Newsletter for March 2025

The days for bareroot planting will be over before long at Bay Laurel Garden Center in Atascadero. We still have lots of great fruit trees and berries including pistachio trees. These trees are not self-fruitful – one needs a male tree and it can pollinate up to nine females! Check out the website baylaurelnursery.com for current availability or come to the nursery.

Spruce up your spring with ‘Avondale’ redbud, one of the most profuse flowering native California redbuds. This variety was developed by Monrovia Nursery. The striking blooms give way to bright green kidney shaped leaves. The native red buds are extremely drought tolerant. This time of year relish other early flowering trees including ornamental crabapples and cherries.

Here’s another example of a lovely California native plant. This is Iris douglasiana ‘Alta’ developed by Monterey Bay Nursery in Santa Cruz. We currently have these plants in 4″ containers at Bay Laurel Garden Center. Another colorful native which just arrived is the Penstemon ‘Margarita Bop’.

Dahlia tubers have been wildly popular this year! Therefore – there’s more to come. A new supply should arrive in two weeks – it’s definitely not too late to plant them. The pictured variety ‘Mango Madness’ will be among the new dahlias. Additionally more gladiola bulbs and tuberoses will be added to the collection.

The ubiquitous Rosemary. We should not, however dismiss this extremely useful and varied plant. One use, of course, is for culinary purposes. But there are many different forms of rosemary. ‘Huntington Carpet’ and ‘Prostratus’ provide a drought tolerant, deer resistant ground cover. ‘Tuscan Blue’ and ‘Blue Spires’ are handsome tall shrubs with bright blue flowers. Other forms such as ‘Irene’, ‘Majorca Pink’, ‘Blue Boy’ (a dwarf shrub) and ‘Foxtail’ provide varied interest in the landscape.

Beef up your vegetable garden with some perennial varieties. We will have 4″ asparagus and rhubarb as well as lots of 1 gallon artichokes at Bay Laurel Garden Center. More herbs are expected plus 3 types of garlic. Be creative and add some herbs to your flower pots and beds. Lime thyme is a lovely low growing border. Dill adds a lovely ferny look.

The return of the Hellebores. The enchanting, nodding flowers add grace to the shade garden. Add English primroses to the mix until the summer shade flowers appear. We also expect pink flowered Dicentra (Bleeding Hearts). Potted bulbs will include freesias, ranunculus and anemones.