Wherever you live in the Bay Area, it's worth a trip to Alden Lane. The Wil liams family bought the property under towering canopies of magnificent, 300 year old valley oaks in 1914, and it's been a nursery since 1955. Gravel paths around the four acre site meander between rows of high quality plants in a variety of sizes and prices, elegant demonstration gardens, and surprise groupings of plant ideas.
Alden Lane cares about their community. Every month they have different free giveaways (such as plants, or laminated gardening calendars) in exchange for a can of food that goes to local relief agencies. Their newsletter full of activities is printed on recycled newsprint.
One section of the nursery, framed by a stunning arched oak tree, is the Kids Club, where they give puppet shows about kid-gardening and offer a great array of garden related crafts and projects. Reservations are required, especially preceding holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day.
The homey atmosphere inspires visitors to try something new in their ga rdens. Huge, flower-filled moss baskets, almost four feet in diameter, hang from the tall trees. Planted patio containers using themes like animals or birdhouses are very popular. Some ideas, like last summer's Sweet Pea Teepee's (inverted tomato cages covered with flowering sweet pea vines and violas planted around the base) sold almost faster than they could plant them.
Visit Alden Lane for either the handsome, healthy plants to add to your garden, or for enjoying the relaxing atmosphere in the shade of the beautiful trees.
When their full summer display is on, Almaden Valley Nursery has one of the largest selections of water gardens in the area. Aquatic plants, recirculating ponds and pools, tiered river runs, custom made waterfalls, fountains and all the associated hardware occupy a large section of the nursery. By autumn, the water garden display is scaled back, but visitors can get a good idea of what's available.
The rest of this well stocked nursery is full of healthy plants and lots of pleasant nursery staff members eager to help customers. In addition to annuals, perennials and grasses, they offer 90 different varieties of fruit trees and over 300 different roses.
Theme gardens in the back of the nursery are actually artistically arranged plants, both in the ground and in pots, to give customer ideas such as the Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden, the Cottage Garden, Taste of the Tropics, and the Edible Garden. Pots and planting containers range from large deep blue glazed and stoneware urns to clay, clay-like plastic, and wooden half barrels in a variety of sizes and depths.
In addition to nursery necessities like potting soil, fertilizers, etc, a very nice gift shop carries a huge number of flower related items, including notepaper, flowered ceramic house numbers, cachepots and lamps. Almaden Valley Nursery's annual sale will be held from 9/26 to 10/4, with their summer hours: M-F 9 am - 5:30 pm, Sat 8 am - 6 pm, and Sun 8 am - 5 pm just for that time period.
Aptos Gardens is a destination nursery...the kind of place you visit on those days when you decide you or your garden is worth it. And just as the hair color commercial suggests, it may cost a little more, but it makes you feel so good about the possibilities, you can spend hours and dollars you never anticipated.
They specialize in heirloom plants and topiaries. The mini topiaries of small leaved scented geraniums, herbs and tiny ivies are particularly good. Their artistic touch matches the right plants with the right containers then arranges them throughout the meanderng paths for maximum effect.
Equally as important as the plants are the garden accessories, from benches and containers, to trellises and arbors, to fountains with squirting turtles or frogs, and much more. Furniture seems equally divided between quality wood and metal, including hea vy old wrought iron gates and other antiques. An indoor room includes an elegant Wardian case (like a small greenhouse-terrarium on legs), used by early plant explorers to keep specimens alive on long ship voyages.
Other small houses scattered throughout the gardens include Wisteria Antiques and Design. From large, coffee table garden books to perfect table accessories for a garden dinner, they convey a lifestyle most of us only dream about. Another specialty shop, Vintage Textiles, completes the ambiance.
(Profiled 11/9/98)
From 1 1/2 inch pots to 42 inches in diameter, Aw has ever y conceivable container made from materials that include stoneware, earthenware, terracotta, and porcelain. Luxurious, heavy cast iron Victorian urns sell on a par with lightweight fiberglass cast iron look-alikes.
They also carry bamboo furniture, vases, urns for landscaping, water bowls for fountains, and a great supply of bonsai pots and rocks. The stock changes frequently, as new shipments arrive from Malaysia, China & Vietnam.
(Profiled 7/20/98)
Running and clumping bamboo from all over the world reflect a family's passion for the majesty of bamboo. Walk through their 25 year old demonstration gardens and see feathery, low growing groundcovers that reach only a foot or two in height, along with cathedral-like groves tha t tower nearly 100 feet up. The same varieties have been planted in both sun and shade, so customers can see how bamboo grows in a different conditions.
Gardeners who aren't familiar with bamboo can see the colorful variation in leaves and especially culms (stalks) that range from yellow and green to blue and black and a number of good looking zebra stripes. Bamboo Sourcery has more chusqueas than anyone else in the country, and many think they have the finest collection in the country too.
Don't be intimidated by the need to make an appointment. They are friendly and welcoming to customers interested in both living bamboo and in the variety of bamboo poles they sell for decorative uses, musical instruments, etc. Pathways through the bamboo forests can be wet, so be sure to wear sturdy, non-skid shoes to accommodate the steep slippery terrain.
If you are curious, but can't find time to travel to Sebastopol, look for their display garden at the 199 9 San Francisco Garden Show in the Cow Palace, from March 17-21. "Connecting Heaven and Earth" creates a Zen-like bamboo garden, showcasing the many ways bamboo can be used to transform light, movement and space in the landscape.
Anyone who is put off by the East Palo Alto address is missing out. Baylands is a no-frills nursery with the best prices we've seen in the Bay Area. One gallon containers of perennials and shrubs can be as low as $5.50; 5 gallon cans start around $16.
They have the one of the largest selections of ornamental grasses available to the retail customer in the Bay Area. Currently, they sell 70 different grasses, including California nativ es and others from the tropics and Europe. Watch for one currently being propagated called pheasant grass, Stipa arundinacea, with coloration like a male pheasant. Reproduction is by seed, rather than division, so it is not easy to find, and even here won't be fully available until later in the year.
They carry between 70 and 90 different varieties of daylilies in addition to a good selection of salvias, ceonothus, arctostaphylos, and lavender. It helps to know your plants before you go, since labeling is minimal. But Baylands owner/manager Day Boddorff is very friendly and helpful. His years living in South Africa have made him a knowledgeable grower of proteas and you'll several unusual varieties available, as well as other plants that come from South Africa.
For more information about Baylands, see their Web site at www.baylands.com and look for their current plant list. The stock changes. Their Web site also g ives good directions on how to get to Baylands by car.
Carol de Maintenon treats her nursery with the same gentleness and enthusiasm that she showed during her previous profession as a nurse. Whether she's greeting customers by name, cajoling her large dog and cat (named Hortus) to move, or speaking about plants, Carol obviously cares.
Perennials, shrubs, vines and a few annuals are spread between two small houses on one side of the street. The horticultural selection resembles an antique store, with exciting rare plants mixed in between good quality popular items. Off to the side is a section for cooking herbs and another for medicinal herbs. Across the street, in the back yard of Carol's mother-in-law's house, sit the fruit trees, berries and roses.
Another popular aspect of the nursery is the excellent selection of garden ornaments, including fountains. The most popular fountain this year is a two foot tall pixie statue called "Wildflower" that appeared in its original form at the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair.
Gardeners who don't have a chance to travel to Benicia can read Carol's weekly garden column for the Vallejo "Times Herald."
After passing through the planted rock garden entrance, the first thing a visitor notices is a sense of supreme organizati on. There's a greenhouse just for houseplants, another for cactus. Well-marked areas separate large collections of maples, over 200 different roses, water plants, ferns, citrus trees, and more. Areas denoting sun and shade requirements are clear. And wherever a visitor looks, healthy plants are arranged in neat, efficiently labeled rows.
