Annie's Awesome Newsletter Archive

Oh deer oh deer you’re not welcome here! Though everything you see is pretty as can be, its neither delicious nor nutritious, so move along and let our plants be.

While for some, August signifies the dog days of summer, for those who live near forests and natural open spaces, August can mean an unwelcome influx of deer venturing into our yards in search of food and water. If hungry enough, they’ll eat pretty much anything, so no plant is 100% “deer proof”, but there are many many evergreen, floriferous and beauteous plants that will have them cruising right past your place and over to the neighbors.

Planting in containers is a great way to bring living beauty to whatever large or small space you have while having fun experimenting with mixing and arranging different containers and flower types together. At Annie’s we’ll plant almost anything in a pot, but we rarely put more than one type of plant in a container at a time. Having just one or two plants per pot lets them grow fuller and last longer because their roots are not competing for space and nutrients in the soil. We then like to group lots of…

With so many beautiful, low growing, spreading, bloomiferous, drought tolerant, CA native, lawn-alternative options, there’s no time like now to ditch the lawn and gain a garden. The native bees, butterflies, birds, other critters, and your wallet, will thank you. This week we’ve assembled some of our "Favey Fave" lawn-to-garden options. Plus, this Saturday (7/23) at 10am Ann-Marie Benz from the California Native Plant Society will be giving a FREE TALK in the Nursery about the best ways to plan to take out your lawn, key next steps, and how to choose native plants according to your specific garden goals, area and style.

Happy National Pollinator Week! We know, you know how important it is to include pollinator plants in your garden, to provide not only a food source for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects, but to provide shelter and habitat too. No matter what your garden style, sun, space or height needs, or color themes, we’ve got annual and perennial options aplenty. We’ve assembled some of our FAVEY FAVE summer to fall, bee-loving bloomers here. But want more? Check out or complete list of bee-loving and butterfly-loving plants online and add some new pollinator plants to your garden.

Want big time color and pizazz in your summer garden? Look no farther than Zinnias! These old-fashioned MILDEW RESISTANT ZINNIAS grow super tall (to a proper 3'!) They're ridiculously ruffled, and bloom all summer and into fall with deadheading and a little side dressing of compost mid-season. Standing tall and proud, they attract fluttering hordes of butterflies, bees and beneficial insects – you'll never go back to dwarfed box-store Zinnias again! And did we mention you'll get cut flowers to fill every room in the house with a carnival of color! All zinnias prefer full sun and average water. Annuals - All zones.

Growing Hollyhocks and Lupines, are two surefire ways to bring beauty, romance and vertical excitement to your garden, with a bit of nostalgia “sown” in for good measure. Both produce lovely bushy foliage that frames the strong towering spikes packed top to bottom with blooms that the bees and butterflies go wild for. With heirloom, CA native, and best-in-breed, long-lived hybrid varieties in a wide range of colors – there are Lupines and Hollyhocks for everyone.

First time ever folks, we’re featuring the entire “Page Six” garden, straight from our Summer 2022 catalog. Our Summer SUNsations Garden is full of bold color, pollinator-loving, long-blooming summetime classic Dahlias, Rudbeckias, Veronicas, Echinaceas, Salvias and Marigolds, that’s sure to make your garden the talk of block, if not the whole town. This demonstration garden bed was approximately 12' by 6'. It was planted with 1-3 plants of each type grouped together for maximum fullness and fabulosity. We know it doesn’t feel quite like summer yet, but this is the time to plan and plant for your best-ever summer garden.