37 The Sun
June 18, 2021
39 Hibiscus High
July 16, 2021
Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
1310 McGee Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703 • (510) 526-4704
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E very time Aunt Patti and I go to Annie’s Annuals & Perennials (AA&P), we also go to Berkeley Horticultural Nursery (BHN) just 20 minutes away (on a good traffic day). And when we go to AA&P and BHN we stop at WN too (Westbrae Nursery) because it's just a few blocks from BHN.
Me and AP—we do get around!
We visited BHN earlier this year during our Pee Trials and Aunt Patti asked to use their restroom. A salesperson said to her, "You should have planned better."
Now, I happened be waltzing around somewhere else in BHN, but if I had heard what was said, you who know me personally can easily imagine the choice words I would have used. Poor Aunt Patti! I had to rush her to a nearby Whole Foods—after I made my BHN purchases of course. I’m not that nice!
Turned out okay because we ate lunch at Whole Foods and I had a fabulous sandwich. Always a silver lining.
If you visit BHN's website you will see their motto: "We are passionate about plants." And they certainly are! Right at their entrance gate are these beautiful orange flowers anyone could get passionate about.
Unknown orange flowering plant, Lobelia spp., Asparagus densiflorus ‘Meyeri’
Now that is the most vibrant orange I've seen. And I love it next to the Lobelia.
Aunt Patti and I had a disagreement over what the plant could be. She thought it might be ice plant she bought once at AA&P. Well it wasn’t. I didn't have a clue what it was but I argued with her anyway. I still don't know what it is. I just know I want it and can’t find it! But I've emailed Paul at BHN and am waiting for him to ID it for me. (Keep you posted.)
A display garden at BHN with Beschorneria yuccoides ‘Flamingo Glow’
Inside the entrance are BHN's display gardens.
I love display gardens at nurseries because 1) it tells me the nursery cares about plants and knows how best to showcase them, 2) I'm able to see plants at maturity and 3) most importantly, plants are labeled.
And I am waiting for my Flamingo Glow to flower like that one.
Readers, isn't this inviting? BHN is a FABULOUS nursery. If you too are passionate about plants, you must go.
Interested in confers? BHN has one of the best conifer selections you can find south of the Oregon border.
I like that BHN offers conifers in one and 2-gallon containers—which is way cheaper than in 5-gallons which you then have to lug home, pull out the digging bar and sweat too much while making a big enough hole!
Choisya ‘Bluestone’ (Bluestone Mexican Orange)
I have the more common Choisya ternata (Mexican Orange Blossom) which you can find in just about any nursery.
Choisya 'Bluestone' has needlelike leaves and can bloom off and on throughout the year. As with all Choisyas, Bluestone is deer resistant, drought tolerant and can handle frost. In summer though, give it some afternoon shade.
Apparently Bluestone is an introduction from Cistus Nursery in Oregon, located out in the boondocks but well worth a visit. (Talk about rare, unique and unusual plants! Blows my mind. Future blog.)
Did I buy a Bluestone on this BHN trip? Nope. I should have.
BHN also offers a great selection of California native plants in 4-inch pots. Looking for a particular native? Pretty sure BHN's got it.
I bet you won’t see this plant in many nurseries—outside of BHN...
Tibouchina organensis ‘Blue Moon’
I bought one, kept it in the greenhouse during winter, then—after last frost—moved it to my holding area. But it never did grow much so I gave it to Aunt Patti. Cuz I’m nice like that.
Now here's a damn tree I have transplanted multiple times trying to find a location it likes as much as it did at BHN.
Acer 'unknown variety' (because I can’t remember)
It should be 6-feet tall and have larger leaves with hints of orange. But I'm done moving it, and besides I like that it is getting cozy with that bunch of daisies.
Once, after browsing BHN's natives, I went across the aisle and found this unique yellow-flowering plant on the ground...
BOTTOM: Hermannia verticillata,
TOP LEFT: Lycianthues rantonnetii ‘Lynn’s Variegated’
TOP RIGHT: Veronica longifolia ‘Bushy Boy’,
INSET: Hermannia verticillata in full bloom
I snatched it up even though in the best of zones it is considered a tender perennial. But I will overwinter it in the greenhouse and see how many babies I can get from it before I kill it.
The pretty yellow pod flowers have a lovely fragrance.
I was wandering through BHN's shrub section about 5 years ago and smelled a beautiful aroma. I have a good nose and it didn't take me long to locate this azalea...
Rhododendron ‘Pink and Sweet’
It was happy there in full sun—odd for azaleas but then BHN is in Berkeley where full sun is far cooler than it is at my place.
They had only two Pink and Sweets, and of course Aunt Patti had to have one. I put mine in a container that gets morning sun and killed it within months. Crap. So I took cuttings from Aunt Patti's to grow a replacement. No success.
Per a BHN salesperson, I knew Pink and Sweet comes from Oregon. So on our most recent Oregon trip, we kept an eye out. We did find some but they were in 15-gallon containers! Imagine how much rent I'd have to pay Aunt Patti to use that much of her half of the car!! Crap again.
Meaning: I STILL want one. AGAIN.
I promise I won’t kill it this time.
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Photos courtesy Sheri Lynn Burke. All rights reserved.
