Happy May!

We are overwhelmed by the springtime beauty that surrounds us in the store just now. There's an abundance of beautiful plants, new containers, gorgeous flower bouquets, and even tiny vertical gardens here for you to enjoy.

We want to you to know all about our Mother's Day events – this Sunday promises to be our very best Mother's Day ever. Our Cutting Garden maven, Susie, is offering a flower-arranging workshop, our friends at Samovar are presenting a tea tasting, and Eileen's crew from Ritual Roasters will be offering a coffee tasting, as well.

Please join us this Sunday, May 9, to embark on a journey in a cup – or to fill a vase full of floral love!

Order the Mother's Day Bouquet by Midnight on May 6

The fascinating shapes and colors of tillandsias are the inspiration for our Mother's Day bouquet. A handful of tillandsias are arranged with vibrant spring flowers and foliage for a special and unusual gift. Tillandsias are living plants whose roots grow on tree branches up in the air; they require only a bright room and a weekly misting, and they will look so sweet marching along your mother's windowsill for many Mother's Days to come.

The bouquet (similar to shown) will arrive in an elegant sandblasted-glass vase and will include several air plants. As always, all of the Cutting Garden's plant materials are California-grown.

For delivery or pick-up in San Francisco only
Order now or by May 6 at midnight for Mother's Day delivery.

All other orders from our web shop must be placed by Wednesday, May 5, for Mother's Day delivery by mail.

Big Mother's Day Event

We'll be hosting our most exciting Mother's Day event ever, full of exciting happenings all day long! Make a bouquet for your mom (or make one with your mom) with help from the Cutting Garden's Susie Nadler, taste exotic coffees or teas and enjoy springtime in the nursery.

Mother's Day Flower Studio in the Gardens Sunday, May 9, 1:30pm

Bring your mom down to celebrate Mother's Day with us at a hands-on flower arranging workshop led by Susie Nadler, floral designer and mistress of our Cutting Garden. Surrounded by the inspiring springtime beauty of the Gardens, we'll use California-grown seasonal flowers and foliage to create lovely bouquets our mothers can bring home and enjoy for days. You'll also learn to transform succulents into cut “flowers” that moms can later plant as a living reminder of the special day. $50 per person fee covers the cost of materials, including a glazed ceramic vase. We're offering participants a complimentary bellini for our Mother's Day toast. (If you prefer to work on just one arrangement as a mother-daughter or mother-son team, you need only pay for one registration.)

Please RSVP before midnight, Thursday, May 6, so we can be sure to have enough cut foliage and flowers for your design. Be sure to bring your clippers or pruning shears!

Mother's Day Coffee Tasting with Ritual Roasters
Sunday, May 9, 12pm to 2pm

Ever been to a wine tasting? Well, tasting coffee can be just as interesting as tasting wine. You can learn to pick out the flavors of almond, vanilla, marshmallow, and fig in a sun-dried Guatemalan coffee, or flavors of lemon meringue, bergamot, and orange from a coffee grown by an Ethiopian cooperative. Hear about how the soils, climate, and growing conditions of the coffee plants affect the flavor of the coffee in your cup.

To whet your appetite, read a very complimentary article about Ritual Coffee Roasters in the New York Times.

Mother's Day Tea Tasting with Samovar Tea Lounge
Sunday, May 9, 12pm to 2pm

I love tea, so lately when I am looking for a moment of peace, my favorite spot in the city is Samovar Tea Lounge. Favorite spot? Yes, it's quite a proclamation. Sitting on the terrace under wisteria vines at Samovar's Yerba Buena location, gazing out over the gardens with a cup of steaming tea in my hands, is my idea of heaven.

The tea experts from Samovar will be on hand at the nursery to guide your tasting experience, and help you understand how the leaves of a single plant (Camellia sinensis) can create so many different flavors. Samovar teas are an exotic vacation in a cup, a profound experience, transformative and stimulating.

Living Picture

Here's a perfect gift for your mom (or yourself!): a 12-inch framed vertical garden. Perfect for a part-sun to full-shade garden spot, and maybe even a very bright, cool, indoor spot. They're simple to care for and compelling as only living art can be.

Wedding Centerpieces from The Cutting Garden

Check out the centerpieces Susie made for a big wedding reception held here at the nursery! I'll bet you've never seen anything quite like them. The tiny terrarium on the plate is also the newest offering in our web shop.

The reception was for my littlest brother, Jonathan Grubb, who married Kestrin Pantera. Here's an article about their celebration in the New York Times.

We've Got Pots!

We're getting new pottery in every week now. I worked all winter to find some great new sources that I think you will love.

Some Great Plants

Euphorbia 'Tiny Tim'
This little euphorbia is too cute! It looks like a perfectly round little topiary. When in full bloom, it is a little bigger than a bowling ball and is really just a mass of flowers. It's a super-easy, unthirsty perennial for containers or a sunny spot. Adorable!

Japanese Maples!

We've received a fresh truckload of breathtaking Japanese maples from Buchholz & Buchholz nursery. The Buchholz folks are cutting-edge growers with an astounding collection of maples and other exotic trees and shrubs. Come in soon to drool over these delectables; from the ruffled, pale-pink stained glass of Acer palmatum 'Mikazuki', to the thready 'Red Filagree Lace' and the full chartreuse fans of Acer shirasawarum 'Aureum', they will go fast.

Events

Our calendar is filling up with awesome events! Check back often as more and more are being scheduled.

May 15
Betty Zlatchin Catering: lunch – 11am to 2pm
www.bettyzlatchin.com

Betty Zlatchin Catering will be serving a well-priced gourmet lunch in the Gardens on May 15. Betty Zlatchin Catering takes pride in using organic, sustainable food sourced from local vendors to create dishes that are both delicious and beautiful to behold.

When Flora's business partner Saul and our floral designer Susie got married, they searched hard for the perfect caterer. (Saul as you may know is a classically trained French chef.) The one they chose – Betty Zlatchin Catering – continues to provide deliciousness and sparkle for many Flora Grubb Gardens events. Consider having lunch here in the Gardens on May 15!

Join us on Facebook

It's just like neighbors chatting about their gardens over the fence, but digitally. Please join us.