59 Got Pot?
June 10, 2022
61 Greenhouse Garden Center
July 8, 2022
The Plant Foundry
3500 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817 • (916) 917-5787
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A few weeks ago my daughter and her hubby—and my grandson—invited me to the Sacramento Zoo. I thought, “Oooh! Not only do I get to spend the day with my grandson and zoo animals, I get to go to The Plant Foundry Nursery!”…because it’s nearby and that’s how my brain’s GPS works. It prioritizes grandson, nurseries and gardens…then Mike probably.
Plant Foundry is a boutique nursery located in the Oak Park community of Sacramento. I used to stop in quite often when my daughter lived in Land Park. Since she moved, I get there only occasionally when my nursery-brain knows I’m nearby.
Way too much reading for me and too damn small. Plus, I don’t need help knowing what to do in the garden in May thanks!
But THIS is how Plant Foundry is very helpful…
Yep. It’s where I buy my TubTrugs—now called Red Gorilla Tubs but they’ll always be TubTrugs to me.
Got time to cop a stylish squat? Plant Foundry offers Fermob outdoor furniture in many styles and colors.
So you’ll see it’s worth a visit, I took some pics of the nursery and gift shop.
Do you remember seeing your first Bush Anemone? I do.
Carpenteria californica (Bush Anemone)
It was in 2011 on the college campus where I got my All-Things-Plants degree. It was 8 or 10-feet tall, in full bloom and located in morning sun/afternoon shade.
Ever since, I kept my eye out for one to buy, but these shrubs are not readily available in nurseries. When eventually I found one, I installed it in full sun, per the label. Well I killed it.
Having educated myself—in other words, Oh that’s why the college had it in afternoon shade—when I found a Bush Anemone at Plant Foundry, it came home with me, and so far so good!
The Sherwood Demonstration Gardens (SDG) installed one in its Native Garden but full sun killed it too.
Later, SDG’s Shade Garden got it right and installed one in the perfect spot. Viola! Stunning.
Photo: Summer Brausel
Speaking of SDG, I knew the Annual Garden needed some unusual annuals this year—which meant I would need to make the trip to Richmond to grab some at the always great Annies Annuals & Perennials.
But then walking into Plant Foundry and seeing this display, I realized my nursery GPS had failed to remind me that Plant Foundry carries some AA&P plants. Lucky me! What a time saver.
I found a lovely vine, a Cape Sweet Pea that is zoned for 10 and 11 as an evergreen. At the SDG, I am treating it as an annual, but lucky me again, Cape Sweet Pea self-sows!
This vine can grow up to 10 feet in only 3 months which makes it a perfect “annual!” I’ll post a picture when it comes into full bloom, but here’s a picture from AA&P.
Dipogon lignosus ‘Cape Sweet Pea’
Here’s another Plant Foundry plant doing well at SDG…
Salvia argentea ‘Silver Sage’
Photo: Summer Brausel
I planted it there 7 years ago and it’s doing great, so while at Plant Foundry this time, I bought one for my own gardens.
I’ve had it before but I killed it. Not because I didn’t cut down the flower stalk after bloom—which you need to do to keep this Salvia alive. I don’t know how it died but I am not one to spend energy researching. Its death just meant I had a spot for a new plant!
I do love it though, so I’m trying again. That beautiful stalk of white flowers emerges late spring to early summer. And due to its soft fuzzy 1 to 2-inch leaves, the deer will NOT eat Silver Sage!!
I hope this new one does as well as the one at the SDG.
Here’s something else I couldn’t resist at Plant Foundry. Had to bring it home with me…
Pelargonium ‘Australian Mystery’
Okay…I am not one to buy geraniums, mainly because the deer eat them and you have to treat them as annuals where I am. But Mike says, “Only old ladies grow geraniums!” And maybe I’ve let his opinion rub off on me a little.
Given who he’s married to, Readers, don’t you think it’s weird that my husband has any opinions on flowers? Besides geraniums, he quickly dismisses all Color Spot flowers—like marigolds, petunias and so on—as “old lady flowers.”
I don’t waste time trying to understand his logic or thought process behind that opinion—if there is any. I do associate geraniums with grandmas but not in a negative way. Guess what? I’m a grandma now so…time for geraniums!
Honestly, I just love love loved the colors of Australian Mystery and that’s why it came home with me. Or maybe it’s because its flowers look so much like my all time favorite plant: Miss Viola.
I also bought this Senecio to replace a dead Hellebore…
Senecio stellata ‘Giovanna’s Select’
Sadly, I’ve lost 2 Hellebores. In spite of all you do, death visits every garden.
I’ve got a 20-foot Flowering Plum Tree that’s been on the fritz (near death) for 2 years. I’ve held on to it, not because my husband keeps telling me it “ain’t dead yet.” (For plantsake, another opinion!) But even as-good-as-dead, its trunk and branches give a bit of needed shade. Not enough for those poor Hellebores though.
I haven’t ripped it out because I have hopes the damn thing will miraculously recover. I know…I am so much smarter than that. But you know me—I always err on the side of hope when it comes to plants. Made that way.
I chose the Senecio because I wanted something around 3-feet high and flower stalks with whispish blooms. It’s a perennial that may not survive my zone 9-10 winters but luckily it reseeds!
Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely get 2 replacement Hellebores, but not until the Flowering Plum perks up or peters out making space for a new tree. It will be an evergreen this time, and I am going to pay the price for one in a 24-inch box—which goes against everything I preach about “buy ’em young and cheap and watch ’em grow,” but I’ve got plants to protect from the heat. And Mike says when I’m ready, he’ll use the backhoe to take out the plum and put in the replacement without destroying nearby plants. (Opinions and all, sometimes you gotta’ love the man.)
Now on to other things I love. Did you know I love love love rugs?
I love them both indoors and out. When you need a pop of color (without risk of death), buy a rug! At Plant Foundry they come in fabulous colors, many sizes and of excellent quality. I have had Mad Mats and Chilewich brand rugs for years in full sun with very little to no fading.
Can you imagine Mike’s opinion when he saw THIS rug?!
I got it at Rugs.com. I love it and I don’t care what Mike thinks! It does not look like an old lady’s rug or like it belongs in a carnival. It just looks fantastic on our deck, don’t you think?
As for Oak Park’s Plant Foundry Nursery & Store….
Whichever sign your brain-GPS leads you to follow, you will not be disappointed!
