Specialized Nurseries Aglow With Growing Holiday Gifts

To Robin Jansen and Vernice Lohman of Carlsbad, it felt like being in the English countryside. Rows of deep pink, white and yellow yarrow reached up to touch them. Basil beckoned. Traces of pineapple mint fragrance hung in the air as they meandered through the growing fields of Taylor’s Herb Gardens in Vista.

“I come here at least five or six times a year,” Lohman said, but “I’ve brought Robin for the first time.” Jansen, like her friend, cradled at least a dozen small containers of herbs that would find their way into her patio and hillside garden--and this year, into personalized holiday gift baskets as well. With each gift herb, a lucky friend or relative will get one of Jansen’s favorite recipes for using it, and a card on its cultivation.

If you’ve gotten or given one poinsettia too many, it may be time to expand your idea of holiday plants. Specialized nurseries like Taylor’s offer both a respite from malldom and a chance to pick up unusual plants at often-lower-than-general-nursery prices. You may have to travel a few miles to track down the elusive Epiphyllum or singular Saintpaulia , but it may be worth the effort.

Following is a sampling of special “growing” places, grouped by geographic area, that offer plants of a different holiday stripe. Most specialize in just the plants, not the wrappings; you’ll probably have to add your own bows and baskets. Call ahead for directions.

SAN DIEGO ENVIRONS

--Taylor’s Herb Gardens, 1535 Lone Oak Road, Vista 92084, (619) 727-3485; 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-noon Saturday. This is the premier herb farm; all plants are raised organically--without chemicals, pesticides or herbicides-- on more than 25 acres in a pastoral setting complete with wild geese and ducks. Taylor’s ships gift packs, but the real pleasure is in seeing the herbs grow in the fields and discovering varieties hard to find elsewhere. An olfactory paradise, Taylor’s grows eight kinds of mints, seven types of rosemary, five kinds of garlic and nine kinds of thyme that can be used as ground covers, including caraway, coconut, creeping and woolly. Herbs sell for $1.25 per 3-inch pot. Also available for the holidays, gallon cans of ivy trained into Christmas-tree and wreath shapes for $15. Today at 11 a.m., herbalists will talk about medicinal and other properties associated with herbs as part of informal in-garden lecture series held the first Saturday every other month.

--Kartuz Greenhouses, 1408 Sunset Drive, Vista 92083, (619) 941-3613; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. If you seek traditional red and green for the holidays, you’ll find an unusual array of prize specimens here, also available by mail order. Kartuz specializes in gesneriads, a family of plants which includes the African violet ( Saintpaulia ) and many of its relatives. Kartuz also features a range of begonias, hoyas and some orchids. Available in 2-inch pots at $3 is the Sinningia cardinalis, whose shrimp-shaped red-orange flowers are reminiscent of a cardinal’s robes. The rose-pink speckled flowers of the velvety-leaved Kohleria Roundelay nicely fit into holiday color schemes and sell for $3.50 in 2-inch pots. For the begonia fancier, Kartuz offers the beautiful rexes with their fanciful iridescent leaves, as well as a large variety of cane and rhizomatous begonias; they sell from $3-$4.95 in 2-inch pots. And you’ll find a rainbow of African violets, including hard-to-find specimen violets. For the outdoor plant fancier, don’t overlook the unusual Impatiens African king, which produces bright crimson flower clusters on quilted oval leaves.

--Seaborn’s Del Dios Nursery, Willow Lane in Del Dios (Route Three, Box 455), Escondido 92025, (619) 745-6945; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Monday, (closed Tuesday). Seaborn’s specializes in bromeliads, funnel-shaped members of the pineapple family with arching rosette-like leaves that cup to catch water. Though they flower at different times, several varieties are now sending up orange and pink blooms. They can cost from $5-$75, depending on their rarity. Seaborn’s also carries unusual palms, cycads and some cacti.

