Friday, November 29, 2013

Sale this weekend!

Happy holidays, garden geeks! We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!

We are excited to announce we'll be having at 20% SALE on ALL of our plants this weekend!


Stop in now, because we JUST got an order of new Annie's Annuals & Perennials in, and they will go FAST at this price! :) This is part of Country Roads' larger weekend sale, so it's most definitely worth your time to make a trip out to Old Town Orange this weekend!

Don't forget too, that this Saturday is "Small Business Saturday" - so shop small & local!


Sale is November 29th - December 1st.
Open 10-5pm every day.

See you soon!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Garden helpers

Our most recent garden helper is still learning to write her numbers. So, if some of our plant prices are hard to read this week please know that there is at least a very cute excuse...


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Lots of new goodies!

We hope you are all enjoying a lovely, relaxing Sunday morning! 
 Our gardens are looking mighty lovely right now, full of plants waiting to go home with YOU! 
We received a bit order of Annie's Annuals this past Friday. Our new sweet peas this week include "Blue Shift", pictured below, as well as "Black Knight", another unusual, fun favorite!

We discovered Primula "Yellow Bear's Ear" while pricing and cleaning up yesterday - REALLY cool plant, the photo doesn't do it justice. The gray foliage almost looks like a succulent!

 Hope to see you soon! Enjoy this AMAZING fall weekend!

Friday, November 08, 2013

"Spooky" dianthus and other goodies...

It's Friday! It's Friday! And we got some new plants in yesterday!

Lots of fun cottage garden goodies, including some really cool types of foxgloves, BLACK pincushion and dianthus, fun poppies AND the mysterious "Spooky Dianthus", pictured below, one of our very favorites!

We are open 10-5 every day, come in and take home some plants!

Photo from the awesome davesgarden.com

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Papaver!

Looking for ideas this Sunday? Try some gardening! 

We have several varieties of Papaver "poppies" in right now. These are the dramatic, TALL and very colorful poppies - nothing like the California specimens you might be used to seeing, though we love those, too! We have a variety of colors in, including a dramatic black, and the lovely lavender of "Sugar Plum", pictured below! 

Come in and try them out, they are only $3 for a 4" sized plant!

Photo courtesy of Annie's Annuals & Perennials

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sweet Pea time!

Nothing quite says 'cooler weather' to a gardener (well, to a gardener in Southern California that likes English and cottage garden classics...) like the mighty Sweet Pea! Lathyrus, the formal botanical name for the lovely Sweet Pea, is a large, diverse family of legumes. They are "native" around the globe in temperate climates, having been found in Europe, East Africa, South America, North America and Asia.

They are none for doing best out here in cooler weather, and are often planted fall through winter. Sweet Peas are pretty easy to grow - rich, "composty" soil, average water, and full sun is about all they need to do well. Be sure to give them a trellis or something to grow on - they are basically 'mini vines' that need support to do their best. About the only thing you can't do is plant them in really hot weather - they just won't do as well in the heat.

They are also kinda 'historical' - some of the varieties we carry were first bred a few HUNDRED years ago! Sweet Peas are part of a heirloom gardening tradition, keeping 'old' species of plants alive and in cultivation; you can read a bit about some of the varieties we are stocking below.

We have seven varieties of Sweet Pea's in stock right now, all grown by the always impressive Annie's Annuals & Perennials in Northern California. They in 4" containers and ready to go home with you! Check out the photos, provided by Annie's, below:

 The "Cupani" variety has a lovely 'two toned' color to it! Here is what Annie's Annuals has to say: 
"History & scentual pleasure! ‘Cupani’ was first cultivated by a Sicilian monk, Father Francis Cupani, who found this intensely scented wild sweet pea growing near his monastery in 1695. In 1699, he sent some seeds to a teacher in England & so ‘Cupani’ is the first recorded Sweet Pea to be cultivated. Though the beautiful deep purple-blue & violet bi-colored blooms are smaller than modern hybrids, ‘Cupani’ retains the original fabulous fragrance loved by Father Francis. No other sweet peas are this fragrant."


"Annie B. Gilory" is a pink variety first cultivated in 1907.  This variety tolerates heat a bit better than others, and has some of the best cut flowers (oh yes, Sweet Peas are GREAT in your flower arrangements!) of any Sweet Pea you will find!


Meet Lathyrus "Bary Dare": vivid, cherry red and ready to bring a boost of color to your yard! We love this variety for the bright dash of color it brings to a tradition of plants that tend to fall on the pastel end of the color scale. Pair him with some of the black varieties we'll be getting in soon!


"Erewhon" was cultivated in New Zealand, and we looooove the two tone color pattern! 
One of our very favorites!


This purple delight is known as "Lord Nelson". The flowers are really almost navy blue, very deep and stunning; in addition to color, Lord Nelson is grown for the powerful, rich, lovely scent it carries!


