Laura, her Pirate, and Anna arriving at our first stop of the day, Valley Nursery.
Loree and Alison have a bit of a head start. She/he with the most plants at the end of the day wins!
Loree admiring this huge Kalanchoe beharensis.
Hydrangea 'Plum Passion' looks a little less plummy this time of year but the foliage is still beautiful!
I always love visiting these Aloe plicatilis and have been wishing to find a slightly smaller and less expensive one. (Stay tuned for the last stop on our nursery romp, there's a happy ending!)
Love the foliage of Daphne x burkwoodii 'Briggs Moonlight' and have resisted it at sales for far too long.
Here's Anna taking a picture of my haul from Valley, the Daphne and an Agave 'Mr. Ripple' after which I'd lusted on my previous visit to Valley. Since I'd earned some "Valnur Dollars" over the summer, I got these at half price! Hooray!
Alison carrying a couple of treasures.
I suppose it's a little unusual to have a bunch of people armed with cameras descend on your nursery just as it opens. When asked who we were, I was happy to introduce everyone and we were all a little shocked that the couple of wonderful women we talked with actually knew our blogs.
Valley was, as usual, filled with great plants and wonderful staff. A great first stop on our trip!
Franklinia alatamaha bloom. What a cool native American tree that blooms from late summer through fall even as the green leaves turn red. Named after Benjamin Franklin, it's now extinct in the wild. If you have space for one, you should consider growing this. By the way, the blooms are also fragrant.
Too soon it was time to pack our cars and go to our next stop, the Heronswood plant sale and garden open.
P.S. Google has put the creative kit feature back into picassa and Google plus photos. I'm happier than a slinky on an escalator!