--California Epi Center, 1444 E. Taylor St., Vista, (619) 758-4290; primarily mail order, open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. only three Saturdays in December (today, next Saturday and Dec. 20). Though this is not their primary flowering season, these “Orchid cacti” ( Epiphyllum ) do put on a small show this time of year--and you won’t find most of these varieties in bloom at your supermarket. “White Christmas” is one of the “Christmas cacti”; others are “Holiday Lites,” “Rocket,” with purple-red blooms and white throats, “Majestic,” “Gold Charm” and “Lipstick.” They sell for $3 in 3-inch pots.

--Ferguson’s Cacti and Succulents, 113 N. Acacia, Solana Beach 92075, (619) 755-5455; 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Monday (closed Tuesday). Thousands of varieties of unusual succulents are available, some for as little as 99 cents in a 2-inch pot, though rarer cacti and succulents can run as high as $30. If you bring your own gift pot, Eugene Ferguson will pot your selections at no extra charge.

--Grigsby Cactus Gardens, 2354 Bella Vista Drive, Vista 92084, (619) 727-1323; 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday, Monday), mail order. Because the nursery is overstocked right now, a holiday sale means 50% and 75% off on a number of cacti and succulents from among the more than 1,000 varieties--normally prices start at about $3.50 for a 4-inch pot, $7.50 for a 6-inch pot. Christmas colors pop up in a new jade plant with deep pink flowers called “Christmas Cheer.” Dave Grigsby will dig it up fresh from the growing field and pot it free, charging you only for the pot of your choice. For the collector of rarer plants, there is the large, decorative cissus which has fruits now, about $100.

--Tropic World, 26437 N. Centre City Parkway, Escondido 92026, (619) 746-6108; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Owner Paul Hutchison specializes in cacti and succulents and boasts more than 100 different euphorbias (which include poinsettias among their number), many of which are prized for their odd shapes, and 100-200 aloe species. Many varieties of hardy perennials usually hard to come by also abound at varying prices.

SANTA BARBARA ENVIRONS

--Stewart Orchids, 3376 Foothill Road, Carpinteria 93013, (805) 684-5448; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday; mail order. If you want the overwhelming variety of choice from the growing point, you’ll find it here, where winter-blooming orchids have just begun to blossom. Select from among cymbidiums, phalaenopses, cattleyas, paphiopedilums (Lady’s slippers) at prices from $15, with most in the $20-$30 range.

--Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, 1250 Orchid Drive, Santa Barbara 93111, (805) 967-1284; Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. A holiday special offers a four-plant package of indoor or outdoor orchids for $59.95. The outdoor package includes a cymbidium, epidendrum, outdoor cattleya and an outdoor species orchid; the indoor package includes an indoor cattleya, paphiopedilum and/or dendrobium or phalaenopsis. Gift wrapping and cards are available.

--Abbey Garden, 4620 Carpinteria, Carpinteria 93013, (805) 684-5112; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday), mail order. This nursery boasts one of the largest collections of unusual plants, primarily cacti and succulents, under one roof. Prices range from $2.50 for a 3-inch pot up to $150, depending on the variety, its size and rarity. A number of South American cacti, thinking it’s spring, are in bloom now.

LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTIES ENVIRONS

--Brecht Gardens, 1989 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa 92627, (714) 548-2314; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday). Virtually all genera in the orchid family are represented here, including cymbidiums, cattleyas, phalaenopses, paphiopedilums, dendrobiums, epidendrums and vandas, as well as Tillandsia s (bromeliads that are often mounted on wood). Prices range from $5 for a small phalaenopsis to about $25 for a gallon-size cymbidium. Gift wrap is available.

--Nuccio’s Nursery, 3255 Chaney Trail, Altadena 91001, (818) 794-3383; 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday. Outdoor gardeners with a fondness for camellias and azaleas will find no greater selection than the thousands in stock here. Those in bloom now include camellia sasanquas, camellia japonicas and outdoor azaleas. Prices range from $5-$20 for camellias in 1-gallon to 7-gallon containers and $4 to $40 for azaleas from 1- to 7-gallon sizes.