The Doty family started the nursery 75 years ago, and Paul Doty continues the tradition of providing hard to find plants on a year around basis. By avoiding the holiday hype that so many nurseries succumb to, Berkeley Hort focuses on plants that thrive in each season. The passionate plant collector can find just the right new addition at any time of year.
Right now, their impressive selection of azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias reflects careful study of Asian and American plants that flourish in winter in the Bay Area. Recent additions include fifteen different fragrant rhododendrons and the increasingly popular tea camellia s, like c. sinensis 'Teabreeze' with a white flower, andc. sinensis 'Blushing Maiden' which has a white flower tinged with a pink blush.
In their continuing quest for better plants, they carry such lesser-known treasures as Michelia, the super-fragrant banana shrub that resembles a magnolia but blooms from fall through spring. If you haven't seen one, check them out in their natural setting at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.
Best of all, Berkeley Hort's friendly staff is knowledgeable and helpful. (The Bay Area Gardener's popular columnist Ernie Wasson is one the professional horticulturists on staff, but we didn't let him write his own review. He would have been too modest.)
Be sure to put yourself on their mailing list to receive the informative newsletter and notification about special sales, visiting lecturers, and weekend workshops. And allow enough time to look through their comprehensive selection of specialty gardening book s.
Up in the hills, just off Broadway Terrace, sits a small corner nursery that emphasize color. Whether for the house or the garden, anyone who shops there will leave with a smile and a carload of colorful plants.
Annuals, perennials, vines and flowering trees are artistically arranged to suggest planting possibilities. One very effective wall is covered with nothing but plants with white blooming flowers (roses, deutzi gracilis, Wisteria venusta 'Alba', etc.)
Inside the shop, they sell orchids all year around. And they offer a container planting service that is popular with party-givers, real estate stagers, wedding planners and many others: if you bring in a container (size is no object) they will fill it with flowering plants according to a color scheme, or wha tever you request. The result is a spectacular arrangement of seasonal flowers that last much longer than cut flowers. During the week, they can usually do it while you wait; on weekends it takes a day or two, so plan ahead.
Another unusual aspect of their business is that what they sell is guaranteed for life. Occasionally people abuse the concept and bring in plants that they forgot to water, but like most of the gardening community, most of their customers are honest, according to manager Helen Servidor.
After 52 years in the plant business, Burlingame Garden Center has honed its focus to an exact market. Their customers are mostly people wi th mature gardens or people who live in apartments -- plant-lovers who look for beautiful accents for their patios and balconies, rather than for sweeping landscape solutions.
So Burlingame sells beauty. They have gift plant presentations already made up in the form of container flower- and herb-gardens, miniature gardens, topiaries and hanging baskets. Their selection of baskets is elegant and vast; containers for planting range from delicate and small to ornate and huge. Their houseplants, especially ferns, are top quality.
For creative use of space, Burlingame wins a prize. Next to the beautiful old turn of the century brick building from which they sell the indoor and gift plants, they have three tiers of outdoor plants. Ground level holds annuals and 4" perennials along with shade loving camellias, rhododendrons, etc., scattered around fountains and massive containers. Upstairs they have a whole other level of sun loving shrubs and small trees on two tiers o f decks, for customers who want a larger accent plant.
Any gardener who has traveled north on 680, from San Jose to the Sunol grade, has probably noticed the vast nursery on the right by the Calaveras Exit. Many people think it's wholesale-only, but it's not. Three different nurseries occupy the area: two are wholesale only; the third is Calaveras Nursery, open to the public.
Calaveras Nursery has been run by the Martin family since 1966. Three generations of Martins currently work there, with the youngest members cheerfully hefting pots and identifying plants like veterans. The sales area cover s about five acres, filled with reasonably priced plants in good condition. Close to 70 percent of their stock is propagated on site, then sold in sizes ranging from market packs of colorful annuals to tall trees in 24 inch boxes. From vegetables, flowers and groundcovers to palms, shrubs and trees, they have anything a regular gardener could want. Specials, listed on an easel near the cash register, offer great plants at bargain prices, such as three foot high rosemary 'bushes', brilliant with blue flowers, in 5 gallon cans for only $ 10.50.
Their plant selection has a good variety of ornamentals, most of which flourish in the hot California sun, though there is also a small shade section. Trees include fruit trees, evergreens, and shrubs trained into tree shapes such as Photinia and Myoporum.
Inch for inch, this little nursery beats most others for dedication and consuming passion for their plants. Their sense of humor peeks through with touches like miniature haloween skeletons hanging around, but they are deadly serious about carnivorious plants, helping botanic gardens and universities to prevent the extinction of the US carnivorous species that is 97% lost already.
Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the humid structure that holds the collection. Printed signs explain what the plants are, how and why they trap their prey, and how they digest them. Children may be familiar with Venus Flytraps, but adults will go away amazed at the Sundews, American Pitcher Plants, Tropical Pitcher Plants, Bladderworts and Butterworts. Specimens in the greenhouse regularly catch yellowjackets, flies, ants, roaches, earwigs and other insects, but in the wild, Tropical Pitcher Plants can catch animals as large as mice, rats and birds.
Carnivores are bog plants that grow well in containers, whether in a kiddie wading pool or just a drainless bowl on a table or windowsill. They are frost tolerant and need only three hours of direct sun a day. They are also beautiful, with vibrant colors that appeal to both insects and people. By following a few simple directions, such as using only pure water, people can grow carnivores with ease.
Some nursery owners r adiate a passion for plants, and California Flora is a prime example. Philip Van Soelen and Sherrie Althouse propagate the majority of what they sell in four inch and one gallon pots. With respect for natural cycles, they collect wild seeds or take cuttings from plants that flourish in the area, but they don't take plants directly from the wild.
They sell shrubs, vines and perennials -- very few trees or groundcovers. Their plant list changes all the time; the fall list shows about 400 different species, with emphasis right now on Euphorbia, Ceonothus, Archtostaphylos, grasses and ornamental grass-like substitutes. The plants that aren't native to California are chosen for their adaptability to the Bay Area's Mediterranean climate.
Sherrie lives and gardens in deep redwood shade; Phillip gardens in coastal sandy soil, and the nursery is located in a hot inland valley with heavy adobe soil.So they understand a wide variety of growing conditions, and they know wha t's best for their plants. They are knowledgeable and helpful to gardeners of all levels.
Ed Carman, past president of the Western Horticultural Society, knows his plants and cares about them. He propagates his own unusual material, often from one or two rare specimens collected from around the world. In 1968, he introduced New Zealand kiwis to the Santa Clara Valley, and he has since become a well known authority on everything from propagating to pruning kiwis.
Nothing is done en masse and the stock varies from season to season. Last year he had lots of different varieties of wisteria that sold quickly; this year there will only be a few ready for sale later in the summer. This spring he has about 10 different glorious colors of rhodo hypoxis, perfect for container garde ns.
Carman's rock garden plants and trough garden treasures attract customers from out of state. He's also popular among garden railway enthusiasts for his interesting collection of miniature trees, shrubs and perennials.
Like some of the other nurseries for serious hobbyists, the sporadic labeling is difficult for a beginner gardener, but Ed Carman and his daughter are happy to answer questions.
Checkerspot Nursery is for the horticulturist who loves unusual perennials. Named after an endangered native butterfly, the nursery sells four inch and one gallon size perennials and shrubs, both wholesale and retail. Customers won't find many flowering annuals or market packs, but they'll find 2 1/2 acres of exciting plants with interesting foliage and unusual blooms....and six chickens who have free run of the nursery.
