The weekend before last, a friend and I headed north to visit two of our favorite plant nurseries. As my friend wanted to connect with her nephew and his fiancee while they were in town for a wedding, we drove directly to Santa Barbara first, spending a little time with them at the Terra Sol Garden Center before stopping for lunch at a nearby restaurant offering outdoor seating.
I didn't dilly-dally at Terra Sol. My focus was on locating plants to fill the many empty spots in my garden so I snapped only a few photos.
![]() |
| This Passiflora vine was too large to even consider hauling home |
![]() |
| Terra Sol isn't big but it's always packed with good quality plants at reasonable prices |
![]() |
| A nice display featuring Cordyline, Coprosma, Agastache, Plectranthus (coleus) and Pelargoniums |
![]() |
| The shade plant area featured 2 arresting sculptural pieces |
![]() |
| And of course I had to say hello to the friendly garden cat |
After leaving my friend's nephew and his fiancee following lunch, my tour of Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria was somewhat more leisurely, although my focus was still on plants to fit the needs of my garden.
![]() |
| I always make at least 2 rounds of the sale tables to ensure I don't miss anything |
![]() |
| Seaside had a garden cat too |
After I made my plant selections, there was time to check out Seaside's demonstration gardens, starting with the Cottage Garden.
![]() |
| The Buddlejas and Salvias were going a good job of attracting butterflies. We spotted both Monarchs and Gulf Fritillaries. |
![]() |
| Although there were butterflies all over, this was the best photo I managed to catch |
![]() |
| After a very long dry season, most of the garden spaces, including the Grassland area, were subdued |
![]() |
| The Echiums in the Mediterranean Garden finished blooming long ago |
![]() |
| The Succulent Garden always looks good, even without floral color |
![]() |
| The Leucadendrons provided spots of color in the South African Garden. As in my own garden, the Osteospermums were just beginning to bounce back in response to cooler conditions. |
![]() |
| We were surprised to see a few Lotus still in bloom in the Asian Garden's pond |
I bought plants at both garden centers but I'll share my purchases later this week. In the meantime, here are some plants I didn't buy but did stop to think about.
![]() |
| If I thought Banksia spinulosa 'Schnapper's Point' (upper left) would be happy in a pot I'd have bought it but it really needs a lot of room. I was surprised to see the Pyrrosia lingua 'Ogon Nishiki' (upper right) labeled as drought tolerant but I've been disappointed by drought-tolerant ferns before. Two Tibouchina heteromalla (lower right) died in my current garden years before drought conditions reached their current state. I mainly sighed over Yucca 'Bright Star' (lower left) - smaller than the specimen I recently cut to the ground in the hope it'll regenerate, this one was priced at $110. |
I've spent much of my time the past week working in my garden. Most of the 3 cubic yards of mulch I had dumped in the driveway two weeks ago has been distributed, with just a little held back in reserve. I've continued to dig out plants that didn't weather conditions well over the past year. As our temperatures have cooled, I've taken some cuttings and I've begun installing my new purchases. I even have an order of plants scheduled for delivery by mail on Friday. Fall is a very busy season here!
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
