Succulents and More™

I just got back from a long weekend in Santa Barbara, one of the top two aloe destinations in California (the other being San Diego). As you may remember, I did the same trip in 2024 and 2025 . This time, my frequent partner-in-crime Kyle was able to come along. Sharing an experience like this with a great friend and fellow plant nerd makes it all the more memorable. We even had some beach time... ...and a margarita, complete with a rubber duckie! This post is just a quick summary of the places we visited; there’ll be more detailed posts in the coming weeks. San Marcos Growers Over the past 46 years, San Marcos Growers (SMG) has given California gardeners more cool plants than any other grower. As a wholesale operation, it wasn’t open the public, but many retail nurseries up and down the state (and even beyond) carried their plants. As I mentioned before , SMG officially closed its gates on December 23, 2025, but there are still quite a few plants available for purchase. In the comi...

Cold Spring Aloes, Tom Cole’s nursery and garden in Montecito, California was the first stop on my recent trip to Santa Barbara . It had been on my bucket list for years, and this January the stars must have been aligned just right because it finally happened. Tom Cole is an agroecology and drought management advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), helping communities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially refugees and other displaced persons, grow more food. Tom has spent more than 30 years living and working in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Mozambique, Uganda and Ethiopia. On assignment, he spends his spare time exploring areas botanists have largely ignored because of conflicts. The relationships he forms with local communities through his work allow him to travel to areas outsiders are typically not able to access. Tom is the co-owner of Cold Spring Aloes, located on the grounds of a 12-acre compound Tom’s family has owned since the early 1970s. ...