Mindy, I've seen programs and videos on the Bancroft garden but have never visited personally - northern CA isn't exactly on my usual travel route, unfortunately :-) It does look amazing and I will make plans to visit should I ever be in the Bay area. My last visit to SoCal (my sister lives there) included a trip to Palm Springs and a visit to the Moorten Botanical Garden. This little place will never make a top ten list but is a labor of love of the Moorten family and includes some very impressive succulent and cactus specimens. I will always hold the vision of an enormous - it was easily 12' across from tip to tip - variegated century plant (agave) in my memory. They also propagate assorted succulents for sale and you'd be surprised what I managed to pack into my carry-on baggage to tote home with me!! Unfortunately my significantly damper PNW climate makes growing many of these plants a challenge, certainly to any significant size at the very least, but I do have a nice collection growing on that live indoors during our wet (and much colder) winters. You can always tell a serious gardener by the "must-see" attractions they include on any vacations :-)) Forget the museums and art galleries -- we go for the gardens and arboretums!! Here is a link that might be useful: Moorten Botanical Garden

And to ensure that y'all accept no substitutes, only the real deal, here she is with a few of our favourite things.

Delospermas can take some frost. I am very impressed with Delopserum Nubigenum for its neat and tidy low habit, spreads reasonably fast, propagates easily and takes our wet winters. So impressed that I planted other delospermas, "Fire Spinner" seems equally impressive but hasn't done a winter yet. D. Floribunda has been more rangey. (Annies Annuals is having a 25% off sale right now, which carry several, and many other succulents) Agaves that are reputed to be able to take wet and cold winters include Agave parryis, harvardiana, montana, scabra, americanas... I have many different agaves and so far have had good luck over just 1-2 winters. I keep the most vulnerable ones in pots. San Marcos Growers is a great online resource to look up succulent cold tolerance and plant information in general. Sempervivums can take cold and wet, but need a bit of shade in summer. Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate by Gwen Moore Kelaidis is a great book, and Timber Press has a newer book which I haven't seen yet on succulents for cold climates. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is having their annual sale next Sat., 30% off, a good place to meet other succulent fanatics, and gleen lots of info and inspiration. I wish I could go, but have other plans. You can create warmer microcilimates by planting trees, shrubs... Enjoy! Here is a link that might be useful: San Marcos Growers

