Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

We will be Closed on Dec. 18 & 25 for the Holidays

Dear Friends of Anderson's La Costa,

Season's Greetings! We hope you are having a wonderful holiday this year. We have been so lucky with the mild weather, haven't we? It's made easing into winter that much more enjoyable.

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for being such wonderful customers. Thank you for supporting a small independent business that loves their customers and loves what they do. We feel like we're the luckiest nursery crew on the planet! We are grateful every day for each of you for choosing to visit and shop with us. And we have so much fun getting to see you! Thank you from the bottom of our North County San Diego hearts. Now on to the good stuff...

December Nursery Specials

20% Off

Poinsettias & Garden Gift Shop

Yes, our beautiful poinsettias are now on sale! Every size from the smallest 2-inch and 4-inch, to large one-gallon size, and from classic red to many other specialty varieties including Marble Queen, Country Quilt, Beauty Princess, Princettia White, and Christmas Beauty.

Everything in our Garden Gift Shop is also on sale (except for hand-painted gift cards), including Woodstock Windchimes, San Diego Hat Company hats, African baskets, bird feeders, solar lanterns, garden books and giftable brochures, and lots of other garden goodies and decor.

The Sunday nursery crew did an amazing job decorating for the holidays last weekend. Thank you, Manny, Hanna, Madeline, and Loni! And now, all of our seasonal holiday merchandise and decor can be found throughout the nursery. In addition to a huge selection of poinsettias, you will find mixed evergreen wreaths and cedar garland, paperwhite and amaryllis bulbs and pots, Christmas cactus, mini-lavender, rosemary, and cypress trees (so cute with mini lights!), and staff-made tillandsia ornaments. We are happy to special order holiday greens for you, too- just let us know with about a week to spare.

We are excited to share the San Diego Seed Company YouTube video clips with you from when owner Brijette and her fabulous videographer Jeff visited our nursery last month. Filled with tips for our Southern California gardens, it is so cool to see what Brijette has to say while on location at our nursery!

The first video introduces Brijette and her beautiful baby and is all about Shopping Small, especially when it comes to nurseries! It is called, "What I Love About Local Nurseries & Small Businesses." (Click the title and it will take you right to the video.)

The second one has great info for newer gardeners to our area, "You need These 3 Things to Get Growing..." Then, they also posted many short videos from their visit to Anderson's as well. We will post these videos and more to our website for easy future access. For more information, you may click on San Diego Seed Co's logo above to reach their website.

In the next section, don't miss Steven's seasonal write-up and some of the awesome plants that are arriving this month. Then, December Gardening Tips will follow.

Thank you for being such wonderful customers, supporters, and friends. We appreciate you! Please let us know if there is any way we can help you spiffy up your garden this holiday season and in the new year. We cannot wait to see you soon!

Warmest regards,

Your Whole Anderson's La Costa Team: Steven, Manny, Tandy, Jen, Hanna, Madeline, Grace, June, Loni, Cypress, and Marc and Mariah - all pictured below

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Happy Holidays!

With love from all of us,

Anderson's La Costa Nursery

What's New at the Nursery

...by Steven Froess

Hello Everyone!

The time has come for the final newsletter of 2023. This year, like most, has come and gone far too quickly. The on again, off again rain followed by nicer days is something I could get used to. I know the plants are enjoying it. Slow steady rains allow for the moisture to be absorbed more efficiently into the soil. As a reminder, don't forget to turn off or adjust your irrigation to avoid overwatering plants this time of the year.

The nursery is officially in Holiday mode! The greenhouse is filled with Poinsettias, Princettias, and Christmas cactus. Also in the greenhouse, we have a wide selection of orchids and even two Shady Lady black olive trees for that special someone. The fresh wreaths and garland will add holiday flair to your home and the smell reminds me of being in a pine forest. Paperwhite and Amaryllis bulbs are also available and make great gifts. As is our tradition, we have our Tillandsia ornaments (made in-house) available while supplies last. Other unique gift ideas I would recommend are bonsai trees, staghorn ferns, fruit trees (especially citrus), or anything in the gift shop especially while most items are 20% off (like solar and wind chimes, hats, bird feeders, etc...), or maybe just a gift certificate to keep all of your choices open.

Winter flowering plants are starting to come into bloom. Pansies, violas, and snapdragons are the most popular six pack bedding color through the cooler season. Nemesia and even some early Anemones this year are showing some beautiful flowers. Cyclamen look fantastic with tones of pink, red, white, purple, bicolor, and even perfume-scented. Camellia sasanqua are still flowering while Camellia japonica are just about to begin their cycle. Helleborus are starting to bloom as well (a great winter flower for shade).

Australian native plants, specifically Banksia, Grevillea, and Aloes are blooming or beginning to flower. Banksia spinulosa 'Schnapper point' (one of Grace's favorites) is a low-mounding shrub with large candle-like flowers that can last for months. Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' has bright red flowers that the hummingbirds go crazy for. Aloe 'Erik the red' are starting to send up their flower spikes and have the most brilliant red flower clusters of all the aloes.

Other plants I find unique but may not necessarily be flowering at the moment include: Sonchus canariensis, Lepechina fragrans (fragrant native pitcher sage), Eucalyptus albida, and Strobilanthes gossypina.

You'll also find a great collection of California native plants for the season, and lots of unusual cacti and succulents in stock, including even some from my own collection.

As the year winds down, I always think about how lucky I am to be working in such a wonderful place with great people. Thank you all for your support and loyalty. I look forward to another great year with you all!

Your Local Horticulturalist,

Steven

Mid-Winter Gardening Tips

December marks the beginning of our true winter here in Southern California. The days grow cooler and shorter, shadows are longer and plant growth comes to a near halt until sometime in February. Normally, December can fulfill its winter role with cold and rain, although it can sometimes bring a Santa Ana not unlike the one we are enjoying now which reminds us that fall is not over yet.

So, whenever the weather brings warm dry winds be prepared to hand-water your plants. If you are too busy to give your garden much attention this month, you're in luck as most plants will do quite well with little help from you. If you prepared for winter in the fall, sit back, relax, and enjoy the holidays. If you still haven't finished your fall gardening tasks, don't worry...the fall planting window hasn't quite closed just yet.

If you can find the time, working in the garden this month is wonderful. The weather is a bit cooler and when the soil dries a little following a rain shower, it's perfect for digging. However, be careful not to go to work too quickly after a rain because working a wet soil can physically harm it. Grab a fistful and squeeze it lightly: if it crumbles when you loosen your grip it's just right; if it stays in a tight ball it's still too wet.

To continue reading December Gardening Tips, click here.

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