This weekend, we had the pleasure of joining my parents at the lovely Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol, CA. Primarily a wholesale nursery, Lone Pine is open to the public Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It's worth a pilgrimage. The owners are terrifically knowledgeable, and the nursery always has a magnificent selection. I also like wandering around the growing grounds--and my favorite part is probably the trays full of different kinds of semps. Seeing one kind of sempervivum en masse is always a treat:
Lone Pine also has some lovely bonsai. Many of these are traditional-looking bonsai, but the bonsai area also featured these gorgeous, tiny semps in a little dish:
Admittedly, I went seeking some unusual types of crassula, and found nothing on that score this visit. However, I didn't leave empty-handed! In an admirable exercise of self-restraint, I took home only three plants:
 I bought a pile of unlabeled, teeny gasteria for $5 or so. Some were variegated, and I plucked off this one to grow separately. Check out that orange coloring! |  Most of the kalanchoe rhombopilosa I've seen are the white variety. So when I ran into this one, it leapt into my hands. I really had no choice in the matter. |
Lastly, I got my first conophytum! I was nervous, but the good folks at Lone Pine just said that if I "barely water it," it will be fine. The pot is actually a wooden bowl my girlfriend made a few years ago and never finished. I sanded it down and then rubbed it over with peanut oil and let it dry. The top dressing is jade pebbles. It turned out well, no?
Have any of you succ-ers visited Lone Pine? What's your favorite nursery north of San Francisco?
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