northern california nurseries and gardens to visit For some reason, the faq upload will not allow websites. To get around this, I have substituted (dot) for the . that would normally be in a web address- you will have to change it back to make the web adddress work. Alden Lane Nursery 981 Alden Lane, Livermore (952) 447-0280 Aldenlane(dot)comDaily 8:30-5:00 Very large nursery with above average stock Amador Flower Farm 22001 Shenandoah School Road, Plymouth (209) 245-6660 Amadorflowerfarm(dot)comOpen 7 days a week9:00 am to 4:00 pm Wonderful demonstration gardens, primarily daylilies Annies Annuals Market St., Richmond- see website for directions (510) 215-1326 Anniesannuals(dot)com Wednesdays thru Sundays 10:00AM 4:00 PM Incredible selection of unique perennials and annuals Bamboo Sourcery 666 Wagnon Rd., Sebastopol (707) 823-5866 Shakuhachi(dot)com/B-Sourcerycall for appt. World class collection of bamboos BeniciaGardens Nursery 126 East E Street Benicia (707) 747-9094 Beniciagarden(dot)com10 to 5closed Tuesday Above average nursery with interesting stock Berkeley Horticultural Nursery 1305 McGee Ave Berkeley (510) 526-4704 Berkeleyhort(dot)comHours:8:30 to 5:00 Closed Thursday Many unusual plants, display garden, tropicals BlakeGardens 70 Rincon Rd., Kensington (510) 524-2449 Laep(dot)ced(dot)berkeley(dot)edu/ laep/blakegarden/index(dot)htmlMonday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm Beautiful formal garden owned by UCB Bushnells Nursery 5255 Douglas Blvd., GraniteBay (916) 791-4199 Bushnellgardens(dot)comOpen Spring-Summer, Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-5pm, Fall-Winter: Mon-Sun 9am-5pm Large nursery with above average stock California Flora Nursery Nursery is located at the intersection of Somers and D streets in Fulton (707) 528-8813 Calfloranursery(dot)com Monday - Friday 9 - 5 Summer Hours only: Saturday & Sunday 10 - 4 Exceptional stock, demonstration garden Canyon Creek Nursery 3527 Dry Creek Road, Oroville (530) 533-2166 Canyoncreeknursery(dot)com call to make an appt. for visiting Demonstration garden Capitol Nursery 4700 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento (916) 455-2601 Capitalnursery(dot)com Open 7 days/wk, April-October 8:30 am-6pm, Nov-March 8:30am-5:30pm Large nursery with above average stock Chalk Hill Clematis 11720 Chalk Hill Rd., Healdsburg (707) 433-8416 chalkhillclematis(dot)com/menu.html Wed.-Fri., 10am - 4pm. Everything Clematis CottageGarden Growers 3995 Emerald Dr., Petaluma (707) 778-8025 Cottagegardensofpet(dot)com 10 - 5 Daily Good reputation Digging Dog Nursery Albion (707) 937-1130 Diggingdog(dot)com visit by appt. only Unusual Stock EastBay Nursery 2332 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley (510) 845-6490 eastbaynursery(dot)com8:30 - 5:00, Tuesday - Saturday Large nursery with above average stock ElizabethGambleGarden 1431 Waverley St.,Palo Alto (650) 329-1356 gamblegarden(dot)org/ open every day during daylight hours Lovely garden on alarge residential lot Emerisa Nursery 555 Irwin Lane, Santa Rosa (707) 525-9644 emerisa(dot)com March to daylight savings in fall: M-F, 8-5 and Sat, 9-1 Daylight savings in fall to March: M-F, 8-4 and Sat, 9-1 Wonderful display gardens and stock FiLoLi 86 Cañada Road, Woodside (650) 364-8300 x507 Tuesday through Saturday, from February 8 to October 29, 2005, between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:30 pm $12. admissionfiloli(dot)org Estate garden in the grand style Geraniacea 122 Hillcrest Ave., Kentfield (415) 461-4168 geraniaceae(dot)com call for an appt. All things geranium Golden Pond Nursery 3275 Sierra College Blvd. Loomis (916) 652-5459 Open April thru October Fri, Sat, Sun10-4 Lovely display ponds and garden HakoneGardens 21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga (408) 741-4994  hakone(dot)comWeekdays 10am - 5pm; Weekends 11am - 5pmAdmission charge Huge, once private garden run by foundation Half MoonBay Nursery 11691 San Mateo Rd., HalfMoonBay (415) 726-5392 daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Good reputation Happy Frog Nursery 15386 Little Valley Rd., GrassValley (530) 273-3764   Large nursery with nice stock HaywardJapaneseGardens 22373 N. Third St. at Crescent, Hayward (510) 881-6700 Daily 10 to 4 Tranquil well landscaped garden Japanese Tea Garden at Central Park El Camino Real and 5th Avenue, San Mateo (650) 522-7440 Mon to Fri, 10am - 4pm; Sat and Sun, 11am - 4pm  Large, lovely garden Japanese Tea Gardens at Golden GatePark Tea Garden Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, S.F. (415) 831-2700  Open daily, hours vary by season; usually 8:30am to 5 or 6pm  Admission charge 5 acre stroll garden LakeMerritJapaneseGardens 666 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland   Mon-Fri 10-3Sat-Sun 10-4 In Lakeside park around LakeMerrit Small but high quality garden Lakes Nursery 8435 Crater Hill Rd,.Newcastle (530) 885-1027 lakesnursery(dot)comDaily 9-5 Vast selection of Japanese Maples Lotus Nursery 5606 Petersen Ln. Lotus (530) 622-2321   Gorgeous display garden MagicGardens 729 Heinz Ave., Berkeley (510) 644-2351 magicgardens(dot)com9:00am - 5:00pm Large nursery, exceptional stock McAllisterWaterGardens 7420 St. Helena Highway, St. Helena (707) 944-0921 Open March thru September Wed-Sun 9-4 Wonderful display gardens and water plants Mendocino Botanical Gardens 18220 North Highway One, FortBragg (707) 964-4352 gardenbythesea(dot)org Open Daily All Year March - October: 9 am to 5 pm November - February: 9 am to 4 pm $7.50 adult admission but worth it Mendons Nursery 5424 Foster RoadParadise (530) 877-7341 mendonsnursery(dot)com Mon-Sat: 8am-5pm Closed Sunday   MiniaturePlantKingdom 13404 Harrison Grade Place, Sebastopol (707) 874-2233 miniplantkingdom(dot)com call for appt. Unusual dwarf plants Morningsun Herb Nursery 6137 Pleasant Valley Rd., Vacaville (707) 451-9406 morningsunherbfarm(dot)comTuesday Sunday 10 am - 5 pm Nice display garden Orchards of Lafayette 4010 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette (925) 284-4474 orchardnursery(dot)comOpen everyday 9-5 Large nursery will high quality RuthBancroftGarden 1500 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek (925) 210-9663 Ruthbancroftgarden(dot)org open various Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays $7.00 admission One of the best private succulentand cactus gardens in CA Sierra Azul Nursery 2660 East Lake Ave (Hy 152), Watsonville (831) 763-0939 sierraazul(dot)com Open daily: 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wonderful display gardens and plants Sonoma Horticultural Nursery 3970 Azalea Avenue, Sebastopol (707) 823-6832 sonomahort(dot)com March, April, and May: 7 daily 9:00am - 5:00pm June through February: Thursday thru Monday9:00am - 5:00pm Everything ericaceous Strybing Arboretum 9th Avenue at Lincoln Way,San Francisco (415) 661-1316 Ext. 312 Strybing(dot)org open daily, 365 days a year. Weekdays, 8 am to 4:30 pm. Weekends & holidays, 10 am to 5 pm. Incredible collections of native and cool climate plants Tahinis Nursery 5601 Folsom Blvd., Sacto. (916) 451-8150 daily High quality Stock The DryGarden 6556 Shattuck Ave., Oakland (510) 547-3564 Daily 10 to 5 Seriously unusual and weird stuff TiltonBotanical Garden Wildcat Canyon Rd and S. Park Dr., Berkeley (510) 562-PARK ebparks(dot)org/parks/bot(dot)htm Oct. 1 to May 31: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. June 1 to Sept. 30: 8:30 a.m.-5:30 Noted for spring wildflower display U.C.BerkeleyBotanical Garden 200 Centennial Drive, #5045, Berkeley (510) 643-2755 Botanicalgarden(dot)berkeley(dot)eduDaily:9:00 am - 5:00 pm Closed: First Tuesday of every month and major holidays$5.00 admission Vast collections of cool climate plants U.C.Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz (831) 427-2998 Open daily 10-5 except Christmas and Thanksgivingucsc(dot)edu/arboretum Incredible selection of S. African plants VintageGardens 2833 Old Gravenstein Hwy. So., Sebastopol (707) 829-2035 vintagegardens(dot)com Open 9AM to 5PM Thursday through Sunday Best CA source of old and unusual roses Yerba Buena Nursery 19500 Skyline Blvd. Woodside (650) 851-1668 yerbabuenanursery(dot)com Tuesday - Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Demonstration garden, good plant selection