Owner Delmar McComb selects plants from all over the world, with a fine eye for new varieties like the sunny Rosmarinus officinalis 'Golden Rain,' shimmering Westringia 'Morning Light,' and the broadly variegated comfrey Symphytum officinale 'Goldsmith.' He carries a large supply of plants for shade, including many for dry shade, and lots of bright leafed perennials and shrubs that lighten up dark spaces in a garden the might be wedged into a spot between a fence and a house.
Seasonal items of interest include 15-20 different varieties of organic tomatoes suited to the coastal summer climate. Experienced gardeners appreciate the mite resistant fuchsias along with less common forms of pulmonaria, heuchera, lonicera, euphorbia, and helleborus. The stock changes constantly since many of the best nurseries in the Bay Area buy their plants from Checkerspot.
Anyone looking for shrubs or trees should visit Christensen's. They carry a limited number of perennials suited to the local climate, but the majority of the stock is large, well-cared for, reasonably priced ornamentals. Many of the plants are California natives, and those that are not (such as grevillias) are selected for their regional compatibility.
Because they sell both retail and wholesale, Christense n's expects their customers to know what they want, so there are no labels and no prices on the plants. The smallest containers are one gallon size; the largest would take a crane to move. Retail customers who can't resist the beautiful plant material can have free delivery if their order is above $ 700 and they are flexible about the delivery date.
Nursery Manager Albert Sotelo has been there for forty years, and the plants reflect his stewardship. Rows and rows of mugho pines look like advertisements for perfection because he prunes them carefully to maintain their classic shape. Oaks, maples, junipers, and pines, along with sturdy toyon, manzanita, fremontodendron, even dogwoods and birches grow beautifully in the idyllic mountainous location.
Located up a winding road in the Santa Cruz mountains, two miles above Saratoga, the nursery property covers 60 acres. Trees and shrubs in containers cover approximately five acres. Redwoods and other evergreens that flourish in bright woodland settings are particularly outstanding.
Perfect is a word we rarely use, but the plant material at Cottage Garden Growers, even after a long soggy season, is incredibly close to being in perfect condition. As the name suggests, they grow their own stock, almost 350 different varieties of perennials that they sell both wholesale and retail.
Their specialty is clematis, which they describe as a fun plant that's easy to grow. Current stock consists of three thousand plants/45 different varieties, divided into two sections: #1 Early Flowering that requires no pruning, and #2 Late Flowering with pruning recommended. Cottage Garden Growers' staff are happy to give advice on how to grow clematis with success.
Carefully worded signs throu ghout the terraced nursery describe the plants in detail and suggest growing requirements. Hostas, delphiniums, hydrangeas, roses and penstemans are just a few of the popular plants they carry. They also have a good selection of geraniums, verbenas and salvias.
Because they are a grower, the focus is on plants. The only items they carry besides plants are large, good-looking wire trellises and topiary forms.
Located in a cozy corner of a residential neighborhood, this nursery's name is somewhat misleading. Yes, they sell drought resistant plants, but they also carry an eclectic selection of perennials and shrubs that do well in California gardens even if they do require water. Exciting choices range from Ceanothus 'Marie Simon' (a pink flowering deciduous variety with low water requirements) to a bushy upright, gall mite resistant, water-loving version of Fuchsia 'glazioviana' in five gallon containers.
The nursery is actually a drop-off point in town for the owner's 8.5 acres of growing grounds in Carmel Valley. Regional landscapers and contractors pick up locally grown plants by the truckload, while home gardeners can choose from the same quality stock that turns over frequently.
In one corner of the compact space sits a humid fern house; another corner features deer resistant plants. They carry a few annuals and lots of perennials. One table highlights dozens of different salvias. At ground level, they display delicate grasses with decorative seed heads and a lovely collection of grey leaved plants, including lavenders.
Nursery workers are enthu siastic and knowledgeable, which helps because not all of the plants are labeled. But when there are groups of the same plant, at least one has an identifying tag. For quality and selection, Drought Resistant Nurseries is one of the best of the small nurseries we've seen.
If summer time makes you wish for a garden that requires less water, visit the Dry Garden in Oakland. Richard Ward proudly presents his funky collection of the bizarre and offbeat characters in the plant world that flourish with little water. The plants vary from drought tolerant natives and Mediterranean specimens, to Australian orphans and random samplings from around the world.
Set off against a chain link fence and rusted character sculptures, the collection includes cacti, suc culents, ornamental grasses, tropicals and subtropicals. A greenhouse in one corner provides long hours of heat and protects dry-loving plants from the damp, cooling influences of Bay Area fog.
The bamboos include a tall, graceful Mexican Weeping bamboo along the back fence, small ground covers, and clumpers as well as runners. Some of the cacti look like little more than architecturally arranged sticks, but they have status in world of those who understand cacti & succulents.
Even though few northern California gardeners would create a whole landscape from the material in this nursery, there are plenty of ideas for unusual specimens in pots and for the less-watered corners of your garden.
If you drive down El Camino Real and don't look carefully, you might miss a good little nursery tucked back off the street by Bowe Avenue. El Camino Nursery occupies a long, narrow space artistically filled with a good selection of annuals, perennials, vines, shrubs and trees up to 5 gallon size. They also have bonsai, dish gardens, and topiaries.
Their collection reflects years of study in all parts of the world. Asian plants include Jujube (Chinese date plum), Ume (Chinese apricot), Shiso (a Japanese herb like basil) and many others. From years spent in the southwestern United States, they offer heat loving plants like Chilopsis linearis, the Desert Willow.
This time of year, they emphasize shrubs with strong fall foliage color along with perennials and annuals that will look good for the next few months. A free monthly newsletter has tips on what to do in you garden, how to make your plants look best in each s eason, recipes, and curious garden facts.
El Camino Nursery has been run by the same family for the past 44 years, and their plant knowledge remains strong. They are generous about sharing this knowledge and graciously work with you to help solve plant problems or answer questions. (Profiled 10/5/98)
This nursery gained its reputation for excellence as a wholesale distributor. Two years ago they bowed to public demand and opened a retail outlet on their 20 acre property in Santa Rosa. At first glance, the retail part may not appear large, but there are hundreds of the same plants in the back if you need more. Look for inspiration in the constantly expanding demonstration flowe r garden and herb garden with particularly interesting heaths, heathers and hardy geraniums.
emerisa has a huge selection of good size perennials in four inch pots, like alstromeias in both full size plants and popular dwarf varieties, like the lovely peach/white 'Princess Emily.' They also offer new introductions and specialty plants available on a limited basis, such as Tulbaghia 'alba', with white flowers, in addition to the regular purple variety.
Muchtar Salzman and family members operate the nursery with a firm respect for the relationship between soil, plants, animals and people. They don't overfeed or overwater their stock, as some nurseries do just to make the plants look better for sale. Over the years they have participated in community programs by supplying plants and manpower to neighborhood gardens, soup kitchens, and local towns.
The whole atmosphere at emerisa reflects sincere appreciation of the beauty and importance of plants.
You know a nursery is good when it sparkles in the midst of a driving winter rain storm. Manager Hazel McDonald came out with a smile to offer assistance or information, thinking a customer had been neglected. On the contrary, we were just admiring a new shipment of perfect looking herbs.
Floorcraft is primarily an outdoor nursery. While the most popular items are grouped according to major classification, such as herbs, groundcovers, roses, annuals, and more, the layout flows in artistic mini landscape arrangements. The effect is welcoming and comfortable, leading the visitor along the narrow paths to see alternative groupings of small trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses.
