Annie’s Annuals and Perennials is a huge nursery tucked into to the unlikely industrial area of Richmond, California. I’ve been gazing at their website and catalogs for the longest time. I would add a few plants to my wish list only to find something new on their site a few days later. My shopping abilities were paralyzed by the volume of awesome plants they had available. I knew I had to go there in person to really appreciate all they had to offer.
Luckily, I was able to tag along with my friends Carrie and Amy for Annie’s Annuals’ yearly Spring Party. We decided to participate in the costume contest and try to win the grand prize of 100 dollar gift certificate. Carrie raided her daughter’s dress up clothes and we transformed ourselves into beneficials. Carrie was a butterfly, Amy was the queen bee and I was a ladybug. We didn’t win the grand prize. However, we did get a five dollar gift certificate just for participating.
The winners of the costume contest.
Amy, Me, and Carry are the Beneficials!
Annie’s is unlike any nursery I have ever been too. I walked through the colorful hand painted gate to find disco music blaring and a bubble machine going full blast. The proud owner was in costume on stage grooving and commencing the different contests they had throughout the day.The endless rows of plants were mixed in with different floral displays in full bloom. All of the gardens have whimsical elements like a metal cow sculpture, gnomes and mannequins.
You can honestly spend hours looking at the various annual and perennial flowers, succulents and edibles they have to offer. I picked up Lewisia cotyledon
‘Sunset Strain’, Gilia tricolor “Birds Eyes” (which apparently smell like chocolate), Petunia axillaris “Wild White Petunia” (which smells like Vanilla and licorice), Nemophila menziesii “Baby Blue Eyes”, Clarkia amoena ‘Aurora’ “Farewell to Spring”,
Mimulus Pictus “Calico Monkey Flower”, and last but not least a Puya berteroniana ( a stunning cactus from Chile with intense turquoise flowers.)
If you missed their big spring party don’t fret. They are hosting a Mother’s Day event on May 7th and May 8th this year. You can also order their plants online at Annie’s Annuals and Perennials or follow their blog.
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