Plant Annie’s Annuals and Perennials: Your Garden Will Never Be the Same
Nestled in the urban landscape of the East Bay is a hidden treasure. Amidst blocks of suburban tracts and industrial complexes, there is a 2 ½ acre nursery cultivating new life and color. Seedlings tentatively raise their first leaves from the soil, and petals stretch in the coastal breeze. This is Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, a nursery run by a talented team of growers who specialize in the most unique selection of annual and perennial plants that can be found on the West Coast.
I first visited Annie’s with the Roger’s Gardens buying team back in 2022. Walking through the front entrance, we were immediately greeted with delicately plush flower beds donning unique textures, colors, and shapes. Every inch of Annie’s is inspiring, from their carefully manicured display gardens, to the vastly stocked sales floor, to the well-oiled production line behind the scenes. Whether you are a budding or seasoned gardener, leafing through the selection at Annie’s Annuals & Perennials will undoubtedly make you feel like a kid in a candy shop.
Photo courtesy of Annie’s Annuals & Perennials
Roger’s Gardens is proud to carry Annie’s Annuals and Perennials’ plants, enabling Southern California gardeners to indulge in their unique selection. Our talented buyers handpick the best of Annie’s newest crops, and fresh deliveries arrive in-store regularly, ensuring you will always find something new when exploring our Annie’s selection. Whether you are looking to create a garden that captures the charm of an English cottage, or are transitioning to native landscaping that reflects the organic wonder of California flora, Annie’s Annuals and Perennials will undoubtedly provide the plants to build the garden of your dreams. Keep reading to find out why these plants are some of the best and most beautiful around.
photo courtesy of Annie’s Annuals & Perennials
Annie’s Annuals and Perennials began as a hobbyist exploration, but within the past 20 years has expanded into an impressive growing operation with a careful process to ensure customers are getting the best quality plants. Annie’s starts their plants from seed without the protection of a greenhouse, deliberately exposing them to the elements while they grow in order to make them hardier. Although this makes the growing process a little more challenging for the Annie’s team in the initial stages, the effort is well worth it. When added to your garden, these plants are naturally strong and healthy, accustomed to natural variability and better equipped to withstand environmental stressors later in life.
Additionally, the growers at Annie’s do not use growth regulating hormones, which sets up the plants for better long-term health. Finally, Annie’s ships plants to us when they are at the best stage to actually be planted in the ground, not when they are at their showiest. While you may not see Annie’s plants in bloom when you are browsing the selection at Roger’s, they soon will be. Planting at an earlier stage will bring healthier, more beautiful blooms to your garden that you can enjoy for longer.
Photo courtesy of Annie’s Annuals & Perennials
Annie’s grows a wide array of varieties, and grows them well. Some of my personal favorites include a jet black viola named ‘Black Accord’, a vibrantly ruffled native poppy known as ‘Apricot Chiffon’, and an unbearably fluffy sunflower called ‘Big Bear’. While I may prefer their flowers that add a unique twist on the classics, they also boast a wide range of plants you may have never heard of before.
For instance, they have a wonderful selection of monkeyflower or Mimulus spp., a coastal California native that adds bold color and character to even the driest of landscapes. Whether you are looking for a whimsical annual flower or an exotic South African perennial, our selection of Annie’s plants is sure to offer the plant that will exceed your expectations.
Call or visit us in-store today to hear what fresh new varieties we have to offer.
Photo courtesy of Annie’s Annuals & Perennials
For more information on our Annie’s Annuals and Perennials selection, view this video