In 2017 the Flora Grubb Gardens crew was invited to explore a magical lost world of plants in Bolinas, California. Here’s the story of that day and the rare and unusual plants we brought home, now at last ready for your own gardens!

The popular cactus Echinopsis pachanoi (syn. Trichocereus pachanoi) is known by many names, most commonly ‘San Pedro.’ This cactus is fairly common, and no doubt you’ve seen it around, but if you dive deeper there’s so much to learn.

The giant bird of paradise—sometimes known as “banana leaf plant” or “banana palm” (although it is neither a palm nor a banana!)—can grow both indoors and outdoors here in the Bay Area. It has a lovely breezy tropical look, but unlike most tropical-style plants, it doesn’t need much water to thrive once it’s established. So it’s a great choice for drought-prone areas and low-water gardens!

We can grow many kinds of palms in our coastal California gardens — palm trees, shrubby palms, bamboo palms, little foliage palms — lucky us! Our guide to everything palm has all the info you need to make the best selections for your garden.

Plant genera in the Protea family (“Proteaceae”) include Banksia (Australia), Grevillea (Australia), Hakea (Australia), Isopogon (Australia), Leucadendron (South Africa), Leucospermum (South Africa), Protea (South Africa). These plants in the Proteaceae share several requirements and characteristics in common.

Watering is one of the most meditative gardening tasks. You’re giving your plants their lifeblood while you admire, inspect, worry over, harvest from, and revel in your garden.