Old Newsletters 5
Spring has Sprung at
Succulent Gardens
Remember our breaking news about the dismantling of the Globe? Well, it is still up for viewing and I do not have any idea at this time when we will be removing it. The Globe looks great. The plants are growing and we will need to be doing some serious pruning soon. If you want friends and family to see it, there is still some time.
When I sent out the "Help Wanted" flyer, I did not imagine the response would be so wonderful. For those of you I did not call, or email, please know I was so impressed with all of the enthusiasm and talent in the responses. There are clearly some amazing folks out there. I wish I could hire everyone. As it turned out, we did hire four new people and we have some great plans for the coming year. Succulent Gardens will continue to grow and evolve with the help of our customers and a hard working and talented team.
The Aloe polyphylla bed (Spiral Aloe) are coming into bloom and there seem to be at least three different stages in the plants blooming. Some of the flowers are already opened. There are two other groups of plants with less mature flowers. This means there should be plants blooming for the next month and a half if you find time for a visit!
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Succulent Gardens in the
San Francisco Chronicle
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Retail Details Picture this:
Students enjoying a living picture class this spring.
 What an exciting time! The nursery is overflowing with beautiful succulents. We had the blessing of the San Francisco Chronicle featuring us in their Sunday edition last month. Many folks who had no idea about the nursery have since found us!
 It never gets old sharing the wonder of Succulent Gardens. I am so proud of what we have accomplished so far this year and I would love for you to come in and see for yourself! The Globe is still up... Come see us!
~Tiffany |
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Customer Q&A
 Q: Hi! I have a quick question that I hope you can help me with. I am attempting to grow a spiral aloe indoors with a full spectrum 60 Watt CFL light. After reading this article, I think I can see that it is not getting enough light because the leaves are bending completely down towards the ground. I have attached a picture for reference. Do you have any experience trying to grow these plants indoors and do you have any suggestions for what the proper grow light would be? I would appreciate any help that you could provide.
A:
The leaf count of the plant matters. The CFL 60watt light source should be changed to a real gro-light with long wave UV on a timer, and the distance from light source to plant matters.
Juvenile plants,2-25 leaf stage must be carefully
watched, it is easy to "bleach" them with light intensity at 500 ft candles.
A 35-45 leaf plant will be able to tolerate the same intensity though. This species reacts quickly to changes in light quality and intensity.
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Save the Date
Fourth Annual Succulent Extravaganza
September 26-27, 2014
Stay tuned for details!
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Around the Nursery
Our wreath classes have been a big success!
We are offering three types of classes this spring.
 Plants on the Go!
This truck load of plants is headed to Reno, Nevada. One of our newest customers, Sierra Water Gardens, came in and loaded up. It sounds like they have a business well worth visiting the next time you're in the Reno area.
 Beautiful Blooms
This hybrid Trichocereus is one of five different colors blooming right now. Flowers are about 8" in diameter and as the plants mature, the plants produce more and more flowers each year. A very hardy and versatile cactus.
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Garden Show Wrap-Up
The San Francisco Flower and Garden show was held this past March and we had a good time with our customers, garden creators and fellow vendors. I would love to hear from those who attended what their experience was. Captain Nemo's Nautilus was fun, interactive and creative and our plants loved being a part of their display.
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Wild. Life.
Say hello to the new additions to our family. This mother bird built a nest on our son's high school ceramic project:
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Photo by the New York Times
The garden of Succulent Gardens customer Stephanie Mills was featured in the March 30 Spring Design issue of the New York Times "T" Magazine. She was also nice enough to give a shout out to area nurseries including Succulent Gardens and others. Read the article and see the gorgeous slide show here.
Succulents really are making headway as sought-after landscape plants!
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Retail Details: Fun and Funky Containers
Spring is here in and we are in full swing! I always get excited about the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show as it is a mix of reunion with customers from the nursery mixed in with folks I only see at the show and new customers too! Our booth was bustling with customers from 10-7 each day.