This time of year, the y feature fruit trees and a full range of ever-popular roses, including bareroot, bagged, boxed and others in peat. Jackson & Perkins roses will be 20% off next Saturday, January 24, to coincide with a rose planting and pruning seminar conducted by the Golden Gate Rose Society from 11 am to 3 pm.
Other events during the year include a very popular Spring Planting Fair where experts from Monrovia, Annie's Annuals, Upstarts organic vegetables and most of their other plant suppliers come to meet their customers and answer questions. This year's date isn't available yet, but watch for their newspaper announcement on the Wednesday before the Saturday event.
In a back corner of the nursery, festooned with red tape, is their Bargain Basement, where plants sell for 50% off their original price when they become leggy or past their prime season. Floorcraft's recycling and responsible outlook toward plants and gardening extends throughout the community, where they donate plants and trees to schools, community gardens, and organizations like SLUG (San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners). They also practice what they preach, using organic pest controls and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) techniques as much as possible.
Visiting the Grand Lake Ace Garden Center is a little like falling down the rabbit hole and finding yourself in a wonderland of surprises. If you go thinking "hardware store and plastic sixpacks," you'll come out dreaming of a different, more elegant garden overflowing with heirloom plants.
Because he has the backing and supply flow of the giant Ace hardware chain, nursery manage r Tom Nelson has been able to spend the last five years focused on getting the most interesting, most exciting plants for his customers. He sells an unusual selection of shade perennials including variegated brunnera, less common biennials like a dark red Echium russicum and annuals such as Impatiens balfourii, with lavender, pink and white orchid shaped flowers. He carries many rhododendrons, favoring the fragrant Rhodendron maddenii that grows well in the Bay Area, because they can't tolerate the heat down south nor the northern cold.
Customers travel from all over the Bay Area to discover new plants and planting ideas from Grand Lake Ace's knowledgeable staff. New plant stock arrives every Thursday and Friday, then is picked clean over the weekend, so for the best selection, the veterans aim for Thursday, Friday or early Saturday morning. Special orders for plants they don't have in stock and free delivery make shopping even easier.
Even though the garden center is not large, strategically placed fountains and continuous sounds of bubbling water crea te a soothing atmosphere in which to discover new plants and new combinations of old favorites.
Green Jeans Nursery stands out because their owners truly care about healthy plants. They started only 2 1/2 years ago, making their favorite concoctions of organic fertilizer blends and soil amendments. They branched out to selling plants, but with a twist. They want their customers to have success, so they don't sell fussy plants or plants that will do less than thrive in our local climate. Most of their customers have limited growing space, and Green Jeans sells small shrubs, dwarf fruit trees, and colorful perennials that d o well in containers.
Their buyers have a good eye for weatherproof accessories, including quirky sculptures, garden art and bamboo outdoor furniture. Bamboo trellises, fences, tables and chairs come directly from Japan, as does some of their good looking pottery. They also import high quality garden tools from Japan. Specialties are indoor orchids, both the popular ones and rare and unusual varieties.
Even if you have been there before, it's worth going back because the inventory changes regularly.
Tucked away in a fertile valley in the northernmost region of the Santa Cruz mountains, Half Moon Bay Nurs ery flourishes in the horticultural tradition of the region. They grow about two thirds of all the plants they sell in six greenhouses and 22 acres of available growing ground in a nearby canyon.
They are famous for their large central greenhouse filled with hundreds of bright decorative seasonal flowers like cylcamen, geraniums, and impatiens. Customers come from all over the Bay Area to buy masses of instant color for their house, garden or special occasion party. Classical music on a loud speaker and a huge cage of exotic birds add to the atmosphere.
Beyond the colorful central feature, customers find perennials, shrubs and trees in one gallon, five gallon, and even larger containers. Many of the plants have stickers with the red circular sign for "no" and a picture of a deer, indicating they are less appealing to deer or possibly deer resistant. Anyone whose garden has been deer dinner appreciates the advice.
Manager/owner Ron Mickelsen says his pri ces are very competitive: slightly higher than the large megastores, and lower than boutique nurseries. He has a good selection of free flyers at the checkout counter offering advice on how to grow specific plants, and a seasonal calendar of what's happening in the garden each month, including bloom times, planting and pruning schedules, and pest prevention.
Harmony Farm started in 1980 as a supplier of organic fertilizers, ecological pest controls and IPM monitoring tools. Today their six acre organic nursery, farm and garden supply store and extensive catalog (127 pages) remain firmly dedicated to an organic way of life.
They sell irrigation supplies that minimize water waste. Botanical and biological preventatives run the full gamut from disease control on trees, to snail control on flowers, to flea control on household pets, to poison oak on people. They sell a variety of different organic fertilizers and soil amendments.
The staff is good about answering questions and they run free workshops. Two upcoming classes will feature Ornamental Grasses on Sept. 12, and Cover Crops for improving soil and preventing erosion on Sept. 19. Their lab services (for a fee) test both soil and water. Soil testing tell gardeners what their garden needs, and how much, so they don't randomly guess and throw away money while unbalancing the soil.
Whether you're looking for wildflower seeds that will do well in your microclimate, or for gardening books based upon environmental responsiblity, any gardener who cares about the balance of nature can learn from Harmony Farm Supply.
Not many nurseries have as much variety as Hung's. With the exception of orchids, they carry just about anything a gardener needs. From pots, potting soil and trellises to houseplants, cactus & succulents, annuals, vines, perennials and shrubs, trees, all forms of roses, herbs, there's always a surprise in the rows of plants. Special interests include flowering plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, plants that are good for cut flowers, perennials with unusual fragrances, and herbs with a variety of medicinal uses.
They propagate 80-85% of their material on site at the five acre nursery, which gives them a number of distinct advantages: lower costs to the customer, a continuous supply of plants their customers enjoy, and speci mens that are acclimated to the weather extremes of Morgan Hill where it's colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. Someone looking for full sun plants knows that Hung's has grown them in the hot South Valley sun since they were two inches high, so there's no problem of acclimation.
Even though Hung's was badly flooded this past winter, they have recovered pretty well, and the stock changes weekly, depending upon what they think is ready to be put out for sale. Han-Yu Hung and her mother win high praise from their loyal customers because they are responsive and attentive, offering everything from design advice to specially propagated plants just because a customer needs one more to fill in a space.
You can't wander through Magic Gardens for very long before a cheerful nurseryperson offers to help. Their enthusiasm is evident, whether they're discussing perennials, roses, or water garden plants.
Landscape designer Aerin Moore started Magic Gardens 15 years ago. Today his design business has a waiting list of clients from Sacramento to San Francisco, though the bulk of his work is done in Contra Costa county. Magic Gardens daily operations are under the auspices of nursery manager Don Sayer.
They propagate many of their own perennials at their growing grounds in the Richmond area and in Aerin Moore's personal garden. By selling a large percentage of plants already acclimated to the Bay Area, (rather than plants purchased from growers out of the region) they can give authoritative information about culture and growing habit. Magic Gardens also has frequent sales of stock from their growing grounds that is in prime co ndition but might take up too much space in the 2,900 square foot nursery.
Some of the plants currently under propagation are mite resistant varieties of fuchsia, winter-blooming Helleborus orientalis, true geraniums (cranesbills), and a wide variety of shade loving groundovers.
In addition to a client newsletter, Magic Gardens offers free Saturday workshops with no advance registration required. For the recyclers among us, they accept all plastic nursery pots and "could really use more pots of the 5 gallon size."
Imagine three ac res completely blanketed with miniscule high quality plants, all in two inch or four inch pots. Miniature Plant Kingdom is a scale modeler's dream come true. While the plants are not all technically miniatures, or even dwarfs, they are magnificent small specimens that are perfect for bonsai starts, trough gardens, alpine gardens, miniature railroad exhibits, and much more.
