Your area's best nurseries

I suggest naming our favorite local nuurseries: By city/county... I look for good products, variety, and folks who know what they are talking about.

Santa Cruz 1.San Lorenzo Garden Center. 2.) Far West 3.)[natives, etc.] Sierra Azul Nursery & Gardens

San Jose: Yamagami's! Not inexpensive tho!

I travel all over the state and often wonder, if I have time to vist ONE nursery, what would it be?

Steve

In my own town of Sebastopol: 1) Sonoma Horticultural; 2) Harmony Farm; 3) Lone Pine. Bassignani's used to be great, but has been going downhill for years. Vintage Gardens is good, but sells mainly roses and hydrangeas and almost nothing else.

In Cotati: 1) Windmill; 2) Pond & Garden.

In Santa Rosa: 1) King's; 2) Empire One; 3) Emerisa Gardens.

In Petaluma: Cottage Gardens.

In Penngrove: Passanisi.

ALDEN LANE NURSERY.....Livermore.....incredible place, specially on the weekends when they have entertainment, vendors (plant AND food). It's like a plant fair!
http://www.aldenlane.com/


MORRIS NURSERY......Riverbank. Very helpful and friendly. Great choices for perennials, roses, shrubs, groundcovers and statuary. SUPER products in the "Master Nursery" brand.
http://www.morrisnursery.com/

K


POOTS HOUSE OF CACTUS....Ripon.....lots and lots of choices!
http://cactus-mall.com/poots/

Living in the center of the state, population-wise and with kids and grandkids in the Bay Area and San Diego I can visit my favorites a few times each year. Tropic World on I-15 is a favorite as are Walter Anderson's, Buena Creek, Tree of Life, Theodore Payne, Worldwide Exotics, Australian Native Plants, Eye of the Day for pots, Magic Gardens, Berkeley Horticultural Nursery, Sierra Azul, Mostly Natives, and Cal Flora come to mind. I have not been to Annies, Great Petaluma Desert, Alden Lane, California Cactus Center, but they are in my sights. Locally--San Luis Obispo county-- Pacific Home, SLO Farm Supply, Miner's, Bay Laurel, Tropicana, Home Town carry a variety of things but if you are looking for something different you need to go to all of them. The wholesaler, Native Sons, is about a mile away from where I live and they supply interesting things to the local nurseries on a regular basis. Botanical garden sales, mail order and now seeds have filled in the holes. I am not a fan of the mass market merchandizers unless you follow the truck to the store and get the stuff as they are unpacking it. I live right behind Wal+Mart and it never ceases to amaze me that they cannot water the plants often enough to keep them from wilting in a climate that hardly ever gets hot.

My all-time favorite in the San Jose area is Yamagami's (technically, it's in Cupertino). They've got a stand-out selection of plants and an information booth where you can get help.

San Diego County:

Chuck1260, I agree with you about Tropic World, Walter Anderson's, and Buena Creek.

I would add Las Pilitas in Escondido for California natives, Herban Garden in Fallbrook (both also sell online), and Southwest Boulder in Fallbrook. We went to the latter for gorilla hair mulch and they have a lovely garden with samples of their rocks, pavers, etc. used in the design.

Anderson's La Costa is also a good place (not associated with Walter Anderson's) to visit, and Sunshine Gardens in Encinitas.

Oh, and not to forget Weidner's if you like fuchsias and begonias especially. People drive from all over to dig their own begonias at Weidner's. Very friendly and helpful staff, too.

Thanks for the others you mentioned!

The Great Petaluma Desert - Petaluma
http://www.gpdesert.com/

The Dry Garden – Oakland/Berkely border on Shattuck
http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=dry+garden&near=Oakland,+CA&sa=X&oi=locald&radius=0.0&latlng=37804444,-122269722,9982319278130465307

Magic Gardens - Berkeley
http://www.magicgardens.com/

Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
http://www.berkeleyhort.com/

Alden Lane Nursery - Livermore
http://www.aldenlane.com/

Annie’s Annuals & Perennials – Richmond
http://www.anniesannuals.com/default2.asp

Orchard of Lafayette
http://www.orchardnursery.com/

R & M – Clayton
http://www.google.com/local?q=R+%26+M+Pool+Patio+%26+Gardens&hl=en&lr=&sa=G&near=Clayton,+CA&sc=1&radius=0&latlng=37941111,-121934722,9199423275301717454

Tassajara Nursery – Danville
2550 Camino Tassajara
925-736-7600

Navlet’s Garden Centers – various East Bay Locations
http://www.navletsgardens.com/

Morningsun Herb Farm
http://www.morningsunherbfarm.com/

Sloat’s Gardens – various locations
http://www.sloatgardens.com/

This message was edited Nov 28, 2006 12:57 PM

Annie's Annuals (NOT just annuals) in Richmond, going next month after I make a list from the website so I don't get distracted! Yeah, right, kinda like a grocery shopping list and shopping when you're hungrey!
http://www.anniesannuals.com/

Love going to:
Half Moon Bay Nursery
11691 San Mateo Rd.
Half Moon Bay

Ohhh, Candy, that list will keep me busy!!

