Re: Taft Garden and Proteaceae Nurseries in southern California?

Hello Bridget,
Lucky you! I had heard the garden was no longer open
to the public, and had certainly been one of the
highlights of the garden tour with the local
Hortisexuals when we visited back in 1999, if I
remember the year correctly...  I also had thought
that Jo's nursery was in Ojai, but the address listed
in her advertisement in Pacific Horticulture Magazine
lists Ventura as the contact address.

Back to the Taft garden, the several acres of valley
floor with the South African Aloes and Proteas all in
bloom in March was simply gorgeous, and we saw plants
there of good size that I had never seen elsewhere
here in California.  I particularly remeber some
spectacular Banksias and the fabulous variegated
foliage of a Hakea victoria, which I would love to
grow in my own garden if I had access to buying one.

As an aside, I recently visited a newer local pottery
outlet here in nearby Emeryville, called Pottery and
Beyond, and within the oulet, there was a small
nursery (DJ Curb Appeal)with an incredible selection
of Australian proteacea as well as South African
species.  Included were rather pricey 5 gallon
specimens of a large Grevillea called "Moonlight",
Telopia speciosa, amongst others.  I assume these are
coming from a specialty grower in southern California,
and would love to know the name of it if anyone on the
list is aware of a good supplier of Proteacea.  The
owner of the nursery was not around, so I didn't get a
chance to ask him, (and he might not be willing to
give away hard to find sources...)


--- bridget lamp <bridgetlamp@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi, David,
> 
> I got to visit the Taft Garden in 2000, during my
> Lotusland internship.  I believe they are or were
> undergoing changes towards a botanic garden--maybe
> in
> conjunction with UCSB and/or Santa Barbara Botanic
> Garden.  The last time I was in touch with anyone
> about this was back in 2002/2003.
> 
> I also got to visit Jo O'Connell's nursery, at that
> time she was in Ojai, on the way to Taft.
> 
> cheers!
> bridget
> seattle, wa
> 
> --- david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Chantal,
> > You have gotten some good suggestions already, but
> > don't mention if you have particular interests in
> > mind.  I might assume that native plant gardens or
> > gardens of mediterranean plants without lots of
> > supplemental water might be of particular
> interest,
> > but neither are well represented in California as
> > compared to the abundance of irrigated gardens of
> > exotics.  I would definetly recommend the
> > Huntington,
> > the Los Angeles Botanic Garden, The Getty, The
> > Rancho
> > Santa Ana Botanic Garden, the Norton Simon Museum
> > Gardens in Pasadena are wonderful, The Santa
> Barbara
> > Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara is also a great
> > example of a native garden, and the San Marcos
> > Wholesale nursery in nearby Goleta is also well
> > worth
> > a visit.  Lotus Land would require advance
> > reservations to get on a tour, and you may be able
> > to
> > do so by going to their website to see if they
> have
> > openings on the dates you will be in southern
> > California.  You might also enjoy hiking in the
> > Santa
> > Monica Moutains are taking a day trip out to
> > Catalina
> > Island, where there is also a botanic garden of
> > island
> > endemics.  I am not sure if the garden is still
> open
> > to the public, but there is a garden full of
> > beautiful
> > South African and Australian plants in Ojai,
> called
> > the Taft Garden for International Concerns,(this
> was
> > written up in one of the past Pacific Horticulture
> > Magazines, but the photos in the article did not
> do
> > the garden justice).There is also a nearby nursery
> > specializing in proteas and Australian plants run
> by
> > Jo OConnell in Ventura.  Both of the nurseries I
> > mention have web sites where you can get more
> > information on the plants being grown
> > there.(www.australianplants.com and
> > www.smgrowers.com).  Pasadena and Santa
> > Monica/Venice
> > Beach are both parts of Los Angeles which have
> many
> > beautiful private gardens that can be appreciated
> by
> > just driving around, and you might also try and
> find
> > out if the Garden Conservancy web site lists any
> > private gardens that will be open on one of the
> > weekends that you might be in town.
> > 
> > I hope you enjoy your trip, and remember that it
> > will
> > already be quite warm inland away from the ocean,
> > but
> > probably cool and foggy immediately near the
> ocean,
> > so
> > be prepared for both.
> > 
> > 
> > --- Chantal Guiraud <chantal.guiraud@modulonet.fr>
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > Hi all,
> > > 
> > > I'm planning a trip to Los Angeles from 20 to 27
> > of
> > > june and would like to
> > > visit gardens and nurseries.
> > > Could you give me some adresses of interesting
> > > places to go ?
> > > Of course, my husband and I will rent a car.
> > > Chantal
> > > Montpellier, France 
> > > 
> > > 
> > 
> > 
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> > protection around 
> > http://mail.yahoo.com 
> > 
> > 
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around 
> http://mail.yahoo.com 
> 



		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail Mobile 
Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. 
http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index