Old Newsletters 4
Hear Robin Speak at NWFGS
Succulent lovers in the Seattle Area: Mark your Calendars!
Robin is packing his bags to speak at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show at the Washington State Convention Center, 7th & Pike, Seattle, Washington.
This Weekend!
Vertical Gardening with Succulents
The Nuts & Bolts for Vertical Gardening
Fri, Feb 22 at 11:15 am / DIY Stage
Succulent Survival: Pacific Northwest
Landscaping and Overwintering Succulent Plants
Sat, Feb 23 at 1:45 pm / Hood Room
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Plant of the Month:
Senecio mandraliscae,
Blue Chalksticks.
Walking around the nursery, deciding which plant will be our "Plant of the Month," it is hard to choose between some of the plants with incredible blooms (Aloe speciosa, Sedum dendroideum) and those with gorgeous foliage. (All of the Aeonium leaves are just bursting with color and texture.) I chose this plant, Senecio mandraliscae because it so represents what I love about succulents, form, color, and texture. The darker photo below is a bed of Senecio that is in the shade on the north side of our greenhouse #1. Looks pretty good and does well in a fair amount of shade. Four inch pots planted on 12" to 15" centers will fill in in about one year. This bed has been in for about eight years. It can handle light frost and full sun. Given a location to cascade, it will do so quite beautifully.  This landscape is in the demonstration gardens (a must to see) in Seaside Gardens Nursery in Carpernteria, Ca. (http://www.seaside-gardens.com) Senecio mandraliscae is the undercarriage for several Aloes and boulders, with a smidgen of Senecio vitalis poking out of the middle.  A half wine barrel planted with Senecio mandraliscae. This was planted about 4 years ago.  |
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News from NorCal
Tiffany and Simone put the plants into an award-winning presentation in the greenhouse before we headed to the show. The quality of the plants grown and selected by staff, and the way the plants were placed on the display was an effort that reflected the work of everyone at Succulent Gardens! Good job everyone!
At the Nursery:  At the Show
 We had a blast taking orders and winning awards.
If you followed our Facebook chatter, you saw that we won the "Best Visual Commication" award. Click here to give us your interpretation of "commication."
 Succulent Invasion
Succulents are invading some of the other growers' booths. I've tried to contain them, but they seem to be spreading all over the earth.
Exhibit A:
 Exhibit B:
 Exhibit C:
 If you still don't believe me, go to the SF Garden show. This year's theme is "Gardens Make the World Go Round." We, at Succulent Gardens, are attempting to revise the theme to: Succulent Gardens Make the World Go Round." And we built a big succulent-covered Globe to prove our point.
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"The Globe: Succulent Gardens
make the World Go Round"
The Globe will be on display starting March 20 at the San Mateo Exposition Center.
Robin Stockwell would like to invite all to come see the Globe, come support creative gardening, come experience the love of gardening with a passion.
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From Seed to Spectacular: Propagation at Succulent Gardens
We have a new article up on our Sgplants.com website. It's a little peek at plant propagation at Succulent Gardens.
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Retail Details: Liven Up the Garden with New Pots!
 Hello!
As promised we have some new pots that just arrived. I also shopped for pots last week at the Norcal Trade Show in San Mateo.
 We have recently built several new benches that run the length of the greenhouse! We will be labeling all of this material on the benches, and it will be all available for wholesale as well as retail purchase.
 In addition we have assembled a stunning array of our larger plants ( 1 gallon up to 15 gallon) that we will be using to create displays throughout the nursery in the coming weeks.
 Then, of course, the Globe! I am just as excited about this as all of you are. If you are planning on attending the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show we have Early Bird Tickets! They are $16 versus $20 after March 10, 2013. If you know you will be attending save yourself a few bucks! Stop by and see us!
~Tiffany
Nursery Hours The Nursery has winter hours in effect until April 2, 2013.
--We close the nursery during high winds. Please give us a call if you're planning to head our way to make sure we're open!
Regular Winter Hours
Tuesday-Saturday 10am-3:30 pm. We lock the Nursery promptly at 4pm.
Wholesale
Monday-Friday 9am-3:30pm
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Succulents in the Landscape
Featuring the work of Landscape Designer Kathleen Coss
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Around the Nursery
Getting Ready for the Garden Show
For those who follow what we are up to, please know that we are already labeling all of the plants for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show that opens in San Mateo on March 20.
A closer look at these pictures will show you that something more is going on. We have been building benches! Oh, I have wanted to do this for so long. 400 feet of bench is already up and a lot more is going up in the next couple of months. This signals a change in how plants will be available to our customers in a very positive way. Come see us this spring and tell us if you agree.
  Winter Flowers
Aloe spinosissima is absolutely exploding!
Planting, Planting, Planting
We're always planting, planting, planting. And... the Globe continues to grow.
 Shed Makeover
We were going to paint the shed when we realized the walls were rotting. We were going to put on new walls, when we realized the power service conduit at the top of the shed was leaning precipitously, so... new walls, new roof, straightening the pole, and eventually we will get to paint.
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On the Personal Side. . .
Life is very busy. I drove my son and his girlfriend to Humboldt and Chico State Universities to make choices for college. He chose Humboldt. We have a new puppy, Izzie, from a family in Oakland. We combined picking up the pup with a visit to Annie's Annuals. We had cold, freezing weather, big waves, a lobster feed, lost a pet we had for 14 years, met with a friend I had not seen in almost 40 years and generally stayed busy.
College touring:
 Frost warnings:
 Izzie, the new puppy:
 All work and no play makes Robin a dull boy. . .
It's been a busy winter!
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Make Plans to Attend!
The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show
Wednesday, March 20- Sunday, March 24
We'll be there with the Globe, our booth full of succulents that can't wait to go home with you, a new living wall inspired by a picture that Ari found, and Robin is speaking!
The show runs from 10am-7pm Wednesday-Saturday and 10am-6pm Sunday.
Tickets are available at the door. $20 for one day and $30 for a 5 day pass.
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Robin's Speaking Schedule at the Show
Vertical Gardening Turned Upside Down
Wednesday, March 20, 1:15 PM Seminar Stage in the Meeting Pavilion
How to create a glorious globe of succulents.
 Succulent Maintenance
Friday, March 22, 11:00 AM Location: DIY Stage in Redwood Hall
How on earth do you prune an aeonium? How do you transplant prickly plants? Advice on water, exposure, cold tolerance - good questions and great answers.
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"The Globe: Succulent Gardens
make the World Go Round"
The Globe will be on display starting March 20 at the San Mateo Exposition Center.
Below: Robin Stockwell (Succulent Gardens and Weston Cook (San Francisco Flower and Garden Show) with the Globe
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Retail Details: Closed for the Garden Show
The Nursery will be closed for the Garden Show from Wednesday, March 20-Monday, March 25.
We will reopen with Spring Hours on Tuesday, March 26 at 10am.
When we re-open, stop by to pick up one of our spectacular dish gardens!
 Nursery Hours
We close the nursery during high winds. Please give us a call if you're planning to head our way to make sure we're open!
Regular Spring Hours
Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm. We lock the Nursery promptly at 4pm.
Wholesale
Monday-Friday 9am-3:30pm
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Come Ready to Shop!
Did you know that we change our our booth every day so that you have a fresh and full selection no matter what day you come to the garden show?
Here are some of the plants all ready to go!
 Don't forget to bring your shopping wagon!
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Around the Nursery
Remember-we're closed until after the Garden Show, but you can stop by next week to see our gardens. They're looking SPECTACULAR!
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