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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!

: Fortuna dressed in her Mother’s Day floozie finest!

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!

Tags: Mother's Day Party 2011

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Categories Parties!, Spring gardens
Author anniesannuals

It’s starting to happen!

28 Apr

Looks like the gardens will peak just in time for our Mother’s Day Party on May 7 & 8! Get all the deets HERE!

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" & Glaucium grandiflorum GOOD copy

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 P hacelia 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.

Sidalcea hendersonii & Phacelia viscida Garden copy

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).

Tags: Aquilegia vulgaris 'Blue Barlow', Campanula glomerata, Delphinium belladonna 'Cliveden Beauty', Gladiolus carneus "Painted Lady", Glaucium grandiflorum, Layia glandulosa, Layia platyglossa, Lupinus 'Thomas Church', Nemophila menziesii "Baby Blue Eyes", Omphalodes linifolia "Venus' Navelwort", Penstemon pseudospectabilis, Phacelia viscida, Sidalcea hendersonii, Spring gardens

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Categories Annuals, CA native, cottage gardens, Parties!, Spring bloomers, Spring gardens, Spring planting
Author anniesannuals

Our AMAAAZING Spring Party!

13 Apr

Donkeys and owls and dragons – OH MY!

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

Costume Winner ! "Bachelor Button" dress made from crepe paper !

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.

costume Winner! Little Willow and Mama Willow.

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.