--The Plant Shop’s Botanical Gardens, 18007 Topham St., Reseda 91335, (818) 881-4831; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. This specialized nursery offers a new begonia hybrid, “Chipper,” in holiday red. The shrub-type, cane-like begonia grows nicely outdoors and is practically ever-blooming, covered with small bright-red flowers. Also on hand are some hardy orchids, though few are in bloom now. In blossom are a number of gesneriads, including African violets and mini-gloxinias from $3.50-$10. For the patio, there are blooming jade plants, in variegated and snowball types, plus a number of bromeliads in flower.

--Singer’s Growing Things, 17806 Plummer St., Northridge 91325, (818) 993-1903; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Though primarily a mail-order nursery, Singer’s offers 21 types of sansiveria, a house plant particularly tolerant of low light. Prices range from $2-$20. In flower are the euphorbia known as “Crown of Thorns.” Singer’s also stocks a number of horticultural books and offers customers a 10% discount on books with plant purchases.

--Cycadia, 17337 Chase St., Northridge, 91325, (818) 345-4481; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. This nursery specializes in this rather prehistoric, palm-like plant which includes among its number the Sego palm. Cycadia carries nothing so common as the Sego, but at least 10 different varieties of cycads, including very large specimens which start at $50 and can range up to $1,000. Also among the offerings: a number of Haworthia , an easy-to-grow succulent that begins at $1.50 for a 2-inch pot.

--Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley 91352, (818) 768-1802; 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Among holiday offerings in native plants that adapt readily to our environment and need little water once established is the California holly, which will produce full red berries for future Christmases, available at $4 for 1-gallon size, $14 for a 5-gallon can. California barberry--with its holly-like leaves that turn shades of red, yellow and green--will soon burst into yellow flower, to be followed by berries. And for a Christmas tree that’s not a Christmas tree, try the Pinyon pine, $18 for a 5-gallon can. The California native looks like a traditional Christmas tree but adapts well to life in the ground or a large container. If you want to remember Christmas in the spring, pick up the foundation’s six-pack of native wildflower seeds, which include the California poppy and lupin.

--Burkard Nurseries, 690 N. Orange Grove, Pasadena 91103, (818) 796-4355; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. A specialist in perennials, Burkard offers several unusual blooms for the holidays. A non-named euphorbia hybrid, similar to “Crown of Thorns,” boasts a pink-red flower three-quarters of an inch across with oleander-size leaves. It blooms off and on year-round, $16.50 for a 2-gallon can. Much smaller is the 2-inch pot of Oxalis clabra, a ground cover-like plant with showy pink flowers. The red Lachenalaia pendula is in bloom now in 2-inch pots for $5. Mini-cyclamens, some fragrant, in 4-inch pots run from $3.99-$4.99. Gift-wrap available.

--Palos Verdes Begonia Farm, 4111 242nd St., Torrance 90505, (213) 378-2228; 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The Begonia Farm has built a strong reputation stocking hardy perennials and, now, unusual fruit trees adaptable to local climates. Among varieties offered in 5-gallon cans from $24.95-$45 are the babaco papaya, cherimoya, macadamia nut, carambola (“Star Fruit”), acerola, guava, rose apple and new Sungold variegated lemon. Also available: living Christmas wreaths made of succulents, starting at $39.95 for a 12-inch wreath.

IF POINSETTIA YOU MUST: If you can’t be talked out of the poinsettia as the symbolic flower of the season, you might want to grasp its full florescence in Encinitas where fields extend as far as the eye can see. If you want to buy it where it grows, however, your destination should be the Quail Garden Center, 501 Quail Garden Drive, Encinitas 92024, (619) 753-8646; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The nursery sits surrounded by the fields of the Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch, which virtually supplies the nation--seeing the fields in their full holiday dress almost overwhelms the senses. The Quail Garden Center stocks all 20 varieties of the premier Ecke poinsettia, developed by Paul Ecke, including reds, whites, a marbled variety with a pink overlay in its center and the pink “Jingle Bells” (red with white spots). There’s also a “personal-size” poinsettia for $4 or a 4-foot tree trained as a standard for $100, even hanging baskets in all poinsettia varieties for $35 and $45. Floral-quality poinsettias in 6-inch pots sell for $11.