4th Annual Garden Party

Thank you to everyone who came to our party on Saturday!

The mercury was a bit higher than expected but we had plenty of ice cold drinks and shade for people to cool off in.  Lots of great hits from the 70's and 80's on the turntables too.

Many plants went to new homes!

30% off plants is ongoing...

Planning A Party

Getting the party started requires a little bit of hype.  Daya Ceglia whipped up a snazzy poster to send to friends of Wildwood.  For the past two weeks they've appeared on windows, light posts, and in newsprint.

Building the playlist is another preparty must.  Expect vinyl from the 70's and 80's with some serious wattage moving the airwaves.  We're democratizing the dj responsibilities by letting partygoers select records.

We're adding seating areas and benches to enjoy refreshments on day forecast to hit the low 90s.  The spaces are a mix of old growth log benches and more ergonomic chairs.

Oh, be on the look out for butterflies!

Nursery Entrance

Last year, we built a ranch style fence at the entrance to the nursery on highway 12.  It's actually a dark purple ranch style fence.  The color works well with the Mystic Spires Sage and red Guara lindheimeri planted nearby.

Now there are two new additions:  oversized monarch butterflies.  They are Benjamin Moore's Citrus Orange so they are quite bright as well.

Soon there will be dark purple Crape Myrtles along the fence line.  With pink flowers.  Gardening is all about experimenting, right?

Behind The Birth Of Butterflies

Primed butterflies before patterns

The larger than life butterflies at Wildwood are the product of many attempts to shape the liveliest look-a-like.

Cutting out a foam board wing template took several attempts.  Tracing the outline onto wood is fairly quick.  Using a jigsaw to cut away the shape takes some patience.

The most difficult part is hand sketching the colorful wing patterns.  We use monarchs as inspiration.

Perhaps the easiest way to add butterflies is to plant flowers.  Wildwood now has a selection of butterfly friendly plants.  These plants have been known to attract humans too.

Observation Post

Paying attention is the most important part of gardening.

Sometimes it helps to take a fresh look at a space.  That can mean taking [a short] time off or viewing from a different angle.  This photo is from high up in the century old oak in the middle of the nursery.  The patchwork of greens, yellows, reds and whites comes to life in the dappled sunlight.

You can see there's plenty to prune, repot, and stake.  Happy gardening this spring!

Popup Opens In Sausalito

Today is the first day of Wildwood’s Popup in Sausalito. We thought it was time to try an urban location with different gardening challenges.

There’s quite a few maples like one might expect. Also a more coastal selection of plants that could be unexpected. Proteas, aeoniums, ferns, indoor plants, and very cool bonsai.

The space is small so the displays will change daily. Stop by and see what’s growing in Marin

Top 7 Maples For Spring

Fall isn't the only season for leaf color.  Here's seven great maples for Spring color.

Katsura: One of the first maples to leaf out. Orange gold leaves are already open at Wildwood.

Sharp's Pygmy: Dwarfs are always the  first group to open.  Cute green leaves with red tips.

Corallinum:  Bright shrimp pink foliage is a knockout.

Ryusen:  Early to open.  A cascade of light green leaves is a contrast to all other upright greens.

Autumn Moon:  Enjoy fall oranges and golds in Spring.

Hana Matoi:  A combination of light pink and red on delicate lacey leafs.

Shindeshojo:  Fire engine red color is like New England in fall.