16 Container Gardening, Part 2: Plants
October 30, 2020
18 Container Gardening, Part 3: How To
November 17, 2020
Nursery Dreams
M y dream—for after we had our construction company, Burke Construction, operating smoothly for a few years—was to open a nursery of my own which I would name "A Plant Boutique." But "a few years" turned into 20! And when I might have followed my nursery dream, I was that much older and simply did not have the energy. (Check out our projects and see why I am so pooped!)
I know I would have lived that dream 24/7 which would not be fair to my first obligation, the construction company. And to be honest, there is no way in hell "A Plant Boutique" would have made any money. I would have spent hours with a single customer designing and picking out plants, so by the end of the first week, I would have ZERO customers. The complaint would be "poor service" (but only for the ones who missed out! LOL). Also I would have bought up most the inventory myself, leaving nothing for the customers!
Anyway, it's not running a nursery that makes me happy. It is helping and teaching people who really really really need help with designing, planting and irrigating their dreams.
I absolutely love my landscaping business—and am okay leaving my nursery dream behind—because it puts me right where I know I am suppose to be: digging holes for people, installing plants and irrigation, laying mulch and sweating like crazy. Yeah, it is hard work, but it is not a job—it is my passionate hobby. Besides, I work only when I want to and only for clients who are nice not grumpy. AND they pay me to spend their money visiting nursery dreams of others!
In a way, my nursery dream comes true when I come across a nursery out there that I consider really really really dreamy.
And here are 2 of them!
Clement Nursery
1921 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121 • (415) 750-3990
Facebook
I love small, intimate nurseries such as this one.
Aunt Patti and I went to Clement Nursery on the last day of one of our trips, and we were so excited, we got there early before it was open. We paced up and down the street waiting with anticipation.
It was so well worth the wait!
San Francisco, as you know, has teeny tiny property lots. So you can imagine how small this nursery is. But let me tell you, the owner crams so much into that space, including all these varieties of plants, garden art and a dog. It's sophisticated and a bit quirky in a classy way—just what you expect in San Francisco.
Looks great here, but to appreciate why Clement's is so dreamy you have to check out more photos on their Google page. Better yet, just GO see this place!
I bought this Globularia sarcophylla ‘Blue Eyes’ (Globe Daisy) there. It was not in bloom at the time but the foliage really drew me to it.
I have observed this plant for a couple years and have found it can withstand 100-degree, full-sun exposure, and it blooms most of the year except in the dead of winter when the blossoms fade.
Fall appears to be its growing period when it gets new growth and—like me—looks happier in cooler weather.
As you can see, its fluffy blossoms are true white with deep purple centers. Because they appear at the end of the branches and have some weight to them, 'Blue Eyes' has a somewhat weeping habit.
A bonus is that this plant is very easy to propagate, and I’ve got several babies, but apparently they want to stay with their mother and are not ready to fly the coop yet. (Kids are exhausting aren’t they?!)
Fox Hollow Creek Nursery is an all-time favorite of mine.
It has a chain link fence around it which you cannot see through because Fox Hollow Creek is a wall-to-wall jungle of pure plant loveliness!
The entrance is a narrow 3-feet wide, and the aisles inside are no wider than 2 feet. You take 3 steps in and then have to do a 360 to view all the plants stuffed, stacked, hanging and hidden. Then you take another 3 steps and repeat. It is fabulous!
Take a look:
What a dream! I loved hunting through that jungle. But Aunt Patti...not so sure it was a good dream for her. Overwhelmed, I think by all that sensory input. She would look at me, her face all stunned like "What do I do?!" (So funny makes me want to pee my pants laughing.)
If I lived anywhere near this place, it would be on my daily path of stops because I know I'd find something new each time I went there. All the owner has to do is move the plants around and it would be a whole new jungle!
I know I bought something there, but for the life of me right now I can’t remember what. It will come to me around 2:00 a.m. some morning and then I’ll let you know, because you know it will be riveting information....
For these blog posts, I research nurseries and plants thoroughly. But Fox Hollow's website shows nothing like my photographic memory of the place. And of course Aunt Patti—in her deer-in-the-headlights condition—forgot (again!!) to take pictures. (Well, poor thing, it was the last nursery on a 47-nursery, 5-day trip to Oregon.)
But I found tons of fantastic photos on Fox Hollow's Facebook page.
They're mostly gorgeous flower shots, but it's worth your time to take a look. You may have your own sensory input crisis. Of the best kind.
Sweet dreams.
Photos courtesy Sheri Lynn Burke. All rights reserved.
Additional photos from Google and Facebook