They propagate the plants themselves, from both seeds and cuttings. Miniature roses and azaleas, ten inch tall flowering fruit trees, elegant small maples, rare and unusual tiny ground covers, grasses and bamboos, and hundreds of shrubby and stately little evergreens. More than 1600 different varieties in all.
Bonsai-looking plants that occur in nature, such as the Hokkaido Elm, range in age from a few months to 50 years old. Other plants are carefully pruned from the top and the bottom to keep them small, but MPK workers emphasize that they do not carry bonsais. Their plants are excellent fo r bonsai starts, but they have great respect for bonsai masters, and they do not pretend to be experts themselves.
Their G guage miniature railway display, beautifully adorned with trees and shrubs, was created when MPK hosted the 9th National Garden Railway Convention. The best times to vist MPK is in spring, when flowers are fragrant and plentiful, or in autumn, when the maples and other deciduous trees begin to shed their fiery fall colors.
Native Revival is a back-to-basics nursery. Their brochure says they are "dedicated to the flora and fauna of California," and their mission statement is reinforced by the selection of plan ts. They specialize in creating native gardens that are hospitable to wildlife and to people.
Excellent signs for their small trees, shrubs, perennials, etc. reflect their dedication. Signs for the many varieties of Ribes sanguineum, for instance, specify the flower color, bloom period, height and spread, then add such insights as: "...best in light shade but will do fine in full sun along the coast. Moderate water. Deer resistant. Wildlife value: flowers are favored by hummingbirds and nectar seeking butterflies. The currants have considerable value for songbirds and ground squirrels." Many signs also include the best companion plants and wildlife benefits for nesting and shelter as well as for food.
The staff collects wildflower seeds locally and propagates from locally growing plants in a large greenhouse on site. Their services include consultation to identify plants on customers' properties, maintenance and service such as natural pest control, identification and removal of unwanted invasive flora, and garden design that creates a functional, natural settin g.
While they carry drought tolerant plants, the majority of their stock appears to be acclimated to the Santa Cruz mountain range and coastal region. Many of the plants that require moist woodland conditions would not transplant well to the arid inland areas, even with sufficient water.
To answer the oft-repeated question, they use the French pro nunciation of NAV-LAY's.
This east Bay nursery chain is friendly and well-stocked with good plants and good advice from their California Certified Nursery people. Each store carries the same mix of plants, accessories, a little outdoor furniture, etc. Depending upon their clientele, individual stores might emphasize different items. For instance, the Concord store sells the most bonsai and the Walnut Creek store is the largest seller of statuary, birdbaths, and fountains.
One of the best deals around is Navlet's Plantscaper service. If you buy a $150 gift certificate, they help you design your garden or landscape. You take their graph paper, go home and draw your garden, bring back photos and the drawing, and they tell you what plants, shrubs and trees will work best to achieve the results you want. In the nursery, you can see what the recommended plants look like. Then you can use the gift certificate toward purchasing those plants; thus the design service is es sentially free.
All the stores are big. So big that they carry sod on site, and "the lazy man's lawn" is very popular. Customers can buy soil amendments at Navlet's, pick up a brochure of instructions, and order sod that will be delivered within three days. Sod sells well and there is rapid turnover, which means the grass is healthy and fresh and likely to succeed.
We did not go to all five Navlet's, but those we did visit won high marks for friendly service and interest in their customers' gardening questions.
Anyone who has been to Orchard Nursery in Lafayette would not confuse it with an Orchard Supply Hardware nursery. In addition to pl ants, they have a fancy gift store stocked with antiques, a full florist and cut flower store, and accessories for entertaining that range from candlesticks to fancy serving pieces.
An espresso cafe caters to their clientele from March to December. Among the 50 people on staff, they have very talented designers who travel to nurseries around the country and in Europe, looking for ways to make their own store new and appealing, and they are very good at what they do. Whether it's for Easter, the colorful chrysanthemum Harvest festival, or the 53 theme-decorated trees at Christmas time, the store looks elegant.
Tomato lovers will want to attend Orchard's upcoming tomato tasting festival in mid April. Specialty growers from all over bring hot-house forced tomatoes for aficionados to sample so they can decide which seeds and seedlings to buy for their home gardens. From rare heirloom varieties to the newest disease resistant hybrids, there will be lots to see and taste and learn about growing tomatoes.
Even though outdoor furniture may not be directly related to garden ing, good patio furniture can be an important part of enjoying and welcoming friends to your garden. Orchard has a very large selection of mid range and high end patio furniture in a multitude of designs and materials. They also have a separate house full of different styles and colors of outdoor cushions, along with the plastic covers to shroud any imaginable shape or size from bench to sofa to table.
Now in its 10th year, Petaluma Rose Company is a rose lover's paradise. They carry more than 20 thousand roses during the course of a year, with a minimum of 4 thousand in sto ck right now. This year they are selling a lot of the French Romantica roses.
Their 1999 prices are simple:
5 gallon non-patented roses: $ 16.95
patented: $ 17.95
English roses: $ 18.95
one gallon cans: $ 6.95
two gallons : 12.95
tree roses: 4.95
perennials (5 gal): 16.95
one dollar extra for staked roses
Owner Rick Weeks made his reputation by knowing roses well and cheerfully sharing that knowledge with his customers. He sells own-root and budded roses, and he offers a list of Rick's Picks that indicate the easiest ones to grow. He also sends out a monthly newsletter telling his customers the newest developments and best care to make roses flourish.
This year he has tried to grow roses as organically as possible, having great success using Neem (Rose Defense) and horticultural oils to stay ahead of pests. Next year he thinks his roses will be entirely organic, including non-toxic fertilizers such as those mark eted by Whitney Farms.
The nursery has been around since 1934, owned by the same family since the mid 1950s. They know their customers' taste and choose their plants accordingly, including lots of bareroot and tree roses, camellias, rhododendrons, perennials, and low, compact evergreens in colors from grey-blue to dark green.
Their excellent citrus collection has carefully selected varieties that can flourish in their Bay Area micro-climate, look striking in the garden and still maintain good fruit flavor. They are particularly proud of a variegated pink lemon tree, with yellow fruit that has green stripes and pink fles h, while the multi-colored foliage starts out pink then matures to traditional variegation.
Based upon their customers' buying patterns, they don't carry many native plants, nor do they have a wide selection of organic items in the Garden Shop. A pottery shed has clay, glazed and plastic pots and saucers in all sizes. Their bonsai corner probably has the peninsula's best offering of small bonsai dishes, tools and accesories.
Gardeners who like to eat what they grow are impressed with Peters and Wilson's culinary herbs, vegetable starts including seed potatoes, and many fruit trees. Berry bearing shrubs available at this time of year include several varieties of raspberries, lingonberries, both regular size and dwarf blueberries, and many more.
We don't usually review nurseries that are open by appointment only, but Sarah Hammond's skill as a plant person makes her small nursery worth the trip. She is well known in the Bay Area from her years at Western Hills and Smith and Hawken, and known throughout the world as a discriminating plant collector who meticuluosly propagates the best of what she finds.
Sarah Hammond's display garden has appeared on numerous television gardening shows, where the hosts marvel at what she accomplishes in design and horticulture. She searches the world for plants that grow well in our Bay Area micro-climates. She grows everything she sells, so visitors can get a good idea of how the mature plant will look in their garden. During detailed guided tours of the garden, Sarah gives advice on how to plant and care for each specimen. When visitors buy cuttings or seedlings propagated on the premises, they know their plants have been raised under optimum conditions.
The best way to visit Plants from the Past is to gather a group of friends and request a private tour. Several shaded areas provide tranquil picnic spots if you bring your own food and want to take extra time to study her garden or to decide which plants you can't resist.
