Into the belly of the beast

Today Matt, John and I ventured to the East Bay (this is pig latin for "beast" so we often refer to this area as "The Beast") to what was supposed to be a succulent wholesale sale. Turned out to be not much selection, and almost retail prices. However, we did see a lovely garden attached to the "nursery" and the owner was nice. She had a stunning tree in her front yard that I admired: John said it was a Cotinus coggygria (Royal Purple Smoketree) - must get one!

But back to business. We procured:

Echeveria pulv-oliver
Arctotis stoechadifolia (African Daisy)
Aeonium "Sunburst"
Graptoveria

After that we had to visit The Dry Garden in Oakland, a renowned plant shop for drought-tolerant species. Amazing place. Drool! Matt finally found his Euphorbia lambii, and also picked up a pampas grass - flashback to the 70s! In total, we got:

Sedum spathulifolium "Cape Blanco"
Tradescantia pallida
Cortaderia selloana "Silver Comet" (Pampas grass - variegated - hope this means it is not as aggravating as the regular kind)
Echium simplex
Euphorbia lambii (Tree Euphorbia)
Euphorbia polychroma "Blackbird" (Cushion Spurge)
Euphorbia (what sort? Tall, thin type...)
Lotus berthelotii (Parrot's Beak, Coral Gem)
Festuca idahoensis "Siskiyou Blue" (Blue Fescue)

After we got home, Sage helped us plant our haul, and Gary helped fix the wheelbarrow and weed along the sidewalk. Matt mulched the cannas, and I watered the new plants in. We tasted the fresh batch of limoncello and enjoyed the sun. Aaahhh!

Then we went inside and John called on his way home from a plant sale. He got a Cotinus coggygria (Royal Purple Smoketree) for the garden! Yeah!!! :)