Since the weather cooled at the end of October, I've been making up for lost time shopping for plants. The weekend before last, a friend and I visited 3 garden centers in Santa Barbara County and last Friday I drove to Orange County to visit
Roger's Gardens. As I'd arranged to meet a friend down there for lunch, I didn't dilly-dally much with photos but I snapped a few things that caught my attention upon arrival.
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| I was also impressed with the massed planting of Crassula multicava next to the Aloes. I've planted nearly a dozen of these plants in my own garden but it never would have occurred to me to mass them like this. |
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| I was tempted by this display of tiny barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) in 4-inch pots. I don't usually get excited about true cacti but these are one of the exceptions. Mature specimens are usually very expensive. These weren't expensive but, between having no idea where I would put them and the time I expected it would take for them to reach basketball size, I turned my back and moved on. |
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| This is one of the best specimens of Cordyline 'Electric Flash' I've seen. Bugs of some kind ate away at the roots of 2 smaller specimens I planted from 1-gallon containers a couple of years ago but I may try another in a pot one day. |
Although Roger's opened its Christmas Boutique before Halloween, preparations for the event were still in full swing when I visited.
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| The succulent display in the demonstration garden near the front entrance (on the left, photographed in September) has been replaced by the usual toy holiday train display (current photograph on the right), although the train itself didn't appear until I was on my way to the check out area. |
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| Baskets meant to conjure winter (despite the pleasantly warm weather) were in place |
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| An area intended to display wreaths was under construction |
But scarier than any of the Halloween decorations that Roger's had on display on my prior visit in September, including the avenging angel...
Was this sight:
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| The back lot filled with fresh Christmas trees |
I didn't peruse the holiday displays. I selected the plants I'd been looking for and several more I wasn't and high-tailed it to my lunch appointment.
More frightening still, I looked out my home office window Monday night and saw the first house in the area totally bedecked in lights. How did Christmas sneak up on me yet again?! Our temperature is expected to reach 90F today! I haven't even thought about holiday greeting cards, presents, decorating or celebratory get-togethers. I still have gardening to do!
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| Filling this basket, hung on a screen on our south side patio, was my primary objective in visiting Roger's. It doesn't look like much yet but I'm hoping it'll be gorgeous by January. It contains: Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', red pansies, 3 Butterfly Amaryllis (Hippeastrum papilio), and rooting cuttings of Alternanthera 'Little Ruby'. The bulbs are currently hidden behind the Lotus foliage, which should soon trail down to hide the basket. |
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| Among other things, I also splurged on an Aloe 'Safari Sunrise', shown here in place in my south side succulent bed |
I hope all of you in the US take time to thoroughly enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow before facing down the specter of the year-end holiday festivities. Best wishes!
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