Friendly staff and an amazing plant selection at Redwood City Nursery make this not only an outstanding neighborhood nursery, but also one of the best general-selection nurseries in the Bay Area. The well-groomed plants sit in tidy alphabetical rows, according to their needs for sun or shade, with large, clear signs indicating their use in the landscape. Even though the nursery is relative ly small, it has more varieties of ornamental plants than many of the biggest outlets.
At this time of year, customers can find quality camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and azalea standards, roses, fruit trees and even preplanted pots of bulbs. Perennials like digitalis and columbine are in four inch pots, one gallon or five gallon containers; though a few carefully selected trees come in larger pots. Redwood City is one of the few nurseries that carries Monrovia's complete Shogun line of Japanese street trees, and they have three different varieties of Michellias, the magnolia-like tree favored by knowledgeable horticulturists.
Regan Nursery is famous for roses. They carry 50,000 roses in 1200 different varieties from two dozen of the most reliable growers. Their catalog could fill every rose-lover's dream with floribundas, grandifloras & hybrid teas, antique & rare varieties, miniatures and landscapes, patio trees, climbers, large standards, David Austins and many more. Color, fragrance, disease resistance, thornless and other qualities are well documented in their catalog.
Bareroot prices start at $8.99, container roses at $17.99. Bareroot buyers appreciate Regan's careful point-of-sale root pruning, top pruning, and culture explanation. Watch for two new outstanding rose varieties from France, with qualities similar to those of David Austins, the Generosa series and the Romantica series.
More than roses, Regan Nursery's nine acres near the Dumbarton Bridge overflow with reasonably priced small trees for home landscaping. They have a good selection of Japanese maples and camelias, big flowering magnolias, and hundreds of hydrangeas including the popular white 'Annabelle.' Their stylized, formal boxwood topiari es are undoubtedly the largest selection in the Bay Area.
As the weather warms up, their supply of water plants, pumps and ponds increases. And to complete the formal garden, they have plenty of statuary, large decorative pots, and colorful flowering perennials and annuals. It helps to know your plants and what you need before you go to Regan's. Signs are minimal, but if you do your homework you'll be pleased.
Everywhere you look, it's clear that Roger Reynolds Nursery caters to an upscale crowd.
From the street, the understated storefront could be someone's expansive front porch, with thickly cascading flowering vines agains t a subtle series of mullioned windows. Inside, the store is arranged in rooms that hold a wide variety of garden related accessories and home decor gifts for the carriage crowd.
The bigger plants out back include magnificent topiaries in matched pairs to adorn both sides of a customer's front door. Large cloud-cut topiary junipers and a matching pair of Picea glauca 'conica' spirals sit subtly amidst boxwood topiaries, a full range of elegant conifers, and a fine selection of large camellias, some as big as eight feet tall. New arrivals of which they are particularly proud are adorned with hand-lettered signs that say "Please take us home!"
Bonsai lovers appreciate the sections devoted to the revered Japanese art form. Outside, Roger Reynolds Nursery sells a number of completed bonsai; inside, they have an inspiring display with bonsai pots, tools, how-to books, and everything else you could need. As part of their continuing lecture/demonstration series, Lars Nielsen will present a bonsai demonstration on February 7, 1998 at 2:00 pm, featuring repotting and training of Chinese elm bonsai, pruning techniques for field grown trees, and a display of some finished trees. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own bonsai for discussion.
You'll also see an extensive offering of shrubs at the nursery. Here's where to find those plants that round out the background and foundation plantings in your garden. An economical alternative: many are available in one gallon containers, as well as the more commonly found five-gallon size.
Like most big specialty nurseries, Roger Reynolds publishes a newsletter. Theirs appears four times a year and is well worth reading for announcements of sales and demonstration announcements, seasonal gardening advice, and periodic short articles of interest. (Profiled 1/12/98)
Paul Sakamoto was a long-time superintendent of a Santa Clara valley high school district before he retired to pursue plants about seven years ago. His earliest idea was to sell container plants for all the condominium and apartment residents nearby. But his collection expanded, and the three acres of plants are now stuffed with interesting varieties for all tastes.
He sells a wide range of beautiful maples, stately white and black pines, dozens of different bamboos, proteas including banksia, dogwoods, katsuras, large viburnums, and much more. Bonsais have been developed for both indoor and outdoor use, and come in all sizes, including some thick trunk giant bonsais suitable as patio centerpieces.
With the help of Kirk Armstrong, he plants dish gardens and miniature landscapes, using a full palette of cactus and succulents, drought resistant natives, and thirsty evergreens.
C ontainers from around the world vary in size from the smallest bonsai dishes to huge vase-like pots nearly four feet tall. Granite sculptures and garden accents range from pots and lanterns to bridge forms and Chinese guideposts.
San Lorenzo Lumber Company has five branches, but the River Street location is the only one with a garden center.
The first thing a visitor notices is the spacious layout, with large areas devoted to ornamentals, bedding plants, trees, shrubs and vines, and much more. Because they have so much space, they have a particularly fine selection of trees and shrubs, not jus t a representative few such as are found in many other retail nurseries. Ornamental landscape plants are the biggest draw because the garden center has access to so many local growers who sell the newest varieties. And a high rate of sales ensures consistently fresh plant material.
Their selection of bare root stock that arrives in mid January is one of the largest in the Bay Area. They have everything from fruit trees (dwarf, semi-dwarf and orchard size) to flowering yard trees to roses, wisteria etc. for the value-minded home gardener.
Chuck Arnott, General Manager of the Garden Center, has a staff of approximately thirty people who really care about their work. Some of the part timers are interns from Cabrillo College's horticulture program. Others are dedicated gardeners who enjoy putting people and plants together. And they all are enthusiastic and eager to help. If they don't know the answers, they steer visitors to one of several information booths, w here there are reams of pamphlets, brochures, and garden books that provide answers and inspiration. The workers are as intent on the solutions as the people asking the questions.
San Lorenzo Garden Center carries high quality lines of flower and vegetable seeds, including Shepherds, Thompson & Morgan, Seeds of Change and Botannical Interests. They stock almost everything a conscientious gardener would want, including starter plants and seeds for erosion control, a large selection of drought tolerant plants, organic seeds/plants and soil amendments, and lots of free literature on responsible gardening practices.
In the mountains next to Highway 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz, Scarborough Gardens sits only minutes off the highway. Their location makes them experts on deer and deer resistant plantings. Signs throughout the nursery about the best plants that repel deer are compiled from word of mouth and local customer experience, not just from books.
Their perennials, shrubs, trees and vines include plants for both shade and sun. In the back, a large selection of annuals and vegetables reveals the enthusiasm of their buyer, who orders varieties that including recent developments like white marigolds.
The best part of the nursery is an impressive gift shop and patio furniture store located in a huge former warehouse. The gift store has one of the Bay Area's largest collections of garden related items, from birdhouses and wind chimes to decorative pots and flowery tablewear like placemats, napkins, and glasses. With free gift wrapping, it's not surprising their biggest day is Mother's Day.
Sierra Azul is the mecca for Bay Area Gardeners who want xerophytic (water-conserving) Mediterranean plants that are compatible in our California climate.
Owner Jeff Rosendale loves natural style gardens, and he has two acres of demonstration mounds that show visitors the incredible possibilities. Jeff and Ginny Hunt offer guided tours of the demonstration gardens at 10 am the first Saturday of every month, during which they answer questions and give talks about native and Mediterranean plants, plant culture, and plant combinations.
