Hello Friends –

How delicious is California's spring? The buildup of rich growth and color starts in January and reaches a glamorous peak right around Mother's Day. It's the same here in the nursery. We hope you'll be as inspired by the amazing variety inside our gates right now as by the flush of wildflowers on green Bay Area hillsides. Under May's warm sun our array of vivid and graceful plants, containers, and furnishings couldn't be more brilliant.

Moms Love It Here!

What a great way to spend Mother's Day—with a coffee from Ritual, walking around the nursery, amidst the beauty of the gardens, talking, and sharing time together.

Mother's Day Giveaway

On our fourth anniversary, we're offering a drawing for one $500 gift certificate as thanks to mothers. Sign up in person at the store on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8, and we'll give you a call at 6pm that evening to let you know that you've won.

Our 2007 grand opening here in the Bayview coincided with Mother's Day. Since then, I've become a mother, and my business partner, Saul, and his wife, Susie, have just become parents of twins! Boy, do we have a new appreciation for motherhood.

Romanced by Japanese Maples

Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are nothing if not graceful. They're a worthy indulgence, something so special that we're willing to coddle them for the rewards of delicate foliage, elegant form, and fall color. The Japanese have selected thousands of varieties over the centuries. Come soak them up. We have the best selection of the year right now.

Clockwise from upper left: Katsura, Orangeola, Purple Ghost, and Pixie

Beni Schichihenge

Garden Inspiration from Dan Carlson

The throne: With these riches to gaze upon, anyone can feel royal.

Our friend Dan Carlson is one of the Bay Area's most masterful planting designers and professional gardeners. His personal playground garden is located at his friends' house in a rainy corner of Sonoma County, on a sunny slope overlooking the Russian River Valley, in a Sunset zone 15 climate. We think it's an inspiration for gardening – for the experimenting, witnessing, and cultivating that bring us peace in our gardens, whether they're on our windowsill or at our ranch.

A Gunnera unfurls its huge warty leaves against a smooth Phormium tenax
(the good old species) backdrop.

The Andean bromeliad, Puya mirabilis, can't be beat for subtle chic.

Isn't this homey? Much of this front garden thrives with barely any summer irrigation.

You can see many more photos of Dan's garden on Flickr.

A Visit from Friendly Aliens?

We love these wall ornaments! They're easy to mount, cute, elemental, modest, and colorful, like cheery visitors from Mars. They also cost only $8.95 each and we have them in four colors: gold, lime, orange, and red.

These "Wall Play" mounts also work as hooks!

It's a tough thing, ornament in the garden. We're always careful about the insertion of decoration and art into our cultivated spaces. Cliches abound (gnomes anyone?) – plus what might look beautiful indoors might not play well with the vibrancy of live plants. By contrast, these just charm our socks off.

The Dr. Seuss tree, Euphorbia lambii, from the Canary Islands,
looks right at home with Wall Play mounts.

Fermob Bistro Furniture Has Arrived!

Our best bistro furniture selection of the year has arrived in the store from France, in new colors like cotton white, grass green, and storm grey. These foldable, powder-coated, solid-steel Fermob chairs are available in 22 colors. They're joined by a nice array of folding bistro tables, too.

Fermob's square bistro folding chair in lemon

Free Workshop: Easy Vertical Gardens

Saturday, May 21, 11am

Join us to learn how to make your own vertical garden. Lots of plants love to grow on steep, vertical surfaces like cliffs and trees. Using vertical-loving plants like succulents, vines, and epiphytes (bromeliads, ferns, and rhipsalis for instance) in Woolly Pockets makes wall gardening super easy and fun. Our friends from Far Out Flora will also show you how easy it is to securely mount epiphytes directly onto vertical surfaces. Please RSVP online. Of course we'll make room for you if you decide at the last minute. Be sure to get here early for your cup of Ritual coffee – the lines get long on Saturday morning and everyone would like to start on time. We open at 9am.

I put together this Woolly Pocket garden and so can you.

Join Us on Facebook and Twitter

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

Come and see us.

– Flora and everyone at Flora Grubb Gardens