Candy, who was that Asian guy at the Flower Show that sells several unusual plants, (I hope you met him and know who I mean) currently selling out of his home but he said he's got a place finally in Danville and is opening to public in April? He is very knowledgable and had some real cool stuff! Thats' not the Tassajara Nursery is it?

This message was edited Mar 25, 2005 12:05 PM

Yes, I have visited the las Pilitas in Escondido. Far better organized than the one in Pozo. They had some interesting plants. The one in Pozo you really need someone to go around with you as none of the plants are labelled. I have a hard time telling many of the manzanitas apart. Both have interesting stuff.

The nursery associated with the Botanical/animal garden, forgotten its name, in Palm Springs is fabulous. They have some very unusual stuff, spent several hours there.

Don't forget the various botanical gardens, some of them have very good nurseries attached and almost all of them have at least one sale per year. Santa Barbara Botanical, UCR, Rancho Santa Ana, UCDavis, Quail are all sales I have been to and found a great variety of items. I am going to try UC Berkeley, Strybing, UC Santa Cruz this year and the spring sale at the Huntington. The fall sale at the Huntington has very interesting succulents and cacti, with a heavy emphasis on caudiciform type plants. The Rancho Santa Ana sale is an absolute zoo, but you can buy more plants faster than any place I have been to. Being a one of each kind person, I am looking for the unusual and the botanical garden sales have them.

No that's not it.......he was so busy when I was there I didn't have a chance to chat with him this year. He used to only do a couple shows and sell at the Pier in the city on weekends. That would be excellent if he has a real location to visit!

Let me go see if I can find the name....it's Potpouri Plants, Paradise Plants....something like that!

It's Plantopia Nursery..... :-) Lawrence Lee

Here's a blurb about him:
http://www.modestogardenclub.org/meeting.htm

Lawrence Lee is owner of Plantopia Nursery (formerly Fine Foliage) which is a featured vendor at the S.F. Flower and Garden Show and the Ferry Plaza Garden Market. He is also Coordinator of volunteer plant propagators and plant sales at the U.C. Botanical Garden, Berkeley.

Weidner's has some great looking brugmansias just growing around. Digging your own begonias is a treat. Been there many times. I went to Herban a long time ago. I will have to try again. I hear there is a very good cactus nursery in Solana Beach.

That's him! He sure has a popular booth at the show. Well, he said that he was opening in Danville next month so hopefully I can locate where and when and really take the time to check out those plants. Let me know if you find anything first.
Thanks.

There are no nurseries in my area that impress me. I have to go to Elk Grove (outskirts of Sacramento) to find a decent one, Capital Nursery. I think they are expensive, but maybe that is because I am used to growing my own. LOL
http://www.capitalnursery.com/

My nephews in Sacramento say this is a great one:
Matsuda's Nursery
Phone: 916.381.1625
Map Link: 8501 Jackson Rd., Sacramento
Description: Large full-service nursery.

I like Daniels in Lakeside for cactus & succulents http://danielscactus.hypermart.net/ Don't let his website fool you - he has tons of plants in several greenhouses. Also House of Cactus on Beach Blvd in Stanton. My wife likes Kartuz in Vista http://www.kartuz.com/ Harold

Parkview Nursery in Riverside (they have two in Riverside), has been helping me design and landscape my yard.. After the flooding, I could not keep up with it flooding 5 times. Anyway, they have some of the neatest plants, (very limited cactus/succulents), but have great passionvines and other tropicals.. they will also order plants for you/or try to find them if they are not available in this area.

http://www.sacramentogardening.com/nurseries.html#p

From the list, I highly recommend POW Nursery in Wilton,CA (south of Sacramento) located on Quince and Dillard Rd. Lots of top quality plants and the best prices I've seen yet.

I like Sperling Nursery in Calabasas. Mel-O-Dee in Chatsworth and Green Thumb in Canoga Park are pretty decent. These probably don't compare to those San Diego County nurseries, but I've never been to any of those, so I can't say.

San Diego Dreamin', Kelli?

I 'heard' that there is a nursery with tropicals in SD that has a vanilla bean plant. I am hoping and dreaming to get down there soon.......

