Over the years, we’ve come across some pretty dependable – and dependably pretty – bloom-at-the-same-time plant combinations. And each year, it seems we discover new ones! For us, that’s a huge part of the fun of gardening – and of course, we love to share our tried-and-true, can’t-go-wrong favorites with you!

Our Springtime gardens wouldn’t be the same without our  favorite California wildflower and #1 stunner , Nemophila menziesii “Baby Blue Eyes.” Once you’ve edged your Spring garden in this little slice of sky-blue heaven, you’ll be hooked! Which is fine because it looks great with everything, especially other natives that bloom at the same time. Here it looking perfectly perky with Malcolmia maritima and  fellow natives Platystemon californicus, Nemophila menziesii ‘Snow White’ and Limnanthes douglasii “Meadow Foam.”

Yup, looks great with the fiery red of Eschscholzia californica ‘Red Chief,’ too!

“Baby Blue Eyes” looking extra fine with red hot Cal Poppy ‘Red Chief.’

Another knock-out and goof-proof duo we return to again and again is Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Blue Springs’ and Eschscholzia californica ‘Apricot Chiffon.’ You just can’t beat the alchemy between the radiant Poppy and the luminous, almost turquoise Penstemon. Not shy in the bloom department, these two will go to town for months! Deer and drought resistant, they’re fine in low fertility soil and even more bodacious in regular garden soil with some compost!

Okay, so say pastels aren’t really your thing. We can work with that! One of our favorite combinations pits primary gentian blue Anagallis monellii against the solar flare sunshine of Ursinia anthemoides. Throw in the peachy-amber foliage of Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ and you’ve got a fantasically contrastic combo that does great in low water gardens.

From left to right: Heuchera ‘Marmalade’, Anagallis monellii and Ursinia anthemoides. BAM.

Dreamiest spikes of creamiest apricot-blushed-rose blooms make this properly 3′ tall Snapdragon a perfect companion to so many other Spring (and Summer!) bloomers. Here it is canoodling with the long-blooming frothy lace caps of Orlaya grandiflora “Minoan Lace.”

If we handed out awards to our favorite bloomers, Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’ would probably sweep the floor, winning “Most Congenial,” Most Stylish” AND “Most Versatile.” Easy and exceptionally long blooming, it gets along with EVERYBODY and looks chic and fabulous doing it.  Plant it in containers or in the garden, it’ll thrive in sun (along the coast) or shade, its lime green flowers providing the perfect foil for more vibrant bloomers like Agrostemma githago ‘Milas.’

So there you have it, folks – some simple and stunning combos you can try at home. AND, since so many of these luscious lovelies self-sow, you’ll enjoy future generations of combinations next Spring and beyond!

]]> http://blog.anniesannuals.com/2013/03/21/combination-nation/feed/ 2 anniesannuals Nemophila menziesii scene Nemophila "Baby Blue Eyes" & Cal Poppy 'Red Chief' Cal Poppy 'Apricot Chiffon' & Penstemon heterophyllus Cal Poppy 'Apricot Chiffon' & Penstemon heterophyllus Anagallis monellii & Ursinia anthemoides Ursinia anethoides & Anagallis monellii Antirrhinum 'Chantilly Peach' and Orlaya grandiflora Antirrhinum 'Chantilly Peach,' Orlaya grandiflora & Nicotiana 'Lime Green' Nicotiana 'Lime Green' & Agrostemma g. 'Milas' Agrostemma githago 'Milas' http://blog.anniesannuals.com/2013/02/20/which-papaver-are-you/ http://blog.anniesannuals.com/2013/02/20/which-papaver-are-you/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:14:15 +0000 anniesannuals http://blog.anniesannuals.com/?p=1308 ]]> Here at Annie’s , we love our giant Papavers and we grow over 30 different varieties. Call us crazy, but we have a theory that there’s a Papaver for every personality and every garden!

Papaver ‘Drama Queen’

Crazy colorful and wild at heart, Papaver ‘Drama Queen’ isn’t afraid to say: “Don’t mess with me fellas! This isn’t my first time at the rodeo!” Beautiful, brazen and so far over-the-top, the garden falls into silence the minute one of its buds pops open. All of its Poppy friends hide their wire hangers when it comes over.

