What caught my eye at Green Acres Nursery in Sacramento

I’ve been cooped up at work all week but yesterday I was able to slip out for an hour to see what’s going on at Green Acres Nursery.

Green Acres has five locations now; the one closest to my house is the one in Sacramento on the corner of Jackson and Florin Perkins Rd. We drove by their brand-new location in Rocklin last Sunday but it was pouring down so we didn’t stop. I suspect it looks much like their other newish location in Elk Grove (read my blog post) but I’ll find out for myself one of these months.

While the first thing you see when you walk into the nursery are still rows of brightly-colored annuals, these on-sale succulents from Altman Plants were right there next them:

There’s nothing rare or exotic on these shelves, but the price is very good: $2.50 per plant instead of $4.29. I bought a couple of ×Sedeveria (intergeneric hybrids between Sedum and Echeveria species) for the succulent mounds that replaced the front lawn.

The regular succulent section was better stocked than usual. These Echeveria ‘Black Prince’ were a real eye-catcher. There’s something about foliage that’s almost black…

Agave mitis ‘Multicolor’, not a common sight in our parts:

Veltheimia capensis, a bulb from South Africa, is even less common:

 

My Veltheimia capensis didn’t flower this year although it’s in plenty of sun

Agave lophantha underplanted with cushion bush (Leucophyta brownii):

Hesperaloe parviflora ‘Brake Lights’, teasing me again:

 

I had been a doubter but the flower stalks (and flowers) on ‘Brake Lights’ are much redder than the species. I’d buy one if only I could find one in the 1-gallon size. I don’t want to spend money for 5-gallon plant when they grow fairly fast.

I’m always amazed by how large Green Acres’ Grevillea selection is:

Yet they don’t carry of the truly showy hybrids, like ‘Superior’, ‘Robyn Gordon’, ‘Peaches and Cream’, ‘Moonlight’ etc. I really don’t know why.

Grevillea dimorpha

I noticed a new display of dwarf conifers:

If I needed another plant obsession, it could easily be dwarf conifers.There is so much variety in leaf shape and texture. Check out of this positively drool-worthy ‘Whipcord’ Western red cedar:

On to something more practical, like these spurges blooming their heads off:

Euphorbia characias ‘Glacier Blue’

Euphorbia characias ‘Glacier Blue’ and Euphorbia characias ‘Purpurea’

I saw two kinds of California poppies: the ones with regular foliage and these, also labeled “California poppy:”

I have never seen California poppies with leaves like these. I wonder how they are different? Will they be smaller plants overall? The label wasn’t helpful.

A new-to-me shrub discover, silverberry ‘Olive Martini’ (Elaeagnus ‘Olive Martini’):

 

I usually pay zero attention to these kinds of shrubs, and I still don’t know why I found this one interesting. Maybe it reminded me the large weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) we once had as a houseplant. It, too, was basically boring but I liked it nonetheless.

However, this Alstroemeria ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ was anything but boring:

I’ve wanted one for a while since it reminds me of hostas (which are almost impossible to grow in our climate). But I’m not willing to pay $25 for a #2 plant. Maybe next year they’ll be cheaper.

Finally, another Arctotis hybrid from the ‘Raver’ series, this one called ‘Bumble Bee’. I bought two and planted them outside the front yard fence. It’s not the most exciting hybrid but I was drawn to the cheery yellow flowers. If it’s like the other Arctotis we have, it should bloom all year and need very little in return. These South African daisies truly are perfect for a dry spot that bakes in the sun most of the day.

Arctotis ‘Bumble Bee’

Now it’s time to work on our income taxes so you may not see me again for a while…