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Brighten up your shady spots!

Heucheras or "Coral bells" come in so many forms these days! Two of the largest and perhaps hardiest are Heuchera maxima, a California native with cream colored flowers and "Wendy," with coral pink flowers. The biggest break through in this genus revolves around leaf color - green, of course, but also lime green, orange-rust, and many dark leaves with unusual veining. They all have bell-shaped flowers in shades of white and pink and they bloom for a long time.

"Mr. Goldstrike" is a variegated version of Aucuba. It's a handsome additon to the shade garden. Thie deciduous shrub below, Kerria sports either single or double very orange-gold flowers. It's an early bloomer and can grow to 8 feet.

New plant introductions from Native Sons nursery in Arroyo Grande: Potentilla 'Volcan,' a low growing perennial with dark red flowers, Carex trifida 'Rekohu.'a green and gold striped grass and, Oenathera fremontii 'Shimmer,' low growing silvery mat with bright yellow flowers. One of our favorite perennials for the North County is Calylophus drummondii - now available in 4" pots. We also have a good supply of Lavender Provence in 4" pots.

The beginning of the hanging basket season

We have some very wearable and colorful shoes from "Sloggers" and boots to match -sizes 6, 7, 8, and 9

This month brings an abundance of flowers and foliage. The first lavender to burst forth is Lavandula stoechas commonly known as "Spanish Lavender." As with so many plants today, more varieties emerge every year. One of the best is "Otto Quast." The plant is 3' tall and as wide with lavender-purple topped ("rabbit ears") flowers. It's hardy to 10 degrees and prefers good drainage needing only minimal irrigation,. A few of the many other selections include "Boysenberry Ruffles (large dusty pink flowers with darker centers), Devonshire (pink/purple and more compact), and Silver Anouk (silver-gray foliage).


Lavandula pinnata
Lavendula pinnata has very different attributes. The foliage is green and feathery. Although this lavender is much less cold tolerant, it blooms for such a long period it's worth the investment as an annual.

New shipments of pottery have arrived - those above are ornate patterned pots from Thailand. Terra cotta containers have always been popular and we've added some very useful shapes, including these long planter boxes below. We'll be putting many of our older models on sale this month for 40% off. Look for some great bargains!

This is the time of year Grevilleas are in bloom. They originated in Australia; the plants in our nursery are the cold hardy varieties. Advantages are deer resistance and drought tolerance. "Constance" has bright orange flowers; most other varieties have red ones.They make excellent hedges.

We have more dahlia tubers in stock. They make great cut flowers. Ellen Scovell, who's been winning prizes with her dahlias and selling beautiful bouquets at the local farmer's markets for many years, recommends digging them up at the end of the season to prevent rotting when we have a wet year. It'sa good time to think about a cutting garden. Double shasta daisies are good candidates and another is Gladiolas -the bulbs are still available. Tall snapdragons are great but are prone to the rust fungus - you might try a preventive spray for them. "Rose Defense" is environmentally safe; it's derived from the Neem tree.

Vegetables are definitely on most gardeners minds this month! We're pretty sure it's safe to put out all those tender ones - true, we've had a frost in May but that's not considered normal. We have a large selection - lots of heirloom tomatoes, peppers and all the usual squash, cucumbers, etc. Windrose Farm and Four Elements are supplying us with organically grown plants again this year. We'll also stock a complete line of herbs. "Bumper Crop" is the amendment of choice for North County vegetable growers!
We've extended the Bumper Crop sale through April
Three 2 cubic foot bags for $16.99
(regular price - one bag for $6.99)

This is a new Osteospermum (African daisy) called "Voltage Yellow." We're heard some really good reports on this variety - very long blooming and self-cleaning.

Be sure to get out and view the wildflowers before they're gone! Shell Creek has carpets of yellow and gold with a smattering of blue and orange thrown in. On the way, be sure to notice the bright pink Prickly Phlox.

When apple blossoms appear they beckon to the coddling moth! We have traps for these damaging creatures. You can use them as a sole deterrent, or if you have a serious problem, use the traps as an indication to apply insecticide.

An amusing way to guage the temperature!

Two April events you might want to make note of - North County Earth Day celebration on April 18th at the Atascadero Lake Park.

For some good ideas for the greening of the planet, go to nature.org/

April 24th - the Multiflora Garden Club will hold their annual spring plant sale to benefit local scholarships.