Succulents and More™

When my frequent partner-in-crime Kyle and I were in Santa Barbara at the very end of January , we had the opportunity to visit San Marcos Growers (SMG), arguably the most extraordinary wholesale nursery in California, for what we thought was one last time. After 46 years in operation, SMG had closed its gates on December 23, 2025; the 23-acre property had been sold to be developed for affordable housing. (If you’re interested in learning more about SMG, its history, and its legacy, read my post from February.) I found two Google Earth/Google Streets images that show the nursery prior to August 2025 when they were still in full operation. The shade houses and growing grounds on the far side of San Marcos Road were still very much there: Prior to August 2025: shade houses and growing area on the far side of San Marcos Road still there The area with the shade houses was the first to be torn down. In November 2025 it looked like this: November 2025: area cleared for construction Ignore ...

Last week, the opportunity to travel to Santa Barbara came up, and of course I jumped on it. I would have been crazy not to go, seeing how the Central Coast from Monterey to Santa Barbara is one of the most spectacular stretches of California. In typical Gerhard fashion, I packed a lot into three days – and returned with a car full of plants. Don’t ask where they’re going to go; my motto is buy first, worry about it later. This is just a quick preview of things I saw. I’ll have more detailed posts in the weeks to come. I saw aloes... ...and agaves... ...and even more agaves. I met the coolest people... ...and visited a few gardens. I even saw a beautiful sunset or two. Plant haul I brought home a lot of plants from various sources (Tom Cole, Nick Deinhart, Steve Super, Tony Krock). It’s a crazy mix, heavy on aloes and agaves. Many are for myself, but a bunch are for friends. The listing below is mostly meant as future reference for yours truly. Backseat Trunk For myself Agave albopilo...

I just got back from a quick trip to San Diego. Well, it seemed quick to me, but it was actually five days, including two full days of driving. 1426 miles in total. Since I was by myself, I packed as much as I could into every day. I came home with 700 photos, I don’t even know how many plants, and one rock. I’m exhausted, but that’s how it usually is. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Private aloe garden, Los Angeles My first stop was at a Facebook friend’s house in Los Angeles. He has an epic aloe collection featuring species I hadn’t even heard of before. Unfortunately, our plans for a personal tour didn’t materialize because he had urgent out-of-town business to attend to, but he invited me to poke around by myself. I’ll have a separate post eventually, but I’ll need his help identifying the aloes I photographed. There’s no way I would even venture a guess, considering the rarity of many of his plants. Aloe cramscaping at its best Aloidendron pillansii surrounded by many equally r...