Succulents and More™

After a long15 months when virtually all in-person plant sales were canceled because of the pandemic, there's finally some good news to report, at least for folks living in, or able to travel to, the Sacramento area. The Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society (SCSS) will hold its annual plant sale (minus the juried show) this coming weekend at the Shepard Garden & Arts Center next to McKinley Park. Here are the times: Friday, April 30, 2021: 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, May 1, 2021: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, May 2, 2021:  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95816  ( Google Maps link )  The best source for last-minute changes (not expected, but just in case), is the SCSS Facebook page . With 13 plant vendors and 2 pottery vendors, this will be a big event. Since it's the first large succulent sale since the start of the pandemic, we're hoping for a good turnout. Here are the vendors who will be there: ➤ Pottery vendor...

On Saturday, I finally made it to Annie's Annuals in Richmond. It was my first visit of the year. I'm not sure why I waited so long, considering that temperatures are warming up and the fall/winter/spring planting window is almost closed. But I'm happy to report that all my purchases except for one are already in the ground or in pots. A friend of mine went to Annie's recently in the middle of the week and had to wait outside for a while before being allowed in. An employee stationed at the entrance keeps track of how many customers are inside the nursery at any given time to maintain social distancing requirements. Once capacity is reached, people need to wait outside until somebody leaves. I arrived at 10 a.m., and to my surprise I was able to walk straight in. However, by the time I left at 11:30, people were lining up at the entrance. The display beds near the entrance were as beautiful as ever—like living pages of Annie's Annuals' printed catalog. Which th...