The lush mounds overflow with flowering shrubs, tall graceful grasses, unusual plants, and ground hugging herbs, yet they are watered only once a month in the summ er. Gardeners unfamiliar with the plants at Sierra Azul will be amazed at the tremendous variety of color, form and texture. Leucodendrons, proteas, even some roses are compatible with their low-maintenance, low water gardening style.
David LeRoy, another talented, knowledgeable member of the Sierra Azul team, has designed a special seaside garden for this year's San Francisco Garden Show, to be held March 26 - 29 at the Cow Palace. Watch for landscaping with Mediterranean plants in David's garden called "Boca del Mar."
Now in their 40th year, Sloat Garden Centers have their act together. Each store has independent buyers and managers, so every location has a distinctly different look and feel. Store managers strive to fill the needs of their local customers rather than carry a random selection of what might appeal in some areas and not in others.
The San Francisco store in the Sunset District, for example, says their customers are busy city people who want instant color and don't have a lot of time or space to waste in their garden. In response, they carry a tremendous assortment of four-inch and one-gallon flowering perennials , along with rows and rows of brightly colored annuals. Their shrubs and trees receive less emphasis than in the stores with country locations where customers have more space in which to plant.
The Tiburon location is considered their "organic store." They carry everything from organic seeds and vegetables to organic preventives like pepper spray. Emphasizing biological controls, they don't even stock any of the standard chemicals carried in other stores.
As a group, the stores find volume purchasing creates leverage for good prices on universally popular items like pottery. Their vast selection of large decorative pots includes glossy kiln-fired gems from Malaysia, China and Vietnam with beautiful swirling undertone colors, along with simple decorative clay from Mexico, and elegant cachepots for indoor use. They have whole sections devoted to bonsai pottery.
They produce a monthly newslette r (sign up to receive one at any center) that includes timely information and descriptions of monthly seminars. Offered for a nominal fee, these seminars take place at the various centers on weekends and are timed to match seasonal tasks and interests.
No one needs to hear more about the rain, but if you're a gardener who wants a horticultural break from the weather, Smith & Hawken in th e perfect place.
Their five Bay Area stores feature a selective collection of herb and ivy topiaries, orchids, seasonal flowering plants, and other good looking greenery for home or patio. The Mill Valley store and the Berkeley home office have fine outdoor nurseries with decorative shrubs, small trees, and perennials in several sizes.
Rainy days are a good time to dream, and wandering through Smith & Hawken fuels those dreams. Wooden patio furniture, heavy bronze sundials, wood or metal trellises and arbors become elegant accents in our mentally designed new summer garden. Those who are more realistic can scan the excellent tool section featuring the best from around the world, whether it is a Japanese pruning saw, a Swiss Felco pruner, or an English trug. Practical, organized gardeners appreciate the many different sizes and configurations of plant stakes.
Smith & Hawken's wall of gardening books includes an eclectic selection with an emphasis o n beauty and a sprinkling of books appropriate for the gardener who likes to cook. Another wall brings us right back to the weather, with colorful rubber clogs and slip-ons, bristly boot scrapers shaped like hedgehogs, or high rubber boots designed like British "Wellies."
Those of us who really can't wait for the weather to clear, yet need nothing more to clutter up our garden storage space, might be able to ease our conscience by shopping at the Smith & Hawken outlet in Berkeley. It has many of the same things that appear in the stores or catalog, but they've been returned or discontinued from the previous season.
Everyone in the Bay Area who has a shade garden and sufficient water should visit Sonoma Hort --especially right now, to see over 1200 different kinds of flowering rhododendrons and more than 600 different azaleas. Magnificent camellias, flowering dogwood and fragrant viburnum, beautiful clematis, tree peonies and variegated underplantings blend to make the display gardens feel more like an elegant arboretum than a commercial nursery. Walking along the woodland path that meanders around the pond, watch for bright candelabra primroses, creamy colored creeping snapdragon and the monster-sized gunnera leaves.
Sonoma Hort propagates a large percentage of their shrubs, trees and shade loving perennials, so the plants are available in sizes ranging from four inch pots to fifteen foot trees. Unusual varieties abound. Gardeners who like the looks of a delicate Japanese maple are fascinated by the lacy leaves of the birch, Betula 'Trost Dwarf' (also called 'Trost's Dwarf').
People looking for new ideas spend a lot of time in the yellow garden. They enter through an arbor covered with golden flowered Laburnum x watereri 'Vossii' and marvel at the variety of plants with yellow flowers, sunny variegation, and brightly colored leaves that bring a dark corner of the garden to life.
A visit to Sonoma Horticultural Nursery is a spectacular outing, but think twice before bringing children along. Like all woodland settings, many delicate plants like columbine sprout in the middle and along the edges of the paths, and they can be trampled by inattentive feet. Signs throughout the nursery remind visitors that children must be strictly supervised at all times. If you want to visit as a group, call ahead and request a tour from one of the knowledgeable guides like Sandy, who will help you see much more than most people can find on their own.
Sylvestri's makes more than 1,000 different concrete items, from stepping stones & sundials, to planters and urns, benches and tables, to statuary and columns, even a 40 foot high pagoda. The concrete has any one of fifteen different finishes, like terra cotta stain, stone finish, marble finish, ivory, bronze, etc.
They carry at least 300 different fountains that are wall-hanging, or free-standing and can include waterfalls or ponds.
Non-concrete items for the garden range from aluminum patio furniture to limestone hand carved Italian statuary to seven foot high animal topiaries created from miniature creeping fig trained around sphagnum moss forms.
Both of Bob Tanem's garden centers are run by the ebullient garden talk show host (KSFO talk radio Sunday 7-10 am) Nothing surprises his faithful 280,000 weekly listeners. They know his passion for deer proof plants, his clever schemes like using a dead oak tree as a support for voluminous flowering vines, and his ant recipes. A visit to his nurseries shows how well he understands what grows in Bay Area micro-climates.
The bigger nursery in San Rafael, features plants that gardeners won't find in commercial marketpacks. Notice the Burmese honeysuckle, with 3" pale orange cream blossoms that are extremely fragrant from May through August. Scattered around the hillside property are decades-old specimens of magnificent atlas blue cedar, weeping birch and weeping beech. Carefully selected maples show the incredible variety possible in fall foliage. Near the office a tremendous Bird of Paradise flourishes next to fragrant landscape-quality flowering gingers that grow almost four feet tall with white or creamy yellow flowers from September through November.
If you've never seen the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) in bloom, plan a visit to Tanem's next May-July. This spectacular hillside display has fragrant, white flowers up to nine inches wide, on a massive sea of gray green foliage that can grow as much as eight feet tall.
Both garden centers try to grow as organically as possible. They use a small amount of Osmocote when potting, then only VF-11 for the rest of the time the plant is in the nursery. And they give lots of advice along the way. When the bareroot roses come in from Week's in December, Bob's daughter Edie shows each buyer how to maximize the rose's performance. She freshly prunes every plant as she sells it, leaving only three or four canes to force outside growth.
A visit to Tanem's is ju st as much fun as listening to him on the radio. But it's almost impossible to walk away empty handed. (Profiled 12/8/97)
Tassajara Nursery's regular customers come from all over Contra Costa County to shop in this impressive neighborhood garden center with plants from cell packs to 24-inch boxed trees and organic as well as chemical garden products. The nursery takes pride in the different varieties they offer of each species, some of which are not well known to the public.
The Akabane family has run Tassajara since 1979, and they are known for customer service that includes same day local delivery, seven days a week. If a gardener is inspir ed on Sunday morning, she can go to the nursery, buy plants and mulch, and they are delivered within a few hours.
