Private garden at Peacock Horticultural Nursery

A couple of months ago, I visited Peacock Horticultural Nursery in Sebastopol, CA and experienced the first rain of the season in western Sonoma County (Davis didn't get anything at the time). As I was exploring the many hidden corners of the nursery, co-owner Robert Peacock, after whom the nursery is named, invited me into the “Staff Only” area. In addition to housing a few propagation greenhouses, it's also Robert's and his husband Marty's private garden.

The entrance is in a wooded part of the property:

Beschorneria sp. glistening in the gentle rain
Robert corrected me: This is actually Agave weberi 'Rainer's Selection'. I never would have guessed!

Different Beschorneria sp.

One of the propagation hoop houses

Closer look

Looking back at the hoop house as I was walking away from it

The heart of the private garden is a newly built mounded bed surrounded by a flagstone path:

The mound is home to a large variety of succulents, ranging from ground-cover mesembs to agaves and aloes to cacti:

One corner of the bed is a succulent-filled crevice garden:

This is something I've long wanted to do but I don't have right spot for it. I'm so happy that Robert and Marty are trying this technique in combination with succulents; traditionally it's used for alpine plants.

The non-crevice areas of this mound are just as interesting. As a nursery owner, Robert has access to a neverending supply of cool plants, including the latest introductions.

This round container, perfectly sized for the tree stump it sits on, is a perfect succulent rock garden en miniature

The rock work, done by Robert, is magnificent. Look at the rounded rocks incorporated into the low retaining wall!

I also love the echeverias tucked into the crevices:

Rectangular steel planters are a perfect complement, bringing special plants closer to eye level and giving them the extra drainage they need:

Here are some plants that jumped out at me—not literally, thank goodness:

Agave salmiana var. ferox 'Medio Picta'

Agave geminiflora and ×Mangave 'Tooth Fairy'

Yucca gloriosa 'Tiny Star' and Agave ×ovatisana 'Sea Star'

Yucca gloriosa 'Tiny Star' 

Succulents aren't the only thing in Robert's and Marty's private garden:

Carnivorous plants? 🗸

A water garden? 🗸

My eyes kept going back to a magnificent specimen of love lies bleeding, aka ornamental amaranth:

Amaranthus caudatus...

...aka love lies bleeding (love that name!)

Another group of plants Robert likes are South African bulbs:

Brunsvigia josephinae

×Amarygia, a bigeneric cross between Amaryllis and Brunsvigia, typically Amaryllis belladonna and Brunsvigia josephinae

The final two photos I took are reminders that this is a garden where actual work is done:

Robert and Marty have created something very special for themselves. Their private garden is just that: a sanctuary away from the retail nursery that's open to the public. But it's more than just private, it's beautiful. The succulent mound with its crevice corner, retaining walls, and surrounding flagstone path is an inspiration. If I had the room, I'd happily recreate in my own garden!

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Peacock Horticultural Nursery is located at 4296 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA 95472. They're open by appointment only. You can book a time slot on their website.

 

RELATED POSTS:

• Peacock Horticultural Nursery: still one of my favorite places to buy plants, spiky and otherwise (3/14/2018)
• Peacock Horticultural Nursery: awesome plants and a big anniversary sale (9/23/2021)
• Return to Peacock Horticultural Nursery in Sebastopol, CA (6/18/2014)
• A visit to Peacock Horticultural Nursery, part 1 (10/21/2013)
• A visit to Peacock Horticultural Nursery, part 2 (10/22/2013)

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