In search of the unusual In search of the unusual (April 23, 2004)

A field trip to Annie's Annuals can be worth the trek

By Barbara Wood

A trip to Annie's Annuals nursery in Richmond is for true plant fanatics what a religious pilgrimage is to the devout believer.

The journey, however, has recently become a bit less arduous. Annie's is a grower of unique plants in four-inch pots, which in the past were available only through retailers, or a few times a year, at the nursery's open houses.

But the nursery is now open four days a week -- Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those who make the trek (about an hour from the Peninsula) find hundreds of examples of the heirloom, rare and unusual annuals and perennials they've come to expect from the Annie's Annuals label. Because retailers can carry only a limited selection of Annie's output, the nursery can leave the visiting gardener feeling like a child set loose in a candy store.

Some plants are grown in such limited numbers that they are available only at the nursery.

On a recent visit, five gardening friends from Woodside and Portola Valley purchased 13 flats of plants (that's 215 plants) limiting themselves only by the capacity of the two SUVs they'd arrived in. Cost of the plants is $3 for annuals and $4 for perennials, except for very rare varieties that are more.

Fortunately for those who can't make the trip to Richmond, Annie's plants are available nearby at Common Ground in Palo Alto, Filoli and Yerba Buena in Woodside, Half Moon Bay Nursery, Los Altos Nursery, Roger Reynolds in Atherton and Wegmans in Redwood City.

Annie Hayes, the "Queen of Flower Floozies" and the owner of Annie's Annuals, is often available at the nursery to share her enthusiasm for her latest and greatest plant babies with customers. Hayes says the following plants are some of her choices for the best new and unusual plants available to local retail nurseries this spring:

Schizanthus candida is a rare plant that came to the nursery as seeds from Chile. The plant is a multi-branched annual with white flowers that she said resemble snowy egrets. It reseeds itself.

Alcea "Fiesta Time" is a perennial hollyhock from Mexico. Hayes called it the "ultimate 'Granny' hollyhock," with super-double pink and white bicolored flowers that resemble carnations on steroids.

Asarina scandens "Snow White" is a fast-growing annual vine covered with 1-inch trumpets sometimes known as "climbing snapdragon," which will quickly reach 8-10 feet tall.

Helianthus mollis, a sunflower from the Midwest, will grow in clay soil and is drought-tolerant. It grows 4-5 feet tall, has downy, silvery leaves and lots of semi-double, fragrant flowers.

Orlaya grandiflora is a Mediterranean annual with ferny foilage, many stalks and white flowers and "a scabiosa crashed into a Queen Anne's Lace," Hayes said. It blooms almost all year and is 3 feet tall.

Lupinus succulentus "Rodeo Rose" is a California native lupine that has pink, magenta and white flowers and blooms all summer, growing 3 feet wide by 30 inches tall.

Nasturtium "Black Velvet" is a non-vining, low-growing nasturtium with nearly black flowers.

Hayes' plants are often so new or unusual they are not listed in the latest Sunset Western Garden Book, many gardeners' main source for looking up a plant's care and site requirements. But she has a very complete Web site, www.anniesannuals.com, that lists almost every plant the nursery carries with complete information on each plant. The descriptions even come in a convenient page-sized format that can be printed out and saved for future reference.

The site also has lots of photos of plants in bloom, information on special events, and directions to the nursery, as well as a sign-up for an e-mailed newsletter. Annie's Annuals also plans to begin a mail-order service through its Web site in the near future.

Annie's Annuals is located in Richmond; call (510) 215-1326 or visit the Web site for directions.

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