Kunitoshi Akabane has been Sensei of the Diablo Bonsai Club for the past 14 years. His devotion to bonsai is reflected in Tassajara's long shelves filled with hundreds of elegant bonsai pots from Japan, along with a variety of starter liners, different size wire, and other bonsai accessories for experts. Many of the older bonsai specimens in the nursery are not for sale, but serve as great inspiration. Another service his customers appreciate is his annual bonsai pruning session, for a fee, where he rewires and properly prunes bonsais he has sold. (Profiled 10/12/98)
The Wegman family has been in the garden business at this location for almost four decades. Today's generation, brothers Erhard and Mark along with their sister Heidi, emphasizes service and quality products. Walk through the front door and you'll notice right away the excellent health of the plants at this busy Woodside Road setting. Their notions about service range from what you might expect in an excellent full-service nursery to some that are definitely out of the ordinary. At this time of year, for example, they sell ten foot tall Oregon Noble firs to those who want the finest Christmas trees, and the cost includes both home delivery (within a specified radius) and installation in the customer's house.
The Wegmans take pride in offering individual advice whenever possible. If a customer comes in to ask about their famous, massive array of colorful bedding plants, the nursery people ask where the display will be located, what's in the background, what kind of care it wi ll get, and so on. They ask these questions to make sure that just the right combination of plants is chosen for the particular garden. They want their customers to be satisfied throughout the growing season, not just at the time of purchase. They also understand what's popular, so their pottery selection ranges from imported stoneware to what is probably the Bay Area's largest selection of big decorative lightweight plastic pots that look like expensive clay pots.
One advantage of having been in the area for so long is that the Wegman family has established good relationships with their suppliers, whether they provide bareroot roses or cacti. In most cases, the nursery doesn't just order bulk shipments but rather picks out individual plants that they think their customers will enjoy whether they want favorite flowering shrubs, or less common specialty items like Trichoceveus candican and Aloe Plicatilis.
Community involvement is another facet of the nursery. Rose lovers and the town of Redwood City both benefit from Wegman's upcoming rose pruning demonstrati on to be held on January 18 from 1 pm - 3 pm at the Red Morton Community Center on Roosevelt Avenue in Redwood City. Attendees learn how to properly prune rose bushes, while they help improve the appearance of the community center's gardens.
Western Hills is famous throughout the United States for its collection of rare and unusual plants. Serious gardeners who travel to northern California often schedule a visit to Western Hills before they plan any other part of their trip.
In the midst of towering old redwoods, a three acre garden was started almost 40 years ago, so there are many mature specimens along the winding stream bed and cool pathways. Most of the plants available in tiny pots and gallon cans were propagated on site. The perennials are arranged alphabetically, but it helps to know what you want, since wandering around among plants with nothing but a Latin name can be overwhelming for the beginner.
The staff's horticultural knowledge is staggering, yet they remain kind, informative and unintimidating in the face of endless customers' questions. When they like something, they go all out....such as last summer, when Betsy Clebsch's Book of Salvias inspired customers to request more of the beautiful flowering perennial. At one point last season, Western Hills carried between 80 and 100 different salvias, suitable for sun or shade, ranging from groundcovers to the tallest varieties available.
Like most of the Bay Area, rain (almost 100 inches this winter) left its mark on the nursery. In addition to shrubs and perennials suitable for the moist woodland location, th ey also carry a fascinating assortment of rock garden plants and rare Asian specimens.
If you know what you want, can pick it out in a veritable forest, and can lift it yourself, Western Tree Nursery will sell it to you at wholesale prices. They are a self-service nursery for landscapers and for wholesale distribution, but knowledgeable retail customers can buy at the same rates ranging from $ 3.50 for one gallon can shrubs to $ 195 for 24 inch box grafted Japanese Maples and Dogwoods.
Trees, shrubs, ferns, vines, palms and expatiated specimens are organized in large blocks labeled state house, "hot house", "24 inch boxes," etc. Within those blo cks, rows and rows of plants have only minimal labeling, such as "H.(sp)" for the dozens of different hydrangeas. The nursery staff is too busy to answer questions. Besides, they expect their professional customers to be able to identify the plants they need.
The best way to visit Western Tree Nursery is to have a list of what you want before you go. It's impossible to browse; the choices are endless. The nursery covers 80 acres, and some customers have come armed with a tree book and walking shoes, then spent a full day just to find the one tree they want.
One final caveat: If you plan to take your purchase with you, be aware that California has strict highway rules about how far a tree can extend beyond a vehicle. Western Tree requires a minimum order of $500 for delivery with a $60 drop fee at their earliest convenience. Orders that total more than $1,000 get a 10% discount and free local delivery. Off-route deliveries are charged $2 per mile beyond Gilroy.
When the parent company, FW Woolworth, closed last spring, they sold all their nurseries to an investment group from Idaho. Bay Area Woolworth Nurseries now retain the name, but each store has an independent manager and varies in size, service, and quality. Almaden is the largest in space; Palo Alto has th e greatest sales volume.
They all carry essentially the same merchandise, though smaller stores, like Sunnyvale, carry fewer bulky items. They all emphasize color for instant satisfaction in the home garden, and they carry a good range of popular annuals and perennials for colorful planting results.
As a neighborhood nursery, most of the Woolworth's are very effective. They sell everything the weekend gardener needs: chemical and organic fertilizers and amendments, soil and seeds, a large variety of popular garden plants, houseplants and plenty of different pots. Most of the stores, like the one in Campbell, are very good about restocking, so they always have what their regular customers want.
Yamagami's Nursery has grown from a modest fruit stand in 1948 to one of the best nurseries in the South Bay. With ten CCNPs (California Certified Nursery Professionals) on staff, they offer consistently good advice for all levels of gardener.
Their wide selection of plant material covers everything for today's home garden and landscape, as well as more trendy items like organic vegetables, Whitney Farms organic plant products, native groundcovers and unusual daylilies. Gardeners particularly appreciate the plant labels and detailed signs throughout the nursery, giving tips on growth habit and culture for each plant.
People regularly comment on how Yamagami's staff members go out of their way to help search for exactly what the customer needs. They stock over 200 varieties of roses, but if a customer wants a different kind, and if they can g et it from their supplier, they are happy to special order even one rose bush. And the same policy applies to orders for rare and different fruit and nut trees.
Yamagami's owner Preston Oka, and store manager Ron Kanemoto, continue to improve the facilities too. They have recently finished installing a completely waterproof canopy over a large part of the outdoor section of the nursery, so customers can shop during the rainy months.
Their newsletter keeps customers informed about the newest plants to arrive, periodic guest speakers, and gives bright ideas for improving our gardens.
Yerba Buena offers gardeners a good opportunity to see California native plants in all stages of development. The beautiful mountaintop property was previously a nursery started by Gerta Isenberg in 1960, on the s ite of her family's turn-of-the-century cattle ranch. So towering redwoods provide a backdrop for magnificent old buckeyes, tall toyons, bushy ceanothus, good sized salvias and many other interesting specimens.
Their large collection of native plants, most of which are propagated on site, reflects the nursery's dedication to low impact gardening. They use as few chemicals as possible and encourage all forms of wildlife, including the caterpillars that will become butterflies. The only non-native plants they carry are exotic ferns, located in the cool, shady fern house.
From the spring wildflower meadow to the summer spectacle of lush white Matilija poppies, customers find a full range of native color along with the serenity and shade of cool evergreens. Staff members and interns are helpful and pleasantly willing to answer questions.
The nursery's scenic remote location (down a two mile long bumpy dirt driveway off Skyline Boulevard ) means that they are a specific destination spot, and the owners make it easy to spend hours (and dollars) in a lovely Tea Terrace and gift shop. Beverages and pastries are offered all weekend, and visitors can make reservations for High Tea during the week. Guided tours are available to groups that call well in advance.