After lunch with friends this week, I decided to stop in at a local garden center I hadn't visited in years,
International Garden Center. Not to shop, mind you. Just to look around. A while back, Denise of
A Growing Obsession had remarked that International was carrying a good supply of plants from
Annie's Annuals & Perennials, one of my favorite mail-order nurseries so I thought I'd check it out.
The place was bigger than I remembered.
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| The first thing I noticed was all the statues |
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| Frankly, these 2 gave me the creeps but I suspect they've been hanging around the garden center for a long time |
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| There were lots of fountains too (3 more Buddhas can be seen surrounding the middle fountain) |
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| There were water lilies - in bloom! |
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| And this wonderful fuzzy chicken (she had fuzzy feet too) |
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| And the largest staghorn fern I've ever seen |
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| And lots of succulents, of course |
There were a few things that tempted me.
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| Agave parrasana 'Fireball' (which I've never seen before), Protea cynaroides 'Mini King', and Leucadendron 'Jester' (I have one but I think I may "need" more) |
But the Annie's display was disappointing.
I left without anything and headed down Sepulveda Boulevard. Another garden center I hadn't visited in months,
Deep Roots, was just a couple of miles away on the same street. It seemed silly not to stop.
It was well-stocked and everything was in pristine condition.
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| A Grevillea tree (G. robusta maybe?) |
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| The intersection of the shade and succulent areas is always interesting |
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| As is the area at the other end of the garden center with all the Australian and Mediterranean plants |
There was a lot to tempt me here too.
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| Clockwise from top left: That Agave parrasana again!, Amaranthus tricolor, Colletia paradoxa (on my wish list but too expensive in a 3-gallon pot), a variegated Cordyline, Grevillea 'Superb' (now available in 1-gallon pots!), and Protea cynaroides |
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| I don't usually go ga-ga over cycads but this Dioon was breathtaking |
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| The UCLA/Bruins vs USC Trojan pots made me laugh (I never realized there might be a driving force behind my tendency to select pots in the color of my grad school alma mater)) |
But I headed back to my car without removing my wallet from my purse.
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| I took note of this impressive vertical garden display as I headed out |
On my way home, after stopping by the supermarket, I passed
Armstrong Garden Center and decided that, while I was on a roll, I'd stop in there too, just to see what's up. They often have container sales in late summer and I wanted to see if they had any deals.
My local Armstrong (part of a chain) recently redid the landscaping around its front entrance in a more xeric style.
They've also moved their succulents displays up front.
They expanded the rest of their drought tolerant selections some time ago but they've recently restocked all their tables.
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| I noted that, now that I'm no longer looking for Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' in 1-gallon containers, they're now carrying them but they made up for it by having Grevillea 'Pink Midget' in stock, which I've coveted since visiting the Australian Natives Nursery earlier this year |
The wallet did come out this time. After all, I had a $25 good customer credit available to me and, as a member of the local botanic garden, I get a discount on my purchases. There were no containers on sale but I did get 2
Grevillea 'Pink Midget', some thyme, and a few succulents.
I replanted one of my succulent pots this afternoon. It hadn't been touched in 4 years so it needed a refresh.
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| It's looking much better with a new Manfreda, Sedum, Graptosedum, and Echeveria (plus Senecio snipped from elsewhere in my garden) |
Best wishes for a wonderful weekend.
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© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