Check out "Painted Lady", and other favorite! Here is what our grower, Annie's Annuals, has to say:
"One of the five original varieties of Sweet Peas grown in the 1700’s, ‘Painted Lady’ is definitely one of the easiest to grow & we are so grateful it retains its original rich sweet scent. Vigorous & heat tolerant, it’ll grow to 8’ tall, bearing hundreds of 1.5” cherry & white bi-colored blooms on 8-10” stems – totally the best for cutting! Self-sows reliably so you never have to go without!"
 

How awesome is THIS color pattern?!?!? This Sweet Pea is "Wiltshire Ripple" and it's very very nice! Chocolate and burgundy in color, this lovely variety has a strong, heady scent as well!


All Sweet Peas are annuals, but will self sow - meaning, they will drop seeds and come back on their own - if you leave them alone! Bait for snails when they are young, as snails do love them, unfortunately, as much as we do! Other than that, try a few of these garden classics out, and have fun!

*all photos by Annie's Annuals & Perennials

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Pictures from the fall gardens!

Check out some shots of our garden that we took at sunset yesterday! 

We are looking quite full right now, AND are having a SALE this weekend only - 20% off all plants!







Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Mightly Scented Geranium!

photo courtesy of Flickr user @theManWhoSurfedTooMuch
From the Garden: The Mighty Scented Geranium!

    Happy fall! Autumn is one of our favorite seasons for gardening, and among the many plants we focus on this time of year is the lovely, mighty, scented geranium!

    Scented geraniums are much different from the ‘boring’ geraniums you might be used to! Members of the Pelargonium family, these plants are unique in that their distinct aromas emerge from their leaves, not flowers. The leaves have a scent gland located at their ‘base’, and lightly ‘crushing’ or squeezing the leaves results in a release of the oils that give these plants their unique smell! They flower with small white, pink, and occasionally yellow buds, but the leaves - with interesting shapes and texture and aroma - are the real stars of the plant. Scented geraniums originated in Africa, and made their way to Europe sometime during the 1600’s; the Dutch East India Company was trading them by the 1650’s, in fact.

    These are  remarkably easy plants to grow: give them full to partial sun and average to little water, and they will thrive! Seriously, that’s all it takes! The only real requirement they have is for good drainage, which is a must: their roots do not respond well to staying damp or wet.  Outside of that one fact, they are super easy to grow; we like to tease our clients that it would take a lot of effort to kill these plants! What we love best about them is that if they start to look a little ‘leggy’ or spindly, you need to only cut them back and they will flourish, coming back with a vengeance. Likewise, they are very easy to grow from cuttings, so once you have one thriving, you can easily grow your own additional plants, or give them away as gifts.  They do great in pots, hanging baskets, and mixed into your garden beds; throw them into your herb garden or veggie garden for a great, edible, addition of smell and color!

    Scented geraniums have a wide variety of uses. They can be dried and used in potpourri or sachets, and even added to your bath! In the kitchen, they can find their way into teas, flavored syrups, and jams. Some bakers line the bottom of cake pans for subtle flavor, while others use the leaves of these edible plants to garnish and decorate. You can flavor sugar with scented geraniums: alternate laters of sugar with leaves in an airtight container, let it sit for a week, and soon enough you will have flavored sugar to use in baking! Plus, in addition to of all of their many uses, they bring great aroma and texture and interest to any garden.

    There are many, many varieties of these plants, as many as 80, in fact! Currently, Johnnye Merle’s stocks a few of our favorites: coconut - which we adore for not only the amazing aroma it produces but also the delightful little flowers that pop up in the spring - is by far our favorite. We also love peppermint - known for it’s broad, fuzzy leaves, we have one growing outside our front door, in fact! - apple, nutmeg, and chocolate. There are also rose, lemon, lime, and apricot ‘flavors’, and several varieties that are bug repellants as well!

    Stop by our gardens to pick a few up and check them out! We sell them in small, 4” sized containers, making them a fun, affordable addition to your garden AND kitchen!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Just in: herbs and scented geraniums!

Scented geraniums!?!?!

We just got in a big 'ole batch of everyone's all time favorite: the lovely, easy to grow, hardy, great in your tea, great in your baking SCENTED GERANIUM!

Varieties include apple, chocolate, coconut (our fav!), nutmeg, peppermint, old fashioned rose, lemon and many more! We also updated our selection of herbs and have some fun, funky, and of course WEIRD stuff waiting to go home with you this weekend!




Plus, we still have all sorts of great plants from Annie's Annuals & Perennials in stock, too!

Hope to see you soon! Happy gardening!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

New plants this weekend!

Like many of you, we are in the midst of cleaning up our gardens after those crazy, hot, Santa Ana winds last weekend! 