Papaver ‘Cupcake’

So sweet and sunny and perfectly princess pink, pretty Papaver ‘Cupcake’ always sees the compost pile as half full. So dang upbeat, it’s infectious – it can even make people who hate pink spontaneously burst out into song.

Papaver ‘Venus’

Like a gift from the Poppy gods, ‘Venus’ is a cross between a neo-classical goddess and a cheerleader on steroids. When it lifts its massive salmon-pink pom-poms skyward and shouts: “Give me a P!” the crowd goes wild. 

Papaver ‘Single Black’

Like Stevie Nicks in her witchy phase, Papaver ‘Single Black’ swirls around the garden in a cloak of deepest maroony-black petals. People rely on it to add a touch of danger and intrigue wherever it’s planted and it never disappoints. Naughty and nice planted with frothy white “Venus’ Navelwort” for maximum rock and roll!

Papaver ‘Falling in Love’

Walking around with its head in the clouds, every day is Valentine’s Day for ‘Falling in Love’. Soft and bubbly, it loves surprises and rewards admirers with a loveable mix of bicolored pink and white, scarlet-orange, rose, pink or peach blooms. Sure, some of its less showy and more bitter garden rivals call it “Flailing in Love” but it doesn’t care. It knows life is too short to give your heart to just one suitor.

Papaver ‘Queen’s Poppy’

Do you like to wear capes? Do you keep your family jewels in a tower? Then most certainly ‘Queen’s Poppy’ is for you! Positively regal – and immense! – 5″ cherry pink blooms, conferred with a white Maltese cross at the base rise up and rule the garden in late Spring. Reseeds reliably so that successive generations can ascend the throne.

Check out all of the different varieties we grow! 

Watch a SLIDESHOW of all our favorite Poppies!

Here is the final result for the always popular mixed planting of Papaver commutatum “ Ladybird Poppy” with California native Nemophila menziesii “Baby Blue Eyes” and tall, white, cottagey classic annual Agrostemma githago ‘Ocean Pearls’ or “White Corncockle”. A fool proof-slam dunk Springtime combination – just imagine these plants repeated in groups over a larger space!

Here it is a month earlier before the Agrostemma started blooming and when the white California poppies, Eschscholzia californica ‘Alba’, were just coming into flower. Here along the coast in the Bay Area, I plant all these annuals in early February for a maximum bloom-at-the-same-time April – May show. You folks in Southern California would generally plant them in November – December for a late February – March bloom. Basically, they take 2 months from their 4” pot size to burst into all their glory. I plant them pretty darn close together – about 10-12” apart as you can see in my last blog, where I tried to show what they look like just after planting. This helps them fill in fast, look super co-mingly and prevents unattractive bare space (and weeds!).

Big thrill for me! My first-time experiment pairing EASY South African bulb Ixia ‘Buttercup’ and new-to-me Southern California purple California native Phacelia minor was a success! They did bloom at the same time!

I planted the Phacelia in early March and it worked out just right. Wonderfully rich colored bells were displayed so showily atop quite handsome low foliage. A swell contrast with the Ixia, which has been in the ground for 2 years. And notice the rather perfect purple and yellow bicolored Lupinus regalis ‘Thomas Church’ in the background, making a picture perfect harmonious vertical accent. The Lupine is a perennial and so is the Ixia, which spreads politely in your garden to make a patch of bright primrose prettiness each year. The Phacelia is a bee-magnet extraordinaire and will self-sow for a repeat performance each Spring.

As I mentioned in my March post, I try to make the front bed as you enter the nursery as romantic as I can. Not everything worked out as I had imagined it (a really common occurrence!).

This spot is under partial shadow of a tree and I always forget that sun loving plants take longer to bloom with less sun, so my white poppies, Papaver ‘Bridal Silk’, bloomed late and you can only see one bloom on the right side of this photo. Luckily, the white columbine, Aquilegia caerulea ‘Krystal’ took its place. Still pretty, though, don’t you think? Here is a close-up of always beautiful, long lived and long blooming Dianthus ‘Pinkerton’ and “Baby Blue Eyes”.

Lastly, this was the first year I’ve tried this lovely new apricot colored Calendula ‘Bronzed Beauty’ in our gardens.