At the nursery Simone is back! She has been planting some incredibly cute and affordable dish gardens with finds from yard sales and the like, come by and see for yourself! Most of them are under $20 and ready to go. These containers are catch as catch can--new styles come and go all the time. If you want to bring in your own container, we're happy to help you plant it, as well! (We would recommend drilling a hole in it before you plant.)  Our friend Brian with Living Creations has made us some Hearts and Crosses to be planted with cuttings that can go vertical; look to see them added to our website soon! They will be offered as planted, kits and also alone as frames for you to add your inspirational touch!Looking forward to the rest of Spring! ~Tiffany Spring Hours are in Effect Stop by the Nursery to check out our new plants, containers, and other goodies.
Retail: Tuesday - Saturday 9-4 Wholesale: Monday - Saturday 8-4
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Say Hello to Sempervivums
There are many different species of Sempervivum with botanical names, but there are also a huge number of unnamed hybrids. I love to work with these plants in landscapes and container gardens and don't really care if they are named species or un-named hybrids--They are all great! Sempervivums are tough, easy to grow plants. I usually use six to eight varieties in mixed plantings, sometimes combined with Echeverias.  "Hens and Chicks" Commonly referred to as "House Leeks", or "Hens and Chicks", Sempervivums are extremely hardy, handling freezing temperatures to about 15 degrees-substantially below freezing-and producing offsets(chicks) annually. Most of the "Hens" will be producing their "Chicks" between now and June. Below: Sempervivum arachnoideum sending out offsets in the April  These plants tend to be low growing and tightly clumping, making them ideal for my living pictures. In living pictures, I plant them very tight with 1" to 2" offsets planted leaf tip to leaf tip. When I landscape with them, I tend to space them about 6" apart to give them room to grow. Care tips For maintenance, I schedule time to divide the plants every three to four years. Aphids are sometimes a problem attacking new growth and flowers. The aphids tend to be most prevalent in the spring. Mealy bugs will often attack their roots and should be dealt with persistently when they invade. "Sempervivums" is a word said to mean "Live Forever." At 65 and loving this life as much as I do, I'm hoping there is a little bit of Sempervivum in me. 
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2012 Garden Show A Big Success: Thanks to YOU!
We look forward to the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show every year, primarily because we get to see so many of our friends and familiar faces. Thank you, everyone, for keeping our booth busy and taking our plants home with you. We hope your new "babies" are getting off to a great start! This year was different because we didn't have a big display, but we still had fun. Getting Ready for the Show: Ari hangs the "Floating Stars Mural"   Rebecca Sweet's Succulent Garden The pre-show party for garden writers at author and succulent aficionado Rebecca Sweet's house is an event not to be missed. Rebecca and her husband are the "Hosts with the Most" and always make everyone feel right at home. Before I could have a meeting of the minds with Debra Lee Baldwin, Saxon Holt, Fern Richardson, and your other favorite garden writers, I had to prowl her garden to see all of her beautiful succulent vignettes and displays.
Here's an armchair garden tour for you:
As a whole, Rebecca's garden is stunning.  Although it is a small garden, you have to take your time looking around because there are treasures around every corner.  She uses succulents to great effect both in containers:  and in the landscape, as you can see by this border of Echeveria imbricata that runs along one of her brick walks.  She finds a way to incorporate little vignettes of finds from beach combing, nature hiking and antique shop prowling, tucking succulents here and there in all sorts of unique containers.  Rebecca is the co-author of Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces, which features plants from Succulent Gardens. She'll be speaking at our Succulent Extravaganza this September 28 & 29 so mark your calendars! |
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Petite Project: Shell Gardens
 Cuttings from your favorite plants or small succulents in 2-inch pots are perfect for planting in seashells you pick up while beachcombing. A single sempervivum planted in a small whelk looks a bit like the mollusk that would normally live inside. The Crassula capitella planted in the large conch shell mimics the fighting conch that once lived inside. Simply pack some soil into the opening, plant, and place in the garden.
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