But, the wind has passed, the rain has come, and the weather has gotten cooler, making it the PERFECT time to do some planting and pruning and general garden goodness! 

We are getting a HUUUUGE (seriously, like 50 different types of plants!) order from Annie's Annuals & Perennials tomorrow, including Fuchsia ‘Mrs. McDowell’, pictured below! 

We'll profile more of our new arrivals in the days to come, but be sure to stop by and see us this weekend, and take home some new treasures for your garden!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Happy fall!

Happy first day of fall! We look forward to the months ahead; fall seems to be the time we most appreciate the changes that happen all around us, our gardens providing a wonderful glimpse into what nature does.

Enjoy the colors, plant some ornamental grasses and cold season veggies, make some soup, carve pumpkins even if it's not Halloween, take note of the fall foliage and be happy! 


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Burgundy Loosestrife

One of our other favorite plants of the moment is Lysimachia atropurpurea “Burgundy Loosestrife”. Doesn't look like much in its little 4" container, but plant it in the ground, watch it grow, and once it blooms - WOW! It's a showstopper! SUCH A COOL PLANT!

We ordered too many of them because we love them so much, so we even have them on sale right now for just $3 each! Come in and try a few out, we promise you'll love them AND will impress your garden nerd friends!


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Black Coral Pea

Check out one of our newest additions to our gardens: Kennedia nigricans "Black Coral Pea"! We had this specimen in stock earlier this summer, and it sold out super quick! Easy to grow, this Australian native loves clay soil and is super hardy! Give it your toughest conditions, and it will thrive! Beautiful, unusual bloom, too! We kinda have a crush on this plant...




And don't forget, our sale section is nice and full right now, but stop in soon if you want to get in on it, our 'weekday regulars' will no doubt have it cleaned out by the end of the week!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Cleaned up and ready for YOU!

Good morning, garden geeks! We've done some major clean up the past two days, and hope you have time to come check out our work!

New this weekend:

1. Lots of plants moved to the SALE section and priced at 1/2 off or less! We had a lot of new goodies and decided to clear out most of our remaining summer stock, so you'll find some treasures in there!

2. Great selection of grasses and succulents from Annie's Annuals & Perennials!

3. Also from Annies: some fun selections like "Day of the Dead" marigolds, Angelica "Purpurea", new geraniums, delphiniums and much much more! 


Hope to see you soon!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Clean up, sale plants, and new Annie's Annuals!

     We've been working hard out in our garden, getting cleaned up from summer and our heat wave and getting all our new goodies out for you to take home! We'll be back at it today, so come in and say hi!

     We moved a BUNCH of stuff to our very popular SALE section (plants that just need a little TLC and are a great bargain) and we have a huge new order of treasures from Annie's Annuals & Perennials that just came in.

One of our favorites is Briza media "Quaking Grass": we looove grasses, especially in the fall, and this one is so so cool! It only grows to about 12-18” tall, and gives you these awesome small, heart-shaped florets that start out bright green from April thru June then turn golden with maturity, looking, as Annie's puts it, "like little fairy lanterns or the end of rattlesnake tails." Makes a really cool cut flower, too. Awesomeness. Get one!

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Where has the summer gone....SALE time!

Happy Labor Day weekend! We are having a big old fashioned SALE to celebrate!

All plants are 30% off Saturday, Sunday AND Monday!

Don't forget though, that the International Street Fair is going on Sat and Sun in old town Orange, so parking will be crazy. But worry not, our sale will continue on into Monday...along with the big sale that Country Roads is having that day as well!

Keep your eye out for lots of new goodies in the next three weeks as we clear out our gardens from spring and summer and get ready for the fall! We'll be having a fall garden party sometime in October, too!

Thanks for making us your garden 'go to' store this year - we are excited to move into the cooler months and the planting that goes with it!

-Brande


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Happy weekend!

We know it's hot out, but check out the lovely, spotted, super cool new Crassula that just arrived yesterday as part of our newest order from Annie's Annuals! It can take the heat and make you smile!


Friday, June 21, 2013

Garden party tomorrow!!!

Attention Garden Geeks: we'll be hosting a garden party tomorrow, Saturday June 22nd from 1-3 to celebrate the start of summer! 

All of our awesome plants will be 20% off all day Saturday (and only on Saturday!), including Hollyhock Alcea 'Halo Cream', a delightful new addition that just arrived yesterday!

 Come out and see us!




Monday, June 17, 2013

Monday Botanical Inspiration

Here is your Monday botanical inspiration: Clianthus puniceus ‘Albus’ “White Lobster Claw". 
It's a flower that looks like a giant white lobster claw. Best. Thing. Ever. 
We got 'em in stock, too - come by and take one home!
 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Sonchus congestus and many other new plants!

Good morning, garden nerds - happy weekend time!!!!

You totally need Sonchus congestus, from Annie's Annuals & Perennials, for your garden - it's totally prehistoric looking and will impress your neighbors!

