Friday, June 16, 2017

Armstrong Garden Center, in Claremont, California

Last January after visiting Pitzer College (here and here) and before hitting the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden I stopped in Armstrong Garden Center (32 locations!)...

I wasn't shopping for anything in particular (especially since we flew) but always enjoying sampling the local flavor...

The kid in me found the name of this asparagus fern hilarious. I think I actually laughed out loud.

It was quite attractive too....

Oh to be able to grow tree ferns in the ground.

Sunny succulents.

Which were a little on the pricey side.

More laughs here, "cactus juice"...

With "cactus loving calcium"...who knew?

I did end up buying a small Agave 'Little Shark', but for some reason didn't take a photo of it at the nursery, it was over in that display somewhere...

With a car to haul home my treasures I could surely have done some quality shopping.

Maybe a nice big 5-gallon Leucadendron argenteum for $45...

Or a stunning Grevillea 'Ned Kelly'...

Inside there were lots of colorful Bromeliads.

I was (of course) drawn to the orange ones...

Weather Diary, June 15: Hi 63, Low 55/ Precip .45"

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

16 comments:

  1. Cactus juice! At first I thought it was a power drink for humans with cactus in it. Maybe it's the opposite!

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    1. A power drink for cactus with humans in it??? OMG!!!

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  2. While it's always enjoyable to visit nurseries on vacation, it's a bit frustrating to not have a vehicle to fill. Wow, 32 locations? That's a lot of plants and stores to manage.

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    1. I was amazed at the number of stores, see Kathy's comment below for more info.

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  3. Hey, I've purchased Cactus Juice - it's the only fertilizer specifically targeted for succulents sold here that I've seen. Armstrong is a mainstay garden center here. The one closest to me probably accounts for nearly 50% of my plant purchases.

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    1. I should confess that not only do I fail to fertilize my cactus (the thought never occurred to me) but I don't fertilize much of anything else either, with the exception of my bamboo in the stock tanks.

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  4. It looks like there is one of these in Anaheim, only a 20 minute drive from Disneyland. I'll have to check it out, flying be damned.

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    1. Where there is a will, there is a way.

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  5. Armstrong bought up many of the locations of the now defunct Nurseryland where I worked for 10ish years in the mid 70's to mid 80's. Both the locations where I worked are no longer garden centers , and were not continued on as such by Armstrong. Nurseryland was a 30 store chain at one time with locations in Texas,under the Wolfs brand,and Arizona known as Tip-Top, as well as the stores in San Diego and Orange County. As I recall, our best store was in Del Mar, which I believe is now an Armstrongs.

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    1. Interesting. I have to admit I love the name "Nurseryland"!

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  6. Retrofractus--LOL. Yes, it's lovely. And, of course...the orange ones!

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  7. That asparagus is one I would grow if it were hardy for me, or maybe if I didn't have so many plants already in the house and greenhouse. Obviously I don't have the same control with tree ferns. Unfortunately the "retrofractus" isn't tickling my funny bone as it does yours. I feel like I'm missing out.

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    1. You are missing out! Maybe it will hit you one day out of the blue...

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  8. Armstrongs struggled during the drought. Their plants have been much better this year. Fun to see a familiar store from a fresh perspective. Their succulents plants are on the pricey side, but they had a big selection of Leucadendrons this spring. :)

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    1. How different is each location? I almost squeezed in another but then it was time to pick up the husband...

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