A friend and I turned up at South Coast Botanic Garden on Saturday morning to attend the garden's first plant sale since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. On this occasion, the event was held in the upper meadow area, which is near the garden's entrance. Although we arrived just 45 minutes after the sale opened, there were already people wheeling carts of plants to their cars but at least we had no problem with parking, which has been an issue in prior years.
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View of the plant sale area from the entrance to the upper meadow just off the main promenade
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The sale plants were widely spaced so there wasn't any of the elbow-to-elbow contact I've experienced at previous sales. There were also a lot more plants in very large pots (with prices that matched their size).
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In prior years, I'd say that the the majority of plants were propagated onsite by SCBG volunteers but the propagation team hasn't been reassembled since the volunteers were furloughed back in 2020. I'm assuming that these "homegrown" plants were donated by volunteers doing their propagating at home.
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There were plenty of succulents, many also in large pots. As I generally prefer to buy plants in small pots (one-gallon or less), this was something of a disappointment. The prices were lower than one would pay at local garden centers but not by a large margin.
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They had a range of shrubs not commonly found in local garden centers, including Banksia, Cussonia, and Hakea. I might have caved and taken home a Hakea laurina as I've been looking for that plant for ages but they were all gone!
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There was a good supply of large Tillandsias, most unlabeled, but the prices on those ranged from $90-$100 and even my 10% SCBG member discount wouldn't have taken the sting out of that
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I've always had a bit of a fascination with Deuterocohnia brevifolia but $25 for a very slow-growing plant in a small pot had me taking a pass
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As my friend hadn't seen the garden's topiary menagerie exhibit, we made the rounds of the displays. In the process we found the one display I missed on my prior visit.
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The "Swarm of Butterflies" was of course located near the butterfly exhibit
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My friend liked the flamingo display best. I noted that a couple more flamingos had gotten names (in exchange for a donation to the garden) since my prior visit. This one stood out.
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We stopped by my local garden center to kill some time before heading to an early lunch at a nearby restaurant. All in all, it was a pleasant day, warm but not broiling. And I brought home four new plants, all of which I've already tucked into place.
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I picked up 3 Mangave 'Pineapple Express', which I've planted in a relatively dry section of my back garden. Although it's only mid-May, my garden is already very dry and plants in many areas are struggling so you can expect to see me planting more and more succulents.
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I repotted the small Lepismium cruciforme, an epiphytic cactus, and I've added it to my lath house. It's related to Rhipsalis and apparently appreciates protection from hot afternoon sun.
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An SCBG representative told us that the garden plans to hold another plant sale in the fall. I look forward to it but I hope they'll bring in a larger variety of plants in smaller sizes. Some of my best plant "experiments" have been specimens I've picked up through SCBG sales but I'm unlikely to invest in large plants I've had no prior experience growing. Experiments are best started small.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
