Greetings Everyone,
We are quickly approaching one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving! Everything about this holiday is great...time off work, near perfect weather, great homemade food, family and friends, and watching football just to name a few. One thing I do not care for, and I think most people agree, is how short the days are. Not having light to be outside after work limits some of my favorite activities. That being said, the nursery is looking fantastic and I'm loving the selection of plants that are available right now.
Plant Talk
Just arrived are our fall/winter bulbs including Amaryllis and Narcissus. Bulbs make great gifts and are easy to grow even for people with not-so-green thumbs. We have plenty of great blooming plants in stock right now as well. Bedding plants (look left! On sale now!) that bloom through the season include: Chrysanthemums, pansies and violas, snapdragons, and cyclamen (below left, great color and varieties for part sun/shady areas). In particular this time of the year I enjoy Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses' (below right), Arctotis 'Pink sugar', Chrysocephalum 'Yellow flame', and Evolvulus 'Blue my mind' (this one blooms almost year-round).
If you haven't started your fall/winter edible garden yet, don't worry you have plenty of time. Start by harvesting and removing your late summer crops, then make sure to replenish the nutrients in your soil with worm castings, organic fertilizer, and some fresh soil such as E.B. Stone's Recipe 420 which is just packed with nutrients and microorganisms. Then, plant what you enjoy! Available this time of the year are vegetable starts such as beets, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, peas, and lots of greens like spinach, cilantro, lettuces of all kinds, swiss chard, Asian greens such as tatsoi and mizuna, and herbs aplenty.
Next, keep an eye on our indoor and outdoor Ficus, which are on sale through the end of the month. Beginning with indoor varieties such as Ficus 'Audrey', different forms of Ficus lyrata (both column and single trunk), Ficus elastica 'Burgundy' and 'Siam ruby', Ficus 'Alli' and Ficus triangularis.
Ficus 'Audrey'
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Ficus Elastica 'Siam Ruby'
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Ficus 'Alli'
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Ficus triangularis |
For hardy outdoor varieties we have bonsai forms of Ficus monabeensis, Ficus tetensis, Ficus 'Ginseng', Ficus Palmeri, Ficus petiolaris, and Ficus afghanistancia (one of my new favorites), and also a select few of the more difficult to find Ficus religiosa (sacred Bodhi tree). Take one home before they are gone!
Ficus petiolaris
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Ficus tetensis
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Ficus monabeensis
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Ficus religiosa -
Sacred Bodhi Tree
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Finally, a mention of some of my favorite unusual cacti plants that are currently in stock at the nursery. I know a lot of people will shy away from buying them because of the spines, which I understand and yes, please refrain from caressing the cacti, but talk about a low maintenance plant that can tolerate hot sun and cold temperatures and produce some of the most unusual and beautiful flowers at the most unpredictable times!
Try the thornless Lophocereus schottii and schottii 'Monstrose' (on the right, also known as Totem pole cactus) for an awesome looking textured cactus.
Who can resist the beautiful blue color of the Pilocereus pachycladus (below left) or azureus (I know I can't, I have them both!) One of the newer rare forms of cactus we have is the Euphorbia trigona 'Monstrose' (below right) which has more sunken ribs, nice color, and an almost spiraling growth pattern. (I also had to have one of these, too!) There are many more, so I invite you to discover for yourself!
Please come in and take a look at what we have as we head into the holidays this year. We appreciate your patronage and thank you for thinking of us for your nursery needs.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I can't wait to see you at the nursery.