As an herbalist, one of my favorite fall traditions is harvesting hawthorn berries. Harvest or not, I adore the beauty of bare-limbed hawthorns laden with red/black berries against the matte grey sky or dusk of crisp fall evenings. Black hawthorn is a small, deciduous tree/shrub of the Rose Family (Rosaceae). Hawthorns have an attractive architecture, akin to Read more…

Our Annuals Are Ready! If you haven’t seen them yet, our yearly crop of annuals is ready! This year, we’ve grown some of your favorite annual wildflowers, and some that may be new to you. There are some rare plants, some common (yet stunning) species, and much more! From the Yorkias (formerly known as Clarkia) like the Read more…

Most of us don’t have space in our gardens for the world’s largest tree. And some recommend against planting one due to thirsty shallow roots. But in a landscape where there is plenty of space and water, coast redwood Sequoia sempervirenscan be used as an evergreen screen or to create a shady grove for a cool retreat Read more…

Come by the nursery during shop hours and guess how many Dipterostemon capitatus bulbs are in the bottle. The closest guess will win 30 corms plus a $30. gift certificate at the nursery. Make a guess for $1 – $5 sliding scale. Winner will be announced on November 28.

Purple needle grass (Stipa pulchra) in a garden setting evokes a sense of a wilder place. The flowers have a slight tinge of purple and a lovely silvery shimmer seen en masse from a distance, creating a pleasing effect on the spring breeze. In a mixed border with annual wildflowers, perennials and native “bulbs”, purple needle grass Read more…

If you are drawn to plants, you may have the sometimes dubious habit of botanizing as you go. This is a wonderful pastime if you are going on foot. But if you are going by bicycle, or worse, by car it can be a hazard and any poor soul brave enough to accompany you may wonder why Read more…

Common manzanita Arctostaphylos manzanita is an excellent representative of the many larger sized species of manzanita. Found in the wild along canyons and slopes in chaparral and oak woodlands of the Northern Coast Ranges, and in yellow pine forest communities of the Sierra Nevada foothills this multi-stemmed beauty is well worth the patience it takes to grow. Read more…

California false indigo (Amorpha californica var. californica) is a spring bloomer with handsome spikes of deep violet flowers. This deciduous shrub is classified in the pea family, though the flower looks nothing like a typical pea flower. Each floret is composed of a single reduced petal off-set by contrasting white stamens tipped with bright yellow/orange anthers. Amorpha Read more…

The nightshade family or Solanaceae is familiar to most of us: tomatoes, eggplants, and most sweet and hot peppers are closely related to blue witch. Unlike our cultivated culinary classics, Solanum umbelliferum is not edible to humans or pets (in fact, it is highly toxic if ingested). Its fruit however, are a great treat for many visiting and resident Read more…