Annie's Awesome Newsletter Archive

Plant some JOY with our wild and wonderful selection of Mediterranean climate lovin' bulbs!

We're super picky about our bulbs. We nurse and nurture many of them from seed, grow them out for a year (or two!) and then divide them, meaning they're time and space consuming and maybe not all that practical but hey ... who said gardening was entirely about practicality? Well-rooted and ready for prime-time, all bulbs are in active growth in 4" pots when we ship them out, ensuring they're alive and thriving, ready to be planted the minute they get to your garden.

Our easiest and pleasiest combo of the week yet!

Your window to plant annual California native wildflowers comes to a close mid-April but there’s still plenty of time to get these sweethearts in the ground now for Spring bloom! One of our favorite bloom-at-the-same-time combos – and easiest – is this timeless cottage classic featuring our ever-present Springtime staple Nemophila menziesii "Baby Blue Eyes", and fellow natives sunny Eschscholzia caespitosa "Tufted Poppy" and cheery, cherry Lupinus succulentus ‘Rodeo Rose'.

The BEST CA natives for Bay Area gardens with RPBG's Bart O'Brien on Sat. March 21 at 11 am!

Join us Saturday, March 21 at 11 am for an inspiring session with the ever-engaging Bart O'Brien, Director of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Regional Park and co-author of the truly excellent books Reimagining the California Lawn and California Native Plants for the Garden.

Get creative with red, yellow & blue bloomers!

When our seed source for Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird' proved unreliable a couple years ago, we knew we were in trouble. As one of our favorite, most reliable and best-selling poppies, our gardens and display containers just wouldn't be the same without it! Thankfully, after a couple years of getting things sorted out and (ok, mostly im)patiently waiting, we're excited to announce that the Lady is back! And with plenty of time to plant for spectacular Spring shenanigans!

Come learn about healing herbs in the garden with Sarah Sutton on Sat. March 7 at 11 am!

We welcome back Sarah Sutton, Landscape Architect and author of “The New American Front Yard: Kiss Your Grass Goodbye” to talk about one of her favorite subjects – healing herbs in the garden on Saturday, March 7 at 11 am!

The prettiest power couple you can plant right now!

One of the prettiest and most eye-pleasing power couples to ever grace our garden beds is this inimitable duo – Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' and Agrostemma 'Milas'. So iconic, we think they deserve their own portmanteau à la Brangelina and Kimye (Nicostemma? Agrostiana? Suggestions welcome!).

Our 2019 plant trials are complete! We've weighed and measured the new recruits – and we weren't softies unable to choose between all of our precious babies. Oh, heck no! Out of the 1150 plants we trialed last year, only 128 made the cut. Less-than-fabulous performers – whether they be unimpressive bloomers, too wimpy for our climate, or way-to-hard for the average gardener to grow – have been brutally culled. The champions that remain have floated to the top like sweet, velvety cream. So, meet a handful of the beauties that blew us away in 2019 – with many more to come!

Dreamy & romantic combos you can plant now

Pretty pastels mix and mingle in this sweetheart of a Spring garden featuring long-blooming California native wildflowers Nemophila menziesii "Baby Blue Eyes", Gilia tricolor "Bird's Eyes" and Eschscholzia californica ‘Alba’. Plant now for a beautiful bloom-at-the-same-time explosion come March/April! Supporting perennial castmates Aquilegia chrysantha 'Yellow Queen' and Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Electra' round out the show, blooming well into Summer and beyond with deadheading.

Jeff Moore of Solana Succulents shares
his faves February 22 at 11 am!

Jeff's new book “Spiny Succulents” explores some of the truly extraordinary prickly plants in cultivation: cacti, Euphorbias, Fouquierias, terrestrial bromeliads and a host of other dry-climate and often spiky architectural wonders. His presentation features beautiful images of mature landscape plants photographed throughout California and Arizona – many of which also make for delightful container specimens – and his commentary will include cultural tips and care for new enthusiasts as well as veteran succulent die-hards.

"Spiny Succulents" is the fourth book in a series, and Jeff will offer all books for sale with a signing after the talk. Don't miss it!

Spring Inspiration Starts Now with our
Spectacular Spring Slideshow!

Greetings garden friends! The days we Western gardeners look forward to all year-long are upon us! Longer days, a few Spring showers (yay!!) and the the first sweet sounds of birdsong can only mean one thing ... SPRING is near!!

In honor of this magical gardening time of year – so full of promise and potential! – we've put together an inspirational and uplifting SPRING SLIDESHOW to get you in the gardening mood. Cruise ahead of the gardening curve with the most luscious plant combos and color schemes for the new season!