The gentian Ajuga genevensis I had planned for the front of the bed bloomed late this year, so I added in some quick flowering Viola ‘Bolwes Black’ along with the blue Delphinium bellamosum, peach foliaged Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ and Bellis perennis “English Daisy”. And here’s how it turned out for these photos – I think pretty nice!

That’s one thing I have learned from my years of gardening. You can never quite count on perennials, like the Ajuga, to behave the same way each year or to bloom at the exact same time – that’s one important reason to accessorize and fill in with annuals. You pretty much know what you’re gonna get and that it’s gonna look great. Besides, they self-sow for free plants every new season.

I hope my experiments lend some inspiration. Do stay tuned, as we filmed some nice videos of our Spring gardens this year, featuring more of my favorite “bloom-at-the-same-time combos” in all their fabulous glory! And hey, Happy Gardening everybody!

People are always asking me when they come in the nursery what I’m doing in the garden right now. They want just a few simple new plant combinations that they can try at home.

Here at the nursery, the goal for me is to get everything to be in full bloom for our SPRING PARTY on April 14 & 15. Each year, I try to do something new so that when people come in, it’s fresh and exciting. It’s thrilling and creative for me and folks are always happy and inspired to see something new. Plus, it’s fun!

This is the first demonstration bed you see when you enter the nursery. I want it to feel romantic, Springy and welcoming as visitors walk through the front gates.

Filling in the space around established Cephalaria gigantea, “Giant Scabious” – which won’t bloom until Summer – are exuberant Spring favorites Nemophila menziesii “Baby Blue Eyes”, Papaver commutatum ‘Ladybird’ and Agrostemma githago ‘Ocean Pearls’. FYI: the white speckles covering the soil is Sluggo, my favorite non-toxic snail bait. NOTICE THE AMOUNT of Sluggo I’m using here. It’s been raining for the last three weeks straight – and that means its super snacky time for resident slugs and snails. I’ll re-apply it every five days while it’s raining to make sure my baby plants are safe.

Click to see a larger view of this garden!

Here’s an example of this combo with Orlaya grandiflora stepping in for Agrostemma ‘Ocean Pearls’. Pretty!

Super popular in the garden last year was Ixia ‘Buttercup‘. This year I’m trying it with purple flowered California native Phacelia minor in hopes that the pairing of bright purple and yellow will look exciting together. Will they bloom at the same time? Let’s see what happens! (In case you’re wondering about the orange stuff on the soil surface, I’ve added a light layer of lava rock. Because we top-dress with compost several times during the year, we add the lava rock once a year to maintain optimum drainage).

Click to see a larger view of this garden!

Ixia, meet Phacelia.

Phacelia, meet Ixia.

It’s a month before the Spring Party and here I am adding in the quickest to grow and bloom annual – Malcolmia maritima. I looove Malcolmia with “Baby Blue Eyes” and just about any Dianthus. Last month, I planted the Delphinium and Papaver. The Dianthus are from last year – they remain my favorite long-lived, long blooming, old-fashioned, fragrant, perennial stand-bys for the edge of the garden.

Click to see a larger view of this garden!

Here’s a peek at at how sweet and wonderfully SPRINGY this combo looks.

Last year I was enamored with this new two-toned peachy-ruby Calendula, ‘Bronzed Beauty.’ So this year, I planted it near the entryway.

Photo courtesy the lovely Floradora Gardens.

Here, I’m just adding bright gentian blue Ajuga genevensis in the foreground and Delphinium ‘Bellamosum’ in the back. Bouncy white English daisies (Bellis perennis) will fill in any emtpy spaces. For foliar interest, there are a few grasses plus harmoniously peachy Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ and ruby-ribbed Rumex sanguineus.

Click to see a larger view of this garden!

So there you go! With just a few well-chosen Spring bloomers, you can make great combinations that will delight your eye and make you and your garden feel so totally successful!

Thank you everybody who came to our fabulous Mother’s Day Party last weekend! I always say Mother’s Day is my favorite party at the nursery and this year was no exception. Everyone is always in such a splendid mood and the gardens are at their showiest!

Glorious Spring!

We are always so delighted and touched to see so much love and so many big happy smiles all around us.

