Gardening and a Trip to the Nursery

Over the weekend, we did more gardening..in spite of the cool weather and rain.....we looked for heirloom tomato plants at the big box stores and did find a few..then we went to our local nursery where we had been successful finding our fruit trees...after a visit..we kicked ourselves for even considering the box nurseries.....
so I thought I'd share a few photos of this wonderful nursery here in Menifee...Louies has been around for many years and is on quite a few acres of land in the outskirts of the town....we found so many heirloom (and non GM) there.....and bought over 25..they were also much cheaper than any where else...half the price actually.....

There is a huge green house with all sorts of tropical plants

Here are the racks of heirloom vegetables of all types..and where we found the tomatoes....

All types of flowering plants..we found a big pot of iris with dark purple flowers that we took  home..a dear friend several years ago sent us French Iris bulbs that have done very well and are a pale white with deep purple streaks so we thought the dark purple would be  nice too...we split the pot into about 5 plants...and planted the plants amongst the other ones already growing......should look lovely by next year.....

they also have orange trees heavy with fruit....ready to plant..we were wondering if the trees would do well in pots....now you know...

here are a few more photos I took as we browsed...they also have all types of hard scapes....patio tables, fountains, pots of all types...I'd like to get a small fountain for the front garden area..be nice for the birds, we have a neighbor who has one and she gets Orioles every day attracted by the water and a feeder full of thistle seeds...

as far as the eye can see, are all types of trees ..we bought our African Sumac tree here when we first moved in...bought the largest one they had at 15 ft..they came out and planted it for us too....its now over 20 ft..the same with our fig tree..
we did look into getting some stakes for the tomatoes...couldn't believe the price at the big box stores...almost $4.00 a piece! so Alan bought some boards and cut his own...we got 5 stakes for $3.00...we still need to get about 4 more boards but its a good start.....he hasn't finished the walkway but thought we'd better get everything into the ground as summer will be here....and our summers can be brutal....

I know they look too tall for the plants now...last year, Alan forgot to stake them and we had a real job with plants and tomatoes falling everywhere....he put in the drip system also..the front two rows are corn..last year our corn stalks got over 5 ft. tall and we had enough both to eat and to freeze.....
If  you are reading this and live in the area..Louies is on Haun Road almost across from Verizon.....well worth a visit....