| Since moving back to the Bay Area I've been pleasantly surprised with the many places to buy plants. There is a fantastic general nursery nearby (Yamagami's in Cupertino) and I've also found great sources for specialty plants, most notably Annie's Annuals in Richmond and the Strybing Arboretum monthly sales.
Nearly a year ago on a Gardenweb forum I was given a tip (by Bahia) that Flora Grubb in San Francisco's Bayview district was another good source, for Proteaceae in particular. However I didn't visit until recently. When I finally did I was amazed by what I found. I thought I should point out what others may be missing.
Flora Grubb's location is such that it's easy to get to from the freeway; parking is not a problem.
The gardens resembles, in my opinion, a cross between a top quality nursery, a florist and a museum. Perhaps that sounds like an odd description. I suspect it will not seem strange to those familiar with the place. I was also impressed by the people at Flora Grubb. The employees are among the best I've encountered anywhere in terms of friendliness, helpfulness and expertise.
I was surprised at the quality, variety and price of the plants. It would be impossible to describe everything and I would even recommend a visit merely to look at the plants, in particular the vertical plantings. Flora Grubb also has a small coffee shop inside, perfect for a break or for a companion who is not as fascinated by plants.
Rather than try to give a representative sample of what's available, here are the plants that I bought. Most things I bought were very close to $10 (to my surprise) with exceptions noted.
On my first trip I picked up the following:
Agapetes 'Ludgvan Cross' (The Ebay seller Strange Wonderful Things has beautiful photos of this hybrid in bloom: http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/142.htm )
Cestrum fasciculatum (the hummingbirds love it)
Calandrina spectabilis. I had originally left, but after seeing this plant blooming out front I had to return to buy it. (here are pictures from Annie's Annuals, another source: http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=1930 )
On my second trip I took public transportation and had to pick up things that I could carry home:
Aeonium tabuliforme and a Tillandsia (I'm not sure, but I think the Tillandsia was around $10 and the Aeonium less than $5...). This species of Aeonium is spectacular when mature.
Cuphea cyanea ($5.95 and my favorite Cuphea)
Just wandering around Flora Grubb is a lot of fun. I won't spoil all the surprises, but here's one that took me while to notice. It's a plant that I did not buy because I already grow it, Fuchsia boliviana. Typically one finds either the red or "Alba" forms of F. boliviana. I noticed that the plants they were selling had both color forms on them:
I was told that most likely someone at the wholesaler's had fun grafting these.
I have not yet bought any Proteaceae at Flora Grubb yet, despite the fact that this was the reason for the initial recommendation. This is not due to lack of great plants. Both times I visited they were selling stunning Proteas, Leucadendrons, Grevillias, Banksias, etc. and prices for the 1 gallon sizes were in the $10 to $20 range from what I remember.
Flora Grubb does ship plants, within the Bay Area if not farther--I don't remember the details. I think I recall that succulents can be shipped farther. It's definitely worth checking into if their plants are of interest and you can't make the trip.
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