Succulents and More™

The news of Annie’s Annuals abruptly closing its doors on October 3, 2024 sent shockwaves through the gardening community here in Northern California and beyond. Even though its eponymous founder had sold the nursery the year before, Annie’s Annuals was still a beloved institution, with thousands of customers far and wide eagerly looking forward to receiving their catalog in the mail four times a year. Those who lived too far to shop in person at Annie’s retail location in Richmond were able to buy plants through the website. The thought of Annie’s simply not being there anymore was, well, unthinkable. The last catalog ever of the OG Annie’s Annuals The future looked bleak, but within a matter of weeks after the bad news had broken, one of Annie’s former managers announced that she and her mother had acquired the Richmond nursery, plants and all, and would resume operation under a new name, Curious Flora. The collective sigh of relief breathed by Annie’s fans and devotees could be hea...

When I was in San Diego for the 2025 Cactus and Succulent Society of America’s (CSSA) Biennial Convention in April, Rick Bjorklund graciously arranged several garden visits for me. This included the garden of Julian Duval in Vista. Julian was the Executive Director of the San Diego Botanic Garden (SDBG) for almost 25 years before retiring in 2019. During his tenure, he and his wife Leslie lived on-site at the SDBG, and in his spare time, he began to create his own botanical garden on a 2/3 acre (30,000 sq. ft.) property they owned in Vista and rented out. As Julian told me, the tenants living in their house understood that Julian might show up at any time to work in the garden. After he retired, the Duvals finally moved into their house and Julian was able to focus all his energy on his garden. Look at the beautiful aloes As I was driving down Julian’s street, I knew right away which house was his. You can always tell by the plants out front that a gardener lives there. Two beaucarne...