Mom and Daughter in law are all smiles.

Everything looks better upsidedown!

Give your mama a squeeze and say cheese!

And, as always, we had so much fun with our big Queen for a Day winners and thrill-seeking Musical Chairs contestants!

Saturday's Queens for a Day won 15 minutes of FREE shopping!

The last gardener sitting wins a $100 gift certificate!

I felt like I won the grand prize when one of our visitors showed up in my ultimate dream car – a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. Lovingly restored, it was turquoise inside and out with gold lame interior trim. Be still my beating heart! I even got to go for a spin around the parking lot!

And then the day got even better when my eldest son surprised me by showing up at the nursery on Sunday. Without warning, he had driven up from LA, making me the happiest mom in the world!

Me and my big boy!

Watch a slideshow of our Mother’s Day Extravaganza!

Everything is blooming about a month late because of the cold and the rain and the hail (and the rain an the hail and the cold). We didn’t know if this year’s gardens would end up a complete disaster after an unusually brutal Winter but once again, Mother Nature is delighting us with her magic.

Lupinus 'Thomas Church' and Aquilegia v. 'Blue Barlow' looking spiffy!

The California natives seem to be especially slow, with California poppies yet to bloom and Nemophila menziesii “Baby Blue Eyes” growing in slow motion. But, the Lupines are earlier than ever and thriving!

Omphalodes linifolia provides a delightful white skirt to our boy 'Thomas.'

Layias were one of the CA natives not affected by the rain and it didn’t seem to mind the cold. Some of them did get a little beaten down by the hail, but they’re sure bringing their rays of sunshine to the beds right now.

Layia platyglossa "Tidy Tips" and Penstemon pseudospectabilis with Campanula glomerata.

Layia glandulosa makes the perfect partner to Nemophila menziesii "Baby Blue Eyes."

We’re LOVING the true form of Layia glandulosa. Everybody loves blues and whites in the Spring garden, but you need soft yellows to balance it out and bright pinks to make it pop. I’m so excited because this is the perfect soft yellow to go with all of our Spring bloomers!

Gladiolus carneus "Painted Lady" and Glaucium grandiflorum make odd bedfellows.

Every year is different and full of surprises. I’ve never seen these two plants bloom at the same time before, hence the unusual color combo! That’s Gladiolus carneus, a South African bulb, returning for another year and Glaucium grandiflorum (orange), blooming much earlier than it usually does for us. Both require no Summer water.

Just coming into bloom is Delphinium belladonna ‘Cliveden Beauty’, Sidalcea hendersonii and ultra-blue CA native Phacelia viscida. The Sidalcea is one of my favorite perennials, I use it everywhere because it blooms Spring thru Fall and is so very reliable, becoming bigger and bloomier every year.

From left to right: Delphinium belladonna 'Cliveden Beauty,' Sidalcea hendersonii and Phacelia viscida.

Bumblebee magnet Phacelia viscida how we love you!

Believe it or not, there are a whole lot more plants still to bloom in this garden. I think they should hit their peak just in time for our Mother’s Day Party on May 7 and 8. How cool is that? You should definitely come – bring your Mom AND your camera! MORE ABOUT THE PARTY HERE!

Carnival colors: Greek poppies (red), Layia platyglossa (yellow), Cheiranthus allionii (orange), Eschscholzia caespitosa (shortie yellow) and Aquilegia c. "Rocky Mountain Columbine" (light blue in background).

Big, BIG thanks go out to all our gardening friends, who made this year’s Spring Party the biggest, best and funnest EVER!

A beautiful day was had by all!

We were so lucky to have incredibly Springy weather with blue skies and big puffy clouds – a perfect setting for a weekend of fun, flowers and extreme silliness.

The day started out with our Cuckoo Mookoo Costume Contest and we have to say, the costumes this year were INCREDIBLE. Octavius Seymour the Owl, Snappy the Snap-Dragon and the beautiful Bachelor Buttoness to name just a few!

Snappy the Snap-Dragon and Friends

Octavius the Owl and the Spring Fairy

The Marquesa of Bachelor Buttons - in a handmade dress of crepe paper! Incredible!

