Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

Happy Mother's Day! We are open 8:30-5:00 every day

Dear Friends of Anderson's La Costa,

Happy May! What a glorious time of year. It finally feels like the peak of springtime. The birds are chirping, the sun is finding moments to shine and the days are getting longer. Everything in the garden is looking good and blooming. We are looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day, finishing up the school year, and getting ready for SUMMER!

We are thrilled that Mia McCarville has agreed to come back to talk to us about our summer veggie gardens! Mia, the former owner of Cedros Gardens in Solana Beach, has continued her passion for plants by sharing her amazing knowledge with our gardening community. What a wonderful expert she is.

We welcome Mia back this month on Wednesday, May 24 at 5:30 pm here at the nursery. Please kindly RSVP as soon as possible to reserve your spot: andersonslacosta@gmail.com. We will cap attendance at 35 guests to ensure enough seating and space for everyone.

May Newsletter Special

20% Off

Alstroemeria, Garden Statuary and Wall Art

Alstroemeria are exploding everywhere! We have tons of colors, the usual to the unique, all 20% off. Also just in are a truckload of hanging wall designs to spruce up your outdoor living or dining space. Off the truck and straight to you. Finally, please enjoy our large assortment of garden statuary to make you smile whenever you see it.

Bedding plants are stealing the show!

The good news about the slow start to the spring due to the cold weather and rain is that we are beginning to see the benefits now. Plants are coming to life with growth and flowers are more and more abundant. The rose bushes are now in their full spring bloom and it's great to see people literally stop and smell the roses. We try to choose roses with alluring colors and fragrance. Try varieties such as 'Just Joey', 'Pope John Paul II', 'Yves Piaget', 'Heavenly Scented', 'Neil Diamond', 'Neptune', 'Julia Childs' and more. We still have a good selection of David Austin roses as well.

Planting warm-season herbs and vegetables is now in full swing. Rising temperatures warming the soil up and longer daylight hours provide ideal growing conditions for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, peppers, eggplant, melons, strawberries, beans, and more. I'm excited to listen and learn from Mia on the topic at the end of this month and compare her strategies with mine.

In addition to planting some of my favorite edibles, I found myself harvesting the last of my citrus fruit on the tree as well as culling my peach tree. Since the citrus trees are full of amazing-smelling blossoms for this coming year's fruit, I wanted to remove all remaining fruit from the previous season so the energy of the tree can go in other directions.

Most fruit trees will set way more fruit than they can possibly handle or is good for them. Stone fruit in particular benefit greatly from culling (removing) fruits from a young age. This not only alleviates weight from the branch, which may break if not done correctly, but results in bigger and better fruit quality.  

May is the month for flowers. There is an abundance of flowering plants in the nursery right now. Anigozanthos (kangaroo paw) are in the prime of their blooming cycle. Be sure to check out the new colors 'Bush glow' (a light orange), 'Masquerade' (an eye-catching metallic blue/turquoise and one of my new favorites), and 'Carnivale' (the best purple!) Hibiscus, Hydrangea, and Bougainvillea are also finally starting to show some color.

Many pollinator plants are flowering profusely. Salvias such as 'Ember's wish', 'Wendy's wish', 'Love and wishes', and 'Amistad' are sure to attract hummingbirds, as are Cuphea ignea (firecracker/cigar plant) 'Ballistic', 'Hummingbird's lunch', and 'Starfire'. Lavender plants of all kinds are in full bloom this time of the year. Try Spanish types for the showiest flowers 'Primavera', French and sweet lavender have some of the best fragrance, and a new fernleaf variety 'Minty ice'.

Other pollinator attractors including verbena, lantana, cosmos, African daisies, pentas, gerbera daisies, and fuchsia plants are finally in their bloom cycle. Honestly, it is difficult to walk around the nursery and not find blooming plants this time of the year. 

I'm excited about the selection of tomato plants right now. Probably the most variety I've seen in a long time. Some of my favorites include 'Momataro', 'Jetsetter', 'Sweet baby girl' (which also happen to be some of Mia's favorites, too) 'Sungold', 'Cherokee purple', and Goliath to name a few.

The Protea and Leucospermum have been selling exceptionally well this year and I'm glad to say we received some more in the smaller one gallon size. Leucadendron 'Jester' is a favorite due to its multi-colored foliage, as well as 'Hawaii magic' which has bluer foliage and colorful cones.

I'm all about California native plants, and we've got a nice selection right now. Abutilon palmeri is finally back in stock (nearly year-round blooms), as well as Salvia 'Celestial blue' (a hybrid with spectacular flowers). The California native milkweed plants are finally waking up from their winter dormancy. We have Asclepias fascicularis (narrow leaf) in both one gallon and two gallon, as well as some one gallon Asclepias eriocarpa (wooly pod milkweed) in one gallon. 

We recently got in a nice supply of hanging baskets in plenty of time for Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekend. The indoor greenhouse has been fully restocked, along with the gift shop, with tons of new items. There are so many goodies throughout the nursery, but half the fun is browsing and finding them on your own! I hope to see you all at the nursery very soon.



Your Local Horticulturalist,

Steven

May usually brings prime planting conditions to Southern California gardens and landscapes. Temperatures are mild, the soil has warmed up, and we'll often have high overcast skies that will help new plants ease gradually into warmer weather conditions. 

May is the best month to plant summer flowering shrubs and to start transplanting indoor plants to the outdoors. If temperatures are cooperating, this month will be your busiest until September with planning, planting, and projects to head into summer. We could not find a more pleasant place or time of the year to be out working in the garden in our area than during the month of May! 

To continue reading May Gardening Tips, click here.

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