Annie’s Annuals: a cottage gardener’s dream By the dirt DIVA, a.k.a. Annie Spiegelman February 2006

Many years ago, when I was a goody-two-shoes student sitting in the front row of my Master Gardening class, Annie Hayes, owner of Annie’s Annuals, came to speak to us horticultural wannabe’s. There she was, Missy Botanist, proudly standing in front of the classroom holding up her healthy,hearty plants and spewing off the Latin names, while most of us gardeningeggheads could barely recall the common name. At the time, we both had justgiven birth to baby boys. While she appeared angelic, blissful, ecstatic, Ilooked like a sleep-deprived, tearful junkie desperately searching for anemergency escape hatch, a grand siesta or a hotel mini-bar. But I digress . . .

I’m here to tell you that coming out this month will be the first snail-mail catalogue from Annie’s Annuals, the courageous local company that beganfrom humble beginnings over 15 years ago. You will still be able to find the“Annie’s Annuals” plants tagged at many nurseries, but now you will have acolor catalogue to tempt you to shop and plant even more!

Featured in Fine Gardening, House and Garden, Horticulture and Sunset magazines, nursery owner, Annie Hayes, like yours truly, is a flower fanatic oras her company t-shirt reads, a “Flower Floozie.” She was passionate about agardening hobby that now has become a 2 1/2 acre “growing” nursery in Richmond, California. The nursery has one of the largest selections ofCalifornia native, annual wildflowers and native perennials anywhere. I highly recommend that native plants be a large part of your backyard landscapebecause many are drought tolerant, most need minimal maintenance and all of them are attractive to native birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. It’s all good, Baby!

At the growing nursery, the team grows most of their plants from seedwithout a greenhouse. If you have ever grown plants from seed, you may have found out as I did: it isn’t so simple. I believe some people have a knack for itand some don’t. I don’t. The growing conditions have to be just right and youcan’t forget about your vulnerable seedlings for a week just because you get acall to go on assignment with Martha Stewart filming Northern Californianurseries, as I did. (I also stopped breast-feeding to go on the road withMartha. What kind of mother does that? . . )

These seedlings survive wind, rain, and sun so your plants are basically hardened off, healthy and strong when you purchase them. All of the plants aregrown without the use of growth regulating hormones, which are commonly used on plants you buy from large-scale growers. The growth hormones slow done the growth and extend the shelf life at the store and can lead tosubstandard results later on. The philosophy at the nursery is organic gardening. Annie says, “ Good gardening is about good soil. Topdressing yoursoil with compost regularly is all you really have to do. Rich soil and properwatering makes plants grow so healthy, vigorous and pest free. Who needs chemical fertilizer?”

Many of us home gardeners share the same enthusiasm for the look ofthe dreamy cottage garden. When I moved into my house over ten years ago, I was determined to compete with the suburban lots of my neighbors who enjoy gnomes, trolls, pink pelicans and plastic reindeer on their lawns year round.Not that there’s anything wrong with that . . . But I was looking for a morenatural haven, less populated by man-made animals. At many Marin nurseries,I found the Annie’s Annuals tags and found a great variety of annuals orperennials that share the natural grace and charm I was looking for. Aboveeach plant species there’s a color photograph of what your 4 inch plant will turninto come spring or summer. The plants look as Mother Nature intended themto be; tall, flowering, flowing in the breeze and looking happy! This is rarely found at the big chain store nurseries where plants look crowded, neglected and miserable. Sort of like NYC subway riders, chain-smoking, cursing,mumbling; waiting for the A train just a wee bit too long at the station. Andunlike many modern hybrids, a majority of Annie’s Annuals’ old-fashioned annuals self-sow easily again and again, year after year.

The growing nursery in Richmond is open for shopping Thursdaysthrough Sundays. Plant-a-holics living far away can order online from thewebsite and from the brand new catalogue coming out this month. You cansign up to be on the new catalogue mailing list by going towww.AnniesAnnuals.com. Once there, you can also view the lovely plantslideshow but be forewarned. You’ll want to buy everything, immediately.

Annie Spiegelman (a.ka the dirt DIVA) is a Bay Area author and Master Gardener who was raised and hardened on pavement in NYC.