Thursday, April 30, 2015

A visit to Walter Andersen Nursery in San Diego

It looks like I'm on a bit of a California nursery roll, Tuesday we visited San Gabriel Nursery near the Huntington Gardens, today we're headed back down to San Diego and a stop at Walter Andersen, a family owned nursery dating back to 1928...

This nursery was on my list thanks to a recommendation by the man behind this garden. So while I was a little bit concerned to see Camellias and Azaleas as the big plant of interest at the entrance, I figured there had to be more interesting things inside.

I'm still not in love with the staghorn ferns.

They had a nice selection, for those who are.

Bromeliads too...

Finally out back I spotted my prey...

Agave gypsophila

Agave tequilana

Agave ghiesbreghtii

Urginea species

Grevillea fililoba

Helchrysum 'Ruby Cluster'

It was right about here I was really regretting the fact we'd flown...if only I had a car to fill up!

Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red'

Callistemon 'Little John'

Carissa 'Boxwood Beauty'

Tables and tables of "must-haves"...

This one was very hard to leave behind, Grevillea 'Poorinda Royal Mantle'...it's potentially hardy in my garden and here was a big 5-gallon...

One last "if only" plant before I left, Bismarckia nobilis...

Oh and I did succumb to the (1-gallon) charms of Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red', here it is gasping for air on the flight home, snugged up next to my Yucca elata from the San Diego Botanical Garden. Both made it home just fine...

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

34 comments:

  1. I think I would avoid visiting vacation nurseries unless I had driven (a large vehicle). I don't think I could resist the temptation and would end up spending $$$ having plants shipped.

    I often wonder what plants they will not let you take on a plane. Agaves? Anything with spines or glochids? Not that you'd want those things tucked near your legs anyway...

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    1. Ah but it's fun to look! And I've flown with both agaves and opuntia, in my carry on. They weren't sticking out of the top of the bag like these were, but wrapped and boxed. Still visible when they went through the scanner though.

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  2. I hope I see some interesting Leucadendrons in a few weeks when I visit Southern Cal. We're coming home via train, because Nigel loves trains. I don't think he realizes that this means I'll probably be packing some plants.

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    1. I'm sure you will Alison, I'm so excited for you!

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  3. This place is on my 2015 short list! That Leucadendron is stunning! The Callistemon 'Little John' is everywhere in commercial landscapes these days, completely massed out. I have been considering getting one because the bees seem to go nuts for it. I'm so surprised that plants are allowed on a plane! I guess I never really thought about it! Looks like it was a fun trip!

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    1. One of the security guys thought it was pretty funny, that I had plants sticking out of my bag. I did take the plastic pots off and shake off the excess soil, then bagged the roots. It made them a little easier to manage.

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  4. Oh my, if only it was a car trip there your boot would have been loaded! Still not bad that you still managed to take home a couple of plants :))

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    1. Yes indeed. Back in 2009 we made the trip in the car. A long loop down through the Bay Area and to L.A. It was fun but that's A LOT of driving.

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  5. Those are some drool-worthy plants. The Agave gypsophila looks like one to be sought out...or do you have one already?

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    1. Have one. Portland Nursery rescue years ago (it was looking pretty rough and they gave me a discount to take it home).

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  6. Next California trip definitely needs a car! Another great nursery packed with horticultural treasures! You go to all the best places!

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    1. The Bay Area is easy by car, San Diego requires an entirely different schedule.

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  7. Great nursery! I will keep it in mind next time I visit my Mom. She wants us to come refresher her garden and this looks like the perfect place to get some interesting plants. Thank you!

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  8. Drool worthy is right. Perhaps a road trip is now in your future. Wow, that 'Winter Red' is simply stunning. Looking forward to seeing how it does in the Danger Zone.

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    1. I wish, but not likely. It's 16 hours drive time alone to San Diego, maybe once Andrew retires! (ha!)

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  9. Nice!!

    The next time you drive to our neck of the woods, Green Acres in Sacramento always seems to have Grevillea 'Poorinda Mantle' in stock in #5 cans.

    I've had an Agave ghiesbreghtii in a pot for years. It has two pups now that are almost as big as the mom. I don't know why I don't give it more praise and respect. It *is* a beautiful agave!

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    1. Oh that's good to know! Maybe if you need to dedicate a little "plant space" in the car right from the get-go on your next trip up this way...

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    2. Hey, I hadn't even thought of that! Yes, I'd be happy to do that.

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    3. Get out! I was only kind of joking....yay! (gawd your family is going to hate me)

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  10. Over the years, I've driven from Davis down to Southern CA and filled (actually packed the car so tight the windows were continually fogged from the humidity) my little subcompact to the brim with choice plants. Anderson's is one of my favorites, although it's in a horrible neighborhood- kind of like Annie's Annuals is. Other choice southern CA nurseries are- Buena Creek nursery, Kartuz Greenhouse, Anderson's LaCosta, Cordova nursery, Oasis nursery, Roger's Nursery, and Desert to Jungle nursery, which closed unfortunately with the death of it's owner, Gary Hammer. There are many more, but these are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head. I usually stay at a motel 6 in Escondido as a home base, and go out foraging each day, until I admit I can't cram another thing in the car, and head on home. Northern San Diego county is rife with wholesale nurseries, and the plants are much cheaper there than elsewhere, probably due to low transportation costs. Sigh, just thinking about this is getting myself all itchy to make another trip, but with the drought restrictions, I'll just have to control myself! Sue

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    1. I like your style! And yes, the neighborhood had me questioning if I really wanted to stop there, once inside the gates however I forgot all about that. Thanks for the list, if I make it back someday I'll try to check out as many as possible.

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  11. A wonderful nursery that I've never heard of. I think you may have visited more California nurseries than I have. Perhaps you could have purchased a seat on the plane for the Bismarckia...

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    1. I can just see my husband's face when I tell him that "Honey we're going to be traveling with this palm..."

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  12. I was dying a little at that Leucadendron being left behind until the last picture. You had me going, there. That's probably what I would have brought home, too, out of all of those amazing, fantastic plants.

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    1. The Leucadendron I brought back from Berkeley in September bit the dust over the winter, this one however is still going strong, yay!

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  13. Oh my! I'll have to check out this place when I'm in San Diego next year for my niece's wedding celebration. What a great place! Those Leucadendrons are spectacular!

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  14. I've often wanted to visit there. Seeing the Grevillea 'Poorinda Royal Mantle', I'm even more tempted.

    Azaleas in San Diego. Jeeze. Yet another wonderful thing about garden blogs is seeing plants where they should be planted--Azaleas belong in the Mid-Atlantic humidity zone. San Diego--oh, no.

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    1. Hope you get the chance soon Hoov, I can only imagine how fabulous they must be this time of the year.

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    2. AnonymousMay 01, 2015

      When I was a young designer in SD out of college, we actually specified azaleas...as annuals. Sheesh. No wonder I'm self employed with that kind of mindset in my field

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  15. AnonymousMay 01, 2015

    Not bad, considering you didn't have a semi-tractor-trailer to haul the place back home! I never thought I would see Yucca elata bought in San Diego...different times.

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  16. That's a lovely leuc you went home with!

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  17. Some lovely images here. Love the colors. The image of the fern is my favorite. Many thanks for sharing them with us.actually think I want to start a garden this year so this is a great tip for me

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