Detour to Seaside Gardens

 My trip to the central coast of California in late April placed me within a two hour drive of the iconic Seaside Gardens Nursery in the Socal beach city of Carpenteria , to the immediate south of Santa Barbara. I was on a very brief holiday, but spending  a day motoring along  highway 101-one of my favorite road trip drives-was appealing. I was at liberty to do whatever the hell I wanted to, and  this was an excellent way to spend the day.   My first visit to Seaside was in April of 2010, briefly blogged about here, and again in 2011.

In my experience,  display gardens in California nurseries are a rarity and this one is so well done and beautifully maintained I  assume that the design business here is able to support the upkeep. In fact, I have never seen this nursery busy with retail customers, and you might have to search out an employee to make your purchase.  Admittedly I always have visited as soon as they open on a weekday , traditionally the slowest time in a garden center. A mob scene on spring weekends would not be a shock.

I spent quite a bit of time in  the grassy meadow section of the garden, which is appropriately adjacent to the California natives--these beds flow nicely together. The design in this area is subtle and serene.




No codleing is needed for Echiums in this zone 10 coastal climate. The Pacific is right across the highway and moderates temperatures year round. There are reasons real estate is unaffordable in these parts.


 This is what awaits around the bend.




I confess that I get into this garden and writing down names is the last thing on my mind, especially if I know them already. There is always the spelling issue. Bad blogger.








Took a pic of the sign on this one though --isn't it so fabulous ? Trevesia palmata 'Snowflake Aralia'




 Big views..



I took many many more photos-might make a good winter post when all I have to look at here is mud !

Comments

  1. These are great photos, Kathy! I try to get to Seaside twice a year (early spring and fall). It never disappoints and it IS much busier on the weekends, although I can remember only one occasion on which finding a place to park was a problem. I was there once when a busload of Red Hat Society ladies arrived - oh my!

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    1. those red hat ladies get around don't they ? I'm glad to hear Seaside has customers sometimes-I want them to be wildly successful !

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  2. What a magnificent display garden for a nursery! Thanks for sharing your great photos of it.

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  3. Such splendid planting with so many beautiful plants!

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    1. I could have wandered around there all day.

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  4. Oh your images are eye candy of the first rate! I especially enjoyed the look having been there myself in December.

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    1. I have always visited in spring-in fact I think every one of my trips was in April. It would be fun to go in fall sometime .

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  5. You had a decent lighting! Fantastic photos of a fantastic place. I can't wait to go back.

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    1. I left Los Osos at 7am-ish so I would arrive as early am as possible.A little coastal morning gloom was still about . They open at 9--too bad the don't open at 8 !

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