Tree Of Life is a California native plant nursery inland from San Juan Capistrano. Beloved was up for a drive, so we visited the nursery on Saturday. Beloved wandered the grounds and took photos, while your Blogger engaged in some retail therapy.
The Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) were blooming.
The nursery property was at one time a headquarters for a cattle ranch. There are assorted old buildings used for decades by the cattle operation that the nursery now uses for offices and wholesale and retail sales. The buildings are rustic and evoke the California of 100 years ago.
There are multiple poly and shade houses for plant production:
Of course there is an area with plants for retail sale:
Blogger carefully examining an array of Ceanothus:
Many of the species available for sale are native to the property and can be observed in their natural state, unpruned (except by critters) and unwatered (except by rain).
Mistletoe on the Platanus.
California like it once was:
Shaggy old Arctostaphylos:Very old Arctostaphylos at the end of its lifespan, but glorious still:
A old oak:
The old oak from the other side:
The main highlight for flowers were the Arctostaphylos. A bit early still for the main spring bloom. Shopping sights: Dudleyas
They sell potting mix in unpretentious bags:
I looked at this a while--it is a fine way to display potted plants by using whatever materials happened to be available--stone slabs set on concrete blocks. Quite nice!
Dudleya gnoma, a rare tiny Dudleya from Santa Rosa Island.
I had to look around the internet to determine the name of this plant in the sales area's small "demonstration garden". It's Ribes aureum var. gracillimum, common name "Golden Currant". The fruit is edible and the flowers attract many different kinds of butterflies as well as hummingbirds and bees.
Our visit to Tree Of Life was very relaxing. The day was chilly (for Southern California) and started out cloudy, so it was not overly crowded for a Saturday. Interstate 5 going home was a different story, but we've seen worse.
Blogger pondering how to place retail haul in vehicle for the drive home:
Haul: a large bag of potting mix that will be great for succulent and other low-water plants, Ceanothus 'Valley Violet', and Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman', which is what I'm intending will replace Pittosporum 'Ivory Sheen'. I had a 'Valley Violet' in the past but it died quickly. This version may fare better having been grown by a native plant nursery.
In this post, all photos are by Beloved.
A old oak: 
What a great looking nursery. It is always hard for me to remember that you can shop for plants and garden to different degrees year round. I am keeping myself happy with a few indoor pots and online plant orders. Not quite the same.
ReplyDeleteThe rustic indoor living space was splendid and sentimental: the arch, the nook, the rock floor!
ReplyDeleteIn the garden of my dreams (we all have one, right?) I'll have room for at least one Arctostaphylos. They are perfect in every way: trunk, foliage, bloom...
Chavli
A treasured SoCal nursery I've yet to visit. One day! I'm glad you found the Ceanothus you wanted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us along, it's good to get out and see something new.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! There was such an elegance in the rustic simplicity of Old California, and I miss it, achingly so at times. Thank you for sharing your lovely photos. I like to drive, and will often meander down little-traveled roads just for the experience, which is how I discovered Tree of Life. I would be traveling from east to west. Saturday must have been a nursery day for many, including me, though my nursery was more suburban than picturesque. Still a visit to just about any nursery is an instant vacation -- all that lush green, the smell of the plants and dirt, the tempting pots ... it's all so very hard to resist. Not that I tried very hard. My car was packed by the time I left. A good day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice vibe, indoor and out. And apparently thriving, no evidence that
ReplyDeletethey are just barely hanging on, waiting for the grim reaper (development)
to pave them over like so many of my good old favorites Thanks to Beloved
for capturing the ambience
I hope your new plants have settled in. Magnificent trees there!
ReplyDeleteAlas, still waiting in their pots until I get the Pittosporum out. But they are enjoying the rain!
DeleteYes there are some wonderful old oaks and sycamores at TOL.