There are lots and lots of new goodies in our garden right now, come check them out!

Monday, May 27, 2013

New plants and Memorial Day SALE!!!

Happy Monday morning, garden geeks!

Our gardens are nice and full right now with all sorts of amazing plants just waiting to go home with you.

We wanted to brighten your day with his photo of the lovely Fuchsia "Pink Marshmallow" - look at the lovely blooms on this specimen!!!

We have it in stock right now, and in celebration of Memorial Day, all of our plants are 20% off!

 


Get outside today, and come visit us - we are open from 10am - 5pm!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Asclepias speciosa 'Davis'

It's Wednesday gardeners! We hope your week is going delightfully well. We've got an awesome selection of Milkweed in stock right now, including Asclepias speciosa 'Davis'. Ditch work for an hour or two today and come check it out!


Saturday, May 18, 2013

New for this weekend!

Check out some of our new goodies from Annies Annuals and Perennials that are just waiting to go home with you!

Dichondra argentea ‘Silver Falls’

Great for containers and edges, we are in love with the shimmering silver color - great way to bring a little zing to your landscape!



Thunbergia alata ‘Spanish Eyes’

We finally have some "Black Eyed Susan's" in again!!! Woo-hoo! Every garden simply must find a spot for this amazing little vine!



Mina lobata "Exotic Love Vine" 

This fast growing vine does indeed look exotic! And it's quite easy to grow, about as easy as Morning Glory, but not nearly as invasive...a show stopper for sure!



Ruellia elegans “Elegant Ruellia”

We try to not play favorites with our plants, but truth be told, if we have a single favorite plant in our garden right now, it might be this one! The photo really doesn't do it justice - the red blooms are about the brightest thing you can find in a garden. This is a part shade plant, making it a great plant to add a little color to a drab spot...



Salvia forskaohlei

This is a new salvia to us, and we are quite in love with it! Beautiful lavender-blue blooms! And like most salvias, quite hardy and easy to grow!



And of course, this is but a small sampling of the many many awesome plants we have in stock right now! Hope to see you on this lovely weekend!








Friday, May 17, 2013

Leucophyta brownii “Cushion Bush”,

Happy happy Friday, gardeners! In addition to the awesome batch of natives we got in on Monday, we have a crop of Annie's Annuals & Perennials arriving this afternoon, just in time for the weekend!

Check out Leucophyta brownii “Cushion Bush”, just one of our many new plants making its debut. We looove the funky color, pin cushion blooms, and 'architectural' quality of this little guy!

 


This is just one of the many many awesome plants we have in stock. Come by and take some home - hope to see you in our gardens soon!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

The weekend is here!!!

Weekend time!!!!!!!!!! The perfect time to be outside. A big order from Annie's arrived yesterday with lots of treasures, including Clianthus puniceus “Parrot’s Bill”. This New Zealand native grows to about four feet wide and tall and puts on a show of amazing 'beak like' flowers! Easy to grow and adaptable too, a great 'anchor' shrub for the back of your garden.

We have them in 4" containers for just $4.50. 

 


Hope to see you soon!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Cantua buxifolia "Sacred Flower of the Andes"

It's Friday, and that means new plants! We have a batch coming in from Annie's Annuals & Perennials , including Cantua buxifolia "Sacred Flower of the Andes", pictured below. We haven't had this one in stock on some time - native to the Andes, it grows rather quickly in a sheltered, sunny spot to a sprawling 6' x 6' shrub. Check out the amazing blooms!!!!

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Arriving tomorrow!

We've got a big order of Annie's Annuals & Perennials arriving in tomorrow; check out just a few of the awesome-cool-weird plants we'll have in stock for you this weekend!

Fuchsia procumbens “Creeping Fuchsia”

It's back! The amazing New Zealand native crazy color creeping fuchsia can be all yours! You simply MUST find an excuse to take this plant home....



Amaranthus ‘Hopi Red Dye’

This dramatic plant practically GLOWS in your garden! 



Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Raven’s Wing’

Such great color on this plant! Super tough and technically edible, the black foliage and white flowers are a great contrast to the other plants in your garden!



Orostachys iwarenge “Chinese Dunce Cap”

One of our all time favorites! It's like having three plants in one! Low water and easy to grow, it self sows too!



Scleranthus biflorus “Australian Astroturf”

Another all time fav! We don't get this one in that often, so jump on it - a moss that loves the sun?!?! Super cool!



Hesperis "Violet Sweet Rocket"

This strongly perfumed cottage classic is a great cut flower and super easy to grow!



Lysimachia atropurpurea “Burgundy Loosestrife”

Well, we can tell you that one of these if for SURE going into our own gardens! Non-invasive and just so dang cool, this 'gooseneck' bloomer is a showstopper!






 


Sunday, May 05, 2013