Autumn is here! My senior mom’s gardening projects have done great this past summer, even with the California Drought weather! She mainly focused on tomatoes which she purchased from Home Depot’s nursery section and replanted into bigger pots. She mostly keeps them in her two garden wagons. That way she can move them around to the best spots for the sun on a nice day. If it gets really windy or very rainy (wouldn’t we LOVE that!), she can easily pull them under the patio roof. And it puts it at a nice level for her to work on them without hurting her back. She did decide that, while she liked the tiny tomatoes, she prefers the normal size ones. So next year, it’s all traditional “beefsteak” tomatoes on her plans.
She has about two tiny tomatoes left on her last plant. I could tell she was feeling a bit sad to be done with gardening, in spite of the lovely roses and other flowers in the yard. Even though her potted plants are a small garden to most, for an elderly senior, it has kept her busy. She enjoys checking them, occasionally watering them, making sure they were out of too much sun and no critters got to them. That means healthy exercise, good brain stimulation, and lots of smiles. I suggested a fall-winter vegetable garden and she SAID no. Then I found some interesting articles about peonies in pots over the fall and winter that I shared on my Roseville Facebook page. We had a neighbor who grew them once and loved them (the picture below), so I thought I might surprise her with one or two.
I mentioned I was going to drive over to the Green Acres Nursery on Galleria in Roseville – between East Roseville Parkway (where you’ll find the Fountains at Roseville, Westfield Galleria at Roseville, Mimi’s and more) and Leadhill (with dentist offices and Extended Stay America). Though at that point in the road, it has changed from Galleria to Harding. When I asked if she would like to join me, she brightened up and said YES. So off we went.
What a treat for the senses! Green Acres Nursery was all decorated for Autumn with fall fun decor all around. Masses of great pumpkins of all sizes, shapes and colors!
Sunflowers, mums, and more! And plants EVERYWHERE. We discovered it was a bit too early for the bare root peonies I was hoping to buy. But they had plenty of camellias and geraniums, which were also on our list.
While we were tempted to buy a ton, I knew my sweet mom could only handle so many. So we ended up purchasing a red geranium, a pink and white geranium, 2 red camellias, some daffodil bulbs and several mini pumpkins which my grandkids and I also love.
We also enjoyed spying some fun garden decorating ideas. I LOVED this idea of giant ornamental garden pots partially buried in the ground. Isn’t it cute! And the lovely fountain ideas to remember for sometime down the road when, hopefully, this drought is over.
I am always amazed at how far back Green Acres goes. There are tons of gorgeous plants and trees! And it’s so handily located right in the middle of Roseville CA.
A couple of tips when you go:
- Grab a cart by the front door. We entered by the side gates and I didn’t spot them. I hunted far and wide and finally was smart enough to ask. Since I was already in and in the back, he had me go to the second option – just past the end of the building outside. When I left, I spotted more carts RIGHT by the front door. 🙂
- Take photos of your plant’s name and info right at the beginning. Then you don’t have to worry if it gets misplaced or rained off.
- Be sure to enjoy some time inside the building with all the lovely gift options like those above. It’s never too early to start your Christmas shopping and they have some lovely options.
- Think Bulbs – which are also inside. I suspect there are always some type of bulbs we can plant in California throughout the year. (We bought some daffodils.) One of the reasons I do love California!
As we were checking out, I spotted one of the great calendars from the Placer County Masters Gardeners. Shhhhh – don’t tell her, but I bought one for my senior mom to enjoy! It is FULL of great gardening info specific to our area.
Green Acres Garden Centers are definitely great places to go if you’re looking for plants – whether to plant them yourself or to give as a gift in the local area. I will occasionally give a potted flower as a funeral or birthday gift and if it is for someone outside the area, I will usually contact a florist in my loved one’s area. But for locally, this is definitely one of my “go-to” places. Not only that, they have lovely hand painted cards by the check out stand as well. My senior mom loved them and bought several.
I’m not alone in feeling that way, either. Green Acres was the 2015 KCRA3 A-List winner for the Garden Center section and I can definitely see why. For that matter, at the time I am writing this, it is also number ONE on the list for Yelp for Roseville CA nurseries. Very cool.
With a friendly staff, lovely plants, and delightful home and garden gifts and decor, it was truly an enjoyable treat for both of us.
P.S. If you’re househunting in Roseville, you’ll be happy to know that all areas of Roseville should be within about 10 minutes of Green Acres Nursery. Here are some sweet examples, just in the 95678 (email us at kayeswainre@gmail.com or call at 916 – 768 – 0127 for 95747 and/or 95661 🙂 ):