How lucky were we to also have two outstanding speakers – Kate Frey and Amy Stewart. Both talks drew big crowds and were packed with so much good information on habitat gardens (Kate) and eeeeevil plants (Amy).

Pollinator crusader Kate Frey told us all how to bring more pollinators to our gardens.

Amy Stewart's talk about wicked plants had us itching to put on gloves and goggles before gardening.

And what’s a party without a few surprises? Cassie of Gardengirl Farms brought adoptable chickens and bunnies and Michael Layefsky, aerial photography enthusiast and gardener, showed up to take pictures of all the shenanigans with a camera attached to a 25-foot pole.

Aerial pole photography rig. Cool!

Here we are! Photo courtesy Michael Layefsky.

Young and old were delighted when the cutest miniature donkey named Little Willow walked through the gate, all dressed in flowers for the costume contest.

Little Willow the Donkey with her mom Willow.

Unquestionably, the most fun happens at the games! First up was the Supermarket Sweep raffle – where two lucky people win 15 minutes of FREE SHOPPING! We like to see their little red carts piled as high as they can go!

Saturday's Winners and their haul!

And where else can you become a Gardening Olympiad for how fast you can coil a hose or how accurately you can fling extremely lifelike pieces of cat-poo? Speed and teambuilding are tickets to success for winning the Snail-in-the-Spoon Relay Race.

A burst of speed from a Snail Relay contestant.

$#%&@#!!!!!

Intense concentration and focus during the Cat Poo Toss for Accuracy.

All in all it was a joyous day where everyone could let loose, laugh, play and celebrate another glorious Spring! Yay!

See lots more funny photos in our AMAZING SPRING PARTY SLIDESHOW!

Even though we now sell just as many perennials as annuals here at “Annie’s,” annuals are where we got our start. Easy-to-grow yet increasingly hard-to-find annuals filled the trays in Annie’s backyard nursery 20 years ago, just as they fill the tables of our 2.5 acre urban growing grounds today. Back then, ladies approached Annie with requests for plants they remembered from their grandmother’s gardens, but could no longer find at their local nurseries. She grew them and they flew out the door! Now, the timeless charm and happy-go-lucky ease of these cottage garden favorites are what keeps people coming back year after year.

This garden owes its charm to annuals like wee Eschscholzia caepitosa, Lupinus succulentus 'Rodeo Rose' and Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green.'

So when Fine Gardening asked us if we wanted to write a story about our Top 10 Favorite Annuals, how could we say no? Of course we’re not talking boinky, squatty, run-of-the-mill annuals you can buy in giant stores which shall remain nameless. We mean old-fashioned, hard-working, classic cottage garden annuals that exude charm and pull the garden together. They bring in the bees and hummingbirds and hide the knobby knees of taller perennials, thrilling us with their sparkle and shine. In other words, they’re the annuals we can’t live without!

Our Spring gardens would be incomplete without CA native Nemophila menziesii "Baby Blue Eyes."

Renowned for their profuse bloom, delightful habit and conveniently self-sowing ways, these original varieties are almost impossible to find in many nurseries nowadays. You’ll most likely have to start them from seed unless you order them through our mailorder department or can find small plants offered at local farmer’s markets or plant sales.

Thomas Jefferson grew Polygonum orientale at Monticello and it was first grown in the US in the 1700s.

Of course, annuals are also a little misunderstood. Some people want to know why they should bother planting something “that’s just going to die.” Welllll, we have lots of opinions about that! The annuals we’re talking about don’t just disappear after one season. They’re tried and true, seeding themselves here and there, so you’ll have plenty of FREE plants next year. After hundreds of years of being passed-along and shared, they’re classic cottage annuals for a reason!

"German Catchfly" blooms like crazy and is one of the most cheerful sights in the Summer garden.

Lime-a-licious Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' combines beautifully with just about anything.

While a massive amount of trendy plants and the latest hybrids come and go each year, old-fashioned favorites like “Love–in–a–Mist,” “Bachelor’s Buttons” and “Kiss–Me–Over–the–Garden–Gate” soldier on in cottage plantings across the globe, appreciated for their resiliency and treasured for the ethereal charm they bring to our gardens. We’re so happy we have a chance to share them with you. Pick up a copy of the March/April issue of Fine Gardening Magazine to get the whole scoop!