JUST INClick on text to vist page
At Southlands Nursery, things are always changing,
and not just with the seasons. We're constantly creating,
searching and bringing in new plants and exciting items
on a regular basis.

Get a sneak peak here or come visit us soon.

SOUTHLANDS NURSERYClick on text to vist page
Could it be that dreams do come true?
When artistic talent, sweat, business savvy and encyclopedic
plant knowledge are combined, it seems they do....

Southlands Nursery is a walk-in fantasy,
where beauty always comes before profit.

STORE INFOClick on text to vist page
Established in 1991, and located in a charming 'equestrian pocket' on Vancouver's upscale
westside, this unique area called Southlands is a horse friendly enclave right in the city.
Large lots and small acreages house many stables, and it is not unusual to see horses and their
riders go by our gates. With delicious free coffee always on hand, many people tell us that they
come down to the nursery just to experience the beautiful atmosphere.
We hope you will visit soon!

TOM SPEAKSClick on text to vist page
According to all my grade school report cards, I never stop speaking!

Here is where I rant/ share/ proselytize about whatever I think is
beautiful/ interesting/ semi-important....

JUST INClick on text to vist page
At Southlands Nursery, things are always changing,
and not just with the seasons. We're constantly creating,
searching and bringing in new plants and exciting items
on a regular basis.

Get a sneak peak here or come visit us soon.

FAVOURITESClick on text to vist page
Visiting Vancouver?
Want to order flowers?

Check out this very personal list of some of Thomas Hobbs favourite
Vancouver shops and restaurants you may not otherwise discover.

DAYLILIESClick on text to vist page
Thomas Hobbs own hybrids (and other fabulous varieties) are available in
limited numbers. Hybridizing daylilies has become an absolute obsession....
using cutting edge parent plants from the world's top breeders.

Half the fun is in naming them!

ORDERINGClick on text to vist page
We will never be a fully online shopping nursery, but from time to time
we'll offer special plants or things.Thomas Hobbs own daylily introductions
will be available for Spring or Fall shipping.

We hope to offer other specialties,
such as own own Nerine hybrids, this way, also.

BOOKS & PRESSClick on text to vist page
The only thing I love more than gardening is sharing that passion with others.
I've had the pleasure of writing 2 books and have been featured in a number of professional
horticultural and gardening magazines. For the past 16 years I've also worked in television on
GlobalBC's Saturday morning news 'Gardening with Thomas Hobbs' segments. The nursery has
been featured on virtually every gardening show including 'The Victory Garden', 'Martha Stewart'
and 'Recreating Eden'. We were even home to 'The Orchid Nazi' on the hit TV show The X Files!

February 25, 2012

The Roses Are Here

Filed under: Uncategorized — yodiehead @ 11:55 pm

My plant of David Austin Rose 'Teasing Georgia' after 3 years

We have just finished potting up our roses for 2012. With the demise of Jackson &Perkins (our main supplier), the selection is certainly not
what  it used to be. But, we did locate many of our personal favourites.  From personal experience, I can vouch for several David Austin varieties.
At my new garden in Langley, BC,  I am very pleased with ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ -  a Kool-Aid orange/pink/beetroot  combo that blooms non-stop !
I am also stunned by ‘Teasing Georgia’ . Mine is six feet x six feet in only three years. It is a fantastic soft yellow and smells great.
I also love ‘Sally Holmes’. This is a shrub rose that has big wands of single white flowers with showy brown stamens.  It is distinctive at thirty feet away.
‘GoldenWings’  is another  great one ! This older , single-flowered shrub rose  has been a pleasure. Simple flowers that open wide to show off
their lovely brown stamens. Bees love it !
At my old house in Vancouver, I always loved ‘Leander’ . This is an early  David Austin variety that lately has been re-popularized by word of mouth.
It is a  peachy, fragrant, disease-resistant dream and super vigorous. Mine got  eight feet tall  every year, after a hard pruning ! It didn’t mind part shade.
‘Abraham Darby’ was similar. But,  the scent was even better – delicious, fruity fragrance from lots of big peachy flowers. This rose became a climber for me. It used an ancient fig tree as a trellis and bloomed constantly , on and off, almost all year.  It was happy in total shade, which was a surprise.
 ’Madame Alfred Carriere’ is a white- flowered climber  that also grows and flowers in shade, (or sun). Everyone wants one . I also used to grow
Rosa glauca . This hardy species has unusual grey-purple foliage , which is the reason to grow it. It does get big  .  More upright than wide, to about  eight feet by four feet.  The flowers are  just OK – lots of single pink ‘wild’ roses, followed by attractive hips. Grab one if you see it for sale. We have some now., but won’t have them later……

All our potted roses are $29.99 each

Roses For Sale for 2012 – climbers.     Click to open file

Roses For Sale for 2012 -Floribundas  .   Click to open file

Roses For Sale for 2012 DavidAustin varieties.  Click to open file

February 21, 2012

It’s Begonia Time !

Filed under: Uncategorized — yodiehead @ 11:49 pm

Late February/early March is the time to purchase and pot-up tuberous begonias.  We offer super-jumbo sized tubers of the very famous ‘ American Hybrid’  strains .
These are better than the  much more common (and way smaller)  Belgian tubers sold almost everywhere else.  The American Hybrid strains have enormous flowers of perfect form.
I like to grow them in wide, low clay pots. They appreciate morning (but not afternoon) sun once placed outside in late May. A Northern exposure is fine.
By starting your tubers now, indoors, the plants will have a headstart and begin flowering in June. I have found it beneficial to fertilize very often- once a week is fine – with a water soluble
fertilizer like 20-20-20 or 15-30-15 in my watering can. I save my tubers from year to year , by dryingthem out in late September/October and storing them cool, dark and dry in a heated basement.
It is around this time of year that I replant them and start the show again.

 

February 16, 2012

Those cute little Cyclamen

Filed under: Uncategorized — yodiehead @ 12:09 am

Cyclamen coum is a hardy little charmer that loves to grow (and naturalize) under deciduous trees or just about anywhere that has good drainage.         In February ( often earlier), the showy flowers appear and signal the return of Spring!  Few things in the garden draw more ‘ooohs and aaaahhhs’       than these little kittens! They are very long-lived, and totally carefree. They are somewhat addictive !
It takes about five years to reach blooming size from seed. Consequently, the growers don’t ‘give them away’ but they are worth the small extra expense.  Some have incredible foliage, patterned in silver and contrasting zones of green. Once a few are established in your garden, they will produce seeds and little Cyclamen will start appearing in just the right places !

We have a lovely crop in bloom right now at $8.99 each.

February 9, 2012

A Long Time Coming

Filed under: Uncategorized — yodiehead @ 8:40 pm

I used to hybridize orchids,especially Cattleyas. In the late 1990′s, I was shipping my seedlings all over North America.
(I advertised in the American Orchid Society magazine) There was one cross (#99) that I couldn’t bare to sell any of because
the two parent plants were my two favourites. There were also far fewer seedlings than usual from the seed pod.
This cross was between BLC George King ‘Serendipity’ AM/AOS and BLC Peaceful Dawn ‘Orchidglade’ .
Two fabulous peachy cattleyas – imagine Angelina Jolie crossed with Brad Pitt as a flower.
Now, in February 2012, the first seedling of this cross has finally flowered ! 13 years ! And patience is not my best quality !
It is a beauty . A lovely and unusual colour combination, a very good shape and a strong fruit fragrance all combined from a dream gene pool .
Thirteen years from a tiny, microscopic seed is a miracle. But, daylilies flower in two years…
I am not sure they are as beautiful. How could they be ?