front garden ( to keep my dog safely inside). In the front small bed that borders the porch I planted a queen palm , a bouganvillea and a leucospermum cordifolia as the main characters and have an underplanting of succulents. It is an extremely low maintenance garden area but the seasonal color, textures and forms are always interesting ( one of the reasons it has been published several times by several different magazines and books) If you are located anywhere near Berkeley try to take a look at a nursery called The Dry Garden - wonderful plant selection . And if you really want your horticultural and garden design socks blown off, check out Flora Grubb nursery in San Francisco. You'll be totally inspired beyond a stick tree, some green groundcover and two loli-pops garnished with boxwood....See Moresierra conifers in san francisco
Comments (6)YES, check out Tilden in Berkley. Great native garden. Though I live in So. Cal (near the beach) I've been successful in growing native White Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Jeffrey Pine, Pinon Pine, and Sugar Pine. They don't get as big as their counterparts in our mountains, but they are healthy. I collected the seed myself from our local San Bernardino mountains or obtained local sources and the trees have acclimated to my sea-level environment. I have sandy soil, so it drains well, and I don't have problems with rot like in clay soil. I think growing native plants is by choice. With temperate climates, or even Mediterranean climates here in California, so many people plant non-native trees and shrubs. Frankly, with our water shortage, more people should start growing native flora. Summer watering doesn't become a problem anymore....See MoreDriest Growing Epiphytic Gesneriads?
Comments (18)"Real" trees aren't necessary...shrubs can work and so can bonsais. I even attached an orchid to the trunk of my Echeveria. Oh no...you've definitely tempted me to order those Agapetes species from Bovees. Or...I guess I could just wait for yours to get bigger so that we might trade cuttings. Regarding the Dry Garden Nursery...the Agapetes you described sounds exactly like the one I purchased from them last week. So it's not there anymore...unless they already replaced it. I'm not familiar with Philesias...but I looked them up and they do look pretty neat. My friend is from Chile...perhaps I'll ask her about bringing back some seeds....See MoreOT: Non-Passiflora photos
Comments (11)Where did Eric go? A few more pictures, all taken today. The first one is actually a plant from Eric and Crystal--the first bloom on a Cuphea cyanea that they gave me cuttings of: I really like this plant, so when I saw a bigger one for sale at Flora Grubb in SF (for $6, I think), I had to get it. It is also doing well (except for the part I stepped on): The Fuchsia boliviana Alba I showed in bud earlier has started blooming: (to get an idea of the size of these guys, an individual flower starting at the top of the tiny fruit down to the bottom is about 3.5 inches long). These are just young buds of Aristolochia trilobata (also called A. macroura). The tails get a foot long. I've heard some varieties have tails up to 3 feet long (and I love to get one of those). Sometimes I like the small, simple ones. This is Physalis peruviana, a plant not grown for its flowers, but its fruit. It is also known as Cape Gooseberry and is closely related to the Tomatillo. From the Andes, but I don't remember exactly where....See MoreNeil
8 years ago
Me on Lombard Street, supposedly the crookedest street in the world. But, so what, look at the fantastic garden-scape! Hope everyone liked my pics.
Neil
8 years ago
bernardyjh
8 years ago
DavidL.ca
8 years ago
aloebot
8 years ago
kmarti8
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoNeil
8 years ago
stonetreehouse
8 years agoNeil
8 years agoNeil
8 years ago
Plantspace (5a)
8 years agoNeil
8 years agostonetreehouse
8 years agostanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
8 years ago
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