Nurseries & Garden Centers

Thigmotrope Vertical Garden

November 9, 2011 by Matti | 8 Comments

Flora Grubb Living Wall

Flora Grubb Gardens updated the look of their impressive woolly pocket wall last week. You can see how it looked last spring above. It’s always good to freshen things up. Their new transformation is pretty sweet…vertical garden on one side and Thigmotropes on the other. Thigmotrope? It’s their clever new way to mount Tillandsias on your wall.

Setting up the wall

I was without the good camera so I busted out the iPhone. Dead center is where that original wall garden hung. Here you can see them fork lifting the bones for the new wall garden into place…detail below.

New Wall Set up

Filling in the Garden Wall

After getting the bones in place, some of the Flora Grubb gurus got to work planting the shady side reusing the woolly pocket planters from the original hanging wall.

Filling in the garden wall

Shady side in progress

Man, it’s a treat to watch pros at work. Lots of Philodendrons and ferns were incorporated taking advantage of the lack of direct sunlight.

Living Garden Complete

More or less…the woolly pocket wall was finished. How keen of them to build a window in the middle.

Front of the new installation

Okay, here’s where it get even cooler. On the front of the structure, they inaugurated their newly released Thigmotrope Satellite. These metal guys are a fun way to display your Tillandsias on the wall. Good news for those of us who are running out of flat space in our homes. BTW, Tillandsias (aka Air Plants) are a great plant for those that have challenges keeping plants alive.

Thigmotropes installed with Tillandsias

I promised to bring the good camera with me soon to Flora Grubb to get some better pics. Seeing it completed…all I can say is the Thigmotrope rocks! Great work guys.

– Far Out Flora

DIY Succulent Bar

October 29, 2011 by Matti | 12 Comments

Succulents DIY style.

Can we say that Urban Bazaar Rocks!?! Since last time we visited them on 9th Ave and Judah in San Francisco, they added a whole new aspect of coolness called the Succulent Bar. You come…pick out your pot, pick out your plant, and do it yourself…leaving the mess to them. Hey, it’s a great way to make those cool gifts you always wanted to give, and funstar #1 to make. Or just keep for yourself….shh your secret is safe with us.

Pots to select.

Seeing the Succulent Bar for the first time during the Inner Sunset Fair, I was impressed that they’re offering Urban FarmGirls pots available for your sweet succulent babies. UFG is top notch in my book. They make the best hypertufa pots, bar none…light weight and with an attractive rustic-mod feel.

Ton O succulents.

Here’s where I love to gaze…the succulents. All from growers that obviously cares about succulents. Bold and colorful textures.

Crested Echeveria Doris Taylor.

Okay, now you sold me. Really? You have a cresting Echeveria ‘Doris Taylor’ in a two inch pots? No way! They’re always doing fun events at their place so great way to keep up to date is via their facebook & twitter.

Top Dressing.

I’ve gotta admit, that I’ve resisted the term ‘top dressing’ for a long time. Hey, I don’t mind mulching my pots with rocks, sand, or wood bits…but does it really have to be called top dressing? Starting a new term today… Hydro Accumulating Topper… aka H.A.T. Yes, now it’s time to add a HAT to your succulent pot.

Wait for it...and...done.

There you are. One awesome score from Urban Bazaar. Every DIY Succulent Bar planting is unique and for a fraction of buying all those bits in bulk for yourself. Click for more Urban Bazaar fun.

– Far Out Flora

Simply Succulent = Sweet!

July 22, 2011 by Megan | 14 Comments

Succulent Bicycle Heaven

Last weekend we headed up to Mendocino for a little vacation. Before we go all crazy with posts from the botanical garden (looking super awesome right now) and the town which is pretty much exploding with blooms I wanted to call out a cool little succulent nursery we’ve never checked out before called Simply Succulent in Fort Bragg. Super friendly and knowledgeable owner Rella was happy to let me take pictures like a crazy person, and even brought me in to one her employee only Epiphyllum hoop houses to check out the amazing blooms.

Epiphyllum Awesomeness

I did a really crappy job getting the names of Epiphyllums, which shouldn’t have been the difficult considering they were written clearly in sharpie on the leaves. Never have I seen so many Epiphyllums in bloom in one place! Fort Bragg resident Jim Goekler has been hybridizing them for years, and has shared quite a few with Renna for the public to buy. They’re amazing.

Senecio articulatus

Love this striking chalky blue Senecio, but I have to admit we did not buy a single plant on our entire trip. I think it’s a first for us.

Succulent Sculpture

Sedum Grouncover Lawn Alternatives

How cool would it be to have an entire lawn area covered in these Sedums? Rella has written an article about transforming your water hogging yard into a low water oasis in the most recent Mendocino Travel Guide.

Aeonium Forest

You gotta love mass quantities of Aeoniums grouped together. All in all, Simply Succulent is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Mendocino. Rella has an amazing assortment of awesome plants. You can check out all our pics from the nursery here.

Flower Floozy Fest

June 12, 2011 by Megan | 8 Comments

Phacelia campanularia ssp. vasiformis

Last week I brought the camera to Annie’s and went on a little photographing freak out one morning. I put all the new plants on the website, and am continually updating current plant descriptions and pics to make sure we have the hottest photo possible. Sometimes I even use my own pics, especially if the plant is brand new. This Phacelia is looking extra hot right now. I’m kind of surprised I never brought one home for the CA native middle.

Clarkia amoena ‘Aurora’

I think we might give that cute red flowered guy (Galvezia speciosa) hiding behind the Clarkia shot in the empty spot where the Echium wildpretii was.

Dahlia 'Dark Side of the Sun'

Here’s a good example of my laziness with photoshop for our flickr pics. Click on this link to see the same picture digitally fluffed. It’s nothing major, just a little tweak here and there. I rarely (never) bust out the photoshop on the pictures we upload to flickr. Here’s a couple more pretty pics. If you’re hankering for some more Annie’s Flower Floozy photo fun check out Floradora’s recent post with even more FABULOUS flowery pictures from Annie’s.

Lupinus regalis 'Morello Cherry'

Pretty pink Lupinus regalis ‘Morello Cherry’.

Dianthus carthusianorum

I’m not a huge Dianthus fan (sorry Annie), but I really like Dianthus carthusianorum.

Perilla frutescens 'Purple Shiso'

Purpliscious Perilla frutescens ‘Purple Shiso’.

Layia gaillardioides

Adorable California Native Layia gaillardioides.

April 19, 2011
by Matti
10 Comments

Welcome to the Cactus Jungle

While in Berkeley, I had to swing by one of my spiky faves, Cactus Jungle. Peter and Hap have been growing succulents for about 20 years and really have a knack for growing some great specimens such as this Feracactus … Continue reading →