PLACES TO SEE: FLORA GRUBB GARDENS

 

 I have a love for plants and gardens. When the husband deployed a few years ago, I took Dylan and my sad self to visit his grandfather in San Diego. We went to the San Diego Botanical Gardens because I had heard they had an amazing children's garden (It's true. AMAZING. Visit if you can.). While there, on a whim, I picked up a book about container gardening. I went home to the desert and bought a ton of planters and went nuts. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, flowers; everything went into that teeny, tiny yard in containers and flourished. I've never looked back. Now, I have a huge garden with raised beds and I love every moment I spend in it.

So, for Mother's Day, my family took me to Flora Grubb Gardens, a place that I've been wanting to visit since I first read about them months ago in a Sunset magazine.

 

 

Folks, I am in love with a plant nursery.

 

 

 So beautiful, right? They are dedicated to low water plants and trees and the options are so amazing. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. They have people walking around with fresh squeezed lemonade like old-fashion cigarette girls. There are pathways and garden art and a playhouse.

 

 

It's basically plant heaven.

 

 

If you are in the San Francisco area and love plants, Flora Grubb Gardens is a must see. DO IT.

Don't hold back, you NEED those succulents. Enabling and I don't feel bad.

 

Flora Grubb Gardens

 

1634 Jerrold Ave, San Francisco, CA 

GROWN LOCAL: UCDAVIS ARBORETUM

Our family tries to do local things on the weekends, either staying in our town, or in the surrounding areas. Grown Local posts showcase some of the best things to do in our area.

 

 

This past weekend, we went to the UCDavis Arboretum. It's just a 10 minute drive from our home, and really, we need to go there more often. It's a great way to spend an afternoon, walking the paths and just being outdoors. Also? Totally free.

 

 

The weather has been ridiculously beautiful here in our part of California. In the 70s in January.  The grown-ups around here have an edge of worry about them. These temperatures and no rain are a problem for a region full of agricultural worries. But the children can only think of being outside, no jacket, soaking in the sun. So we grown ups can tuck our worries of the drought away for an afternoon of frolicking in the arboretum, where there was no whining, at all, all afternoon.

 

 

Just happiness over choosing a path.

 

And the excitement of finding a tree that matches your shirt.

 

Hoping for rain but loving these little moments.

 

Plan your own visit: here.