How about Western Hills Rare Plant Nursery in Forrestville. Great garden, wonderful stock, good staff.
ns

In Greater Sacramento, my faves are:

Bushnell Gardens Nursery in Granite Bay-- large and attractive and carries Annie's Annuals. They also have great workshops. Prices are not cheap but they have good sales.
http://www.bushnellgardens.com/main.htm

Capital Nursery , Sunrise Boulevard (Citrus Heights) location-- nice selection of 4" perennials, herbs, color, heirloom veggies, seeds, annuals, etc.
http://www.capitalnursery.com/

P.O.W Nursery in Wilton-- you can get some great bargains on fun perennials, shrubs and trees if you know what you're looking for (cans are recycled and labeling is sporadic)
12724 Quince Ln Wilton, CA

Cornflower Farms in Elk Grove-- wholesale, but open to the public by appt. and some 2nd Saturdays) for native plants
http://cornflowerfarms.com/

Windmill Nursery in Carmichael-- good source of perennials, herbs and Annie's annuals
http://www.windmillnurseryinc.com/

This message was edited Dec 1, 2005 9:42 AM

This message was edited Dec 1, 2005 10:18 AM

There are several mentions of Yamagamis in Cupertino. It is my longtime favorite too. I would love it if those of you that stop in there from time to time will help me try to convince them not to carry broom. It is spreading everywhere in the mountains. To say it is an invasive intruder is putting it mildly. The good folks at Yamagamis said that their supplier claims that the variety they carry is sterile. I am skeptical. But even if that is true, I believe it is better not to carry something that is an unwelcome guest in its other forms. The public cannot be blamed for not knowing the difference. Enough said. I love Yamagamis.

I also love Yerba Buena for its wonderful selection of natives. It is farther afield up off of Skyline Blvd. in the mountains above Woodside. But it is well worth the outing. Their acres of native landscaping portray the haunting beauty of a wild California that is rapidly vanishing. The website is http://www.yerbabuenanursery.com/

And on the coast there is my friend Erin's great native plant nursery in Aptos, Native Revival Nursery, at 2600 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos http://www.nativerevival.com/

Hope this link works. There's a nice article on nurseries in today's OC Register. Pretty comprehensive list. http://ocregister.com/multimedia/nurseryguide/

CApoppy:

Have you ever been to Sierra Azul in Watsonville?

Sierra Azul is an interesting nursery. I try to go there several times a year. I always find something I do not have. An interesting collection of Mediterranean plants, a mix of South African, Australian, CA natives. It has a very relaxed atmosphere and they do not bother you while you are selecting your plants, but are very willing to help if you want.

Sperling is one of the best general purpose nurseries in Southern California. They have a little bit of everything, the common stuff and the unusual. It is usually quite busy so you know their stock gets rotated. The staff is knowlegeable, plants are well taken care of, prices are not too bad. They have a good selection of perennials, CA natives, cactus, pots and so on.

Here's a great succulent nursery I just ran across near me- the place is enormous! On Saticoy near Tampa in the San Fernando Valley

Here's a view of one of several greenhouses- they are totally crammed-packed!

Oh gee, Palmbob, I'd be in trouble if I lived near that one! Great pic, thanks for sharing! Neat Dinos!
K

Here's another shot of another greenhouse

What is the name and address? Do they have a website? Thanks for the information in advance.

I've known for a long time I lived in the wrong half of the state. Must you rub it in??!!! LOL

There just isn't a market up here that would support that kind of nursery.......so sad because so many things do well in the warmer microclimates of the Bay Area.

Just gorgeous, thanks for the beauty jolt!

No web site... not even sure of the name... looks like it's out of some guys back yard, only it's at least an acre. Hardly anyone there speaks english. Only open weekends. Prices are not that great, but selection is hard to beat. If you want 100-1000 of anything, they have it.. .didn't see any super rare stuff there, though. Probably sell mostly to local landscapers.

I have two little local nurseries that I love. Wegman's in Redwood City and Roger Reynolds in Atherton. Roger Reynolds is really old timey and friendly. The people know me and I can get ahold of the buyer of trees, perennials, etc. easily. I can also get ahold of someone to help me with probems. If they are having a busy time they will make an appointment to either talk to me at the nursery or by phone. Wegman's is the same way, but a little larger and not so likely to carry unusual plants. They will try and order anything that I want. What more can I ask? Except of course what Yerba Buena has and nurseries like that. They are just very special. There is a lovely little Bonsai place in Palo Alto that could take you back to the 50's in 3 seconds. I'm attached to the old places where I'm folks.

If anyone's within driving distance of the Sebastopol flea market, it has great plant deals on Sundays. Some plants are there Saturday too, but not as many.

Today I bought gorgeous blooming bearded iris in big containers, at least three iris in each can, for $4.00 each (each can, not each iris) and blooming aquilegia with lots of buds in gallon cans for $1.50 each. There's also Steve, who sells lots of different perennials and sedums for a couple of dollars each in gallon cans, but I didn't get anything from him today because my garden's already packed with everything he sells. At those prices, it's easy to get carried away.

My fav's:

Tassajara - Danville
Sloat (for that hard to find Azalea :-) )