Newsletter for November 2025

The mild, sunny days of fall beckon to the gardener. Journey to at Bay Laurel Garden Center in Atascadero and just try to resist all the delectable choices we offer. Lots of new varieties of snapdragons, fragrant stock and cheerful pansies and violas.

The latest grass variety at Bay Laurel Garden Center with rosy-hued flower is Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Plumetastic’. This genus is generally evergreen although we suggest cutting it back for the best appearance next spring. Although many grasses are entering their dormant stage, we just received some great looking Seslaria ‘El Campo Azul’. This attractive evergreen grass has a blue tinge and grows to about 2 feet.

Many perennials are still holding their color while others are slowly fading into the sunset. A winner by all accounts is the cold hardy Lantana ‘Chapel Hill’. Although it disappears in the winter it has a very long bloom and seems to be deer resistant.

We’re not Connecticut or Maine but we have Liquid Amber, Chinese Pistache, Raywood Ash, October Glory Maple, Ornamental Pear, Crape Myrtle, Viburnum opulus and Nandina. It’s fall color in California! Look around and see which plants/colors tickle your fancy.

Two popular bulbs for the holiday season are Amaryllis and Paper White Narcissus. Both can be forced indoors. Amaryllis will take 10 to 12 weeks to bloom by Christmas. When planting, leave 1/3 of the bulb above the soil. The Narcissus will take less time, about 4 to 6 weeks – these bulbs can be planted in pebbles. Check out our handout with a method to prevent them from becoming tall and leggy. Ranunculus are known for their beautiful cut flowers. To insure their return, keep the corms dry over the summer.

We have onion and garlic for the vegetable grower at Bay Laurel Garden Center in Atascadero. We have lots of vegetable starts for the season. A few of the more unusual varieties include ‘Red Darling’ Brussel sprouts, ‘Bell Flore’ radicchio, dwarf Sugar Snap peas that need no staking and lots of lettuce. Remember if you purchase 4″ vegetables, soak in water so you may easily separate them.

We have Carpenteria in one gallon pots! It’s a lovely, very drought tolerant native California shrub with clusters of white flowers in early summer. Don’t miss this prime planting season for natives. We have a great selection of native Salvias and Ceanothus.

The bare root season is heading our way. First arrivals next week are the berries. The plants arrive in tall, quart containers. We expect blackberries, raspberries, olallie berries, goji berries and blueberries. There are still quite a few fruit trees from last season waiting for homes.

If you missed purchasing the rhizomes of Iris earlier, we currently offer three varieties of re-blooming iris in gallon containers. We have ‘My Friend Jonathan’, ‘His Royal Highness’ and ‘Lady Friend’. I suspect they should bloom this spring. These long lived plants add a lively splash of color to spring plantings.

Our gentle, sweet cat, Celine, is also known as No. 1 Catcher of Gophers at Bay Laurel Garden Center! We’re sorry we’re unable to loan him out for customers. However – our solution comes in the form of three varieties of gopher baskets. Cheap insurance.