6 packs of Sweet Peas for trellis, good in pots or the ground: $4.99 each

Wild Birds of Alameda FREE PRESENTATION Saturday November 17, 12-1:30pm   Wondering why there are so many birds on the bay shore now?  And what are all those birds with the long legs?  What’s that bird with the yellow rump that wasn’t here last month? Learn the answers to these questions and many more.  Join…

Plants with a rich history of use by native people of California which represent a unique heritage benefiting our society and environment. September 2018 Rubus spectabilis SALMON BERRY This berry producing bramble inhabits riparian corridors from Alaska to California and can be found East as far as Idaho.  Salmon Berry also does well in any…

Some of the plants we have mentioned from  2016 to 2018 as ‘Pollinator Power Plants’ Why? Because they are a great benefit to pollinating animals!   July 2018 Gomphocarpus physocarpus is an African Milkweed loved by monarchs for feeding and reproduction.  Expect 3-4ft of upright growth consisting of pinnate leaves in lush profusion.  Small clusters…

Native Plant Workshops All Month (October is the Perfect Time to Plant Natives)  October 5, 12, 14 and 26th 12 noon to 1:30 pm Fall is the right time to install native plants in the garden.  Native plants use less water and and support local ecologies of animals and insects we depend upon for a…

A big Thank You to Pacific Home and Garden for a huge donation of pottery.  Come on in and check out the giant Grecian style pottery they sent us and take advantage of equally big savings.   Remember if you visit the website linked above we can probably order in any of the pottery you…

Gomphocarpus physocarpus is an African Milkweed loved by monarchs for feeding and reproduction.  Expect 3-4ft of upright growth consisting of pinnate leaves in lush profusion.  Small clusters of white and pink flowers give way to interesting seed capsules whose appearance invites comparisons ranging from alien eggs to male anatomy depending on the ambient giggle factor.  …

An explosion of color and texture in small packages, perfect plants for busy people seeking beauty for their gardens: 2″ pots $2.89 each 4″ pots $4.99

Coastal Redwood is our choice for California Heritage Plant for July 2018 There is no other tree which defines California history better and there is no way a paragraph on a small nursery website can do justice to the scope and majesty of the worlds fastest and tallest growing tree.     They simply dominate the environment…

‘Yacon’ is our choice for Unusual Edible for July 2018 ‘Yacon’ or ‘Peruvian Ground Apple’ comes to us from the Andes, offering sweet jicama-apple flavor/texture in a potato like storage root attached to subsurface rhizomes.   Drought or frost kills surface foliage ….. surface foliage which resembles Yacon’s close relative the Sunflower.   Plant spring or early…

     Papa the Cat Recommended Reading Papa is a self taught garden guru. Here for your perusal is a list of some of his favorite reading material, environment, gardening and horticulture related: click image for link The Botany Coloring Book         Dirt The Erosion of Civilizations           …

June 2018 Saturday and Sunday 6-23 and 6-24 it’s the  Papa and Half Tail Two for One Sale Papa Cat and his apprentice Half-Tail grew out a bunch of these plants so you can save big on the Summer Garden! Buy one of these and get another of the same size free!  While supplies last,…

See you when we open again Saturday 6-23 at 10am

Join Ploughshares at the Alameda Mini-Maker Faire July 8th at the Alameda Point Naval Station.  Ploughshares will be showing off our mobile-vertical-edible-gardens and helping kids make seed bombs. ‘I don’t like seed bombs’ said nobody ever.  And it’s true that if nobody showed up it would still be fun, because  lots of folks from all…

Lets visit an old friend for Pollinator Power Plant for June 2018:  Erigeron glaucus ‘Seaside Daisy’ This native of California grows along coastal bluff regions from Oregon to San Diego.  Reaches 4″ to 8″ inches height and accepts sandy or clay soil and spreads via rhizomes, so expect relatively fast growth as it’s rhizome mass…

Giant Katsura Pickling Melon is our pick for Unusual Edible for May 2018 Why? Because ‘salt-pressed pickles’, that’s why. Giant Katsura Melon grows on a vine and you can expect fruit 5″ in diameter and 14″ long give or take.  You might need to hand pollinate the flowers for heavy production.  The fruit tastes like…