I’ve been a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) since 2003. Despite the fact that I’ve won a couple of design awards from this organization and am delighted to be a certified member, until this year I had never attended any of its annual conferences. This year, I vowed, would be different. My son had just moved to the Bay Area and the conference was being organized primarily as an opportunity to tour gardens throughout the area, meeting some of the designers and learning through seeing in person, with written materials delivered via iPad rather than exclusively in lecture settings.
But what really cinched the deal for me was when I learned that the very first event of the tour would be a visit to Flora Grubb Gardens – a dinner reception the night the conference opened. I’ve developed a real love for succulents and consider it somewhat unfair that the most enticing varieties aren’t hardy here. I do have a client with an incredibly wet back yard, save for one area where we have planted lots of creeping sedums and included sempervivums along with other rock-garden plants like Gaura and dianthus. But it’s too cold for agave, and we often find we have to replace the sempervivums in the spring if the winter has been wet.
At Flora Grubb’s store (out a ways from central San Francisco), we ate dinner from food trucks but mostly lusted after the plants, the pots, and the other garden furnishings on display. A bicycle planted with succulents, carnivorous plants in a sink, air plants decorating a freestanding wall, and a vertical wall hanging planted chock full of succulents. I’ll just stop chattering away and let the photos speak for themselves. It was nirvana.
A chartreuse bench beckons visitors to the store. In the foreground, agaves and phormiums are grouped with other plants.
It’s a jungle in here – of the best kind.
A large vertical panel planted with lots and lots of succulents was in one of the back rooms.
A wall hanging that caught everyone’s eye. Wish I had it!
Flora’s truck, decked out with succulents and other plants for sale.
A “potting bench” with wares for sale.
Pitcher plants in a sink!
Tillandsia plants (which need no soil) decorate a small free-standing wall in the shop.
Blooming succulents as a centerpiece.
The store sells pots in varying sizes – simple in this case so as not to detract from the agaves planted in them.
A wall of multi-colored garden chairs makes an artistic display while providing a clever storage solution.
A bicycle serves as a “planter” in the store, decorated by talented staff.
For more information about Flora Grubb, including links to her Web Shop (where I just ordered some great little holiday gifts for clients), click here.
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Speaking of holiday gifts, I’ve just turned two of my Blurb books into e-books if you’re interested in having a virtual copy. Chanticleer: A Pleasure Garden can be purchased as an e-book for $4.99 by clicking here, and the Garden Conservancy Open Days book (priced at $3.99) by clicking here. I can attest that they look great on an iPad!
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