Keith is cutting up the big bamboo stakes and making pots.

That’s a Leuchtenbergia principis in it.

Ian mulches the organic veggie trough.

We have our first early crop of veggies and herbs out, and just in time since it looks like we’ll be getting into the 60s today.

Ian planted our small display trough. Looks delicious.

We’re hiring a full time propagation manager. Our craigslist ad is here.

We’ve never hired a manager before. We’re going to have to revise all our prepared questions. Any ideas what questions we should ask of a propagation manager?

The flood subsided. We’re back and open again. But it is still raining.

Pelargonium tetragonum – not usually this leafy. Mostly a lot of sticks, with an occasional leaf. But they seem to like this new wetter winter.

Well, now, this is interesting. I’m not even sure I should be posting this. Maybe I’ll post it without a link.

There is a posting on Craigslist offering to sell some of our fully punched frequent buyer cards. Who knew there was a market for such a thing?

Here’s the photo that goes with the post.

Looking carefully, I can tell that 2 of the cards are really old, from back when we were a backyard nursery.

The L.A. Times says they’re featuring our Tillandsia Wreaths in Saturday’s paper! Woohoo!

If you get the Times, check it out, and send us a copy too, OK?

Our Lipson Robotics show continues.

We now carry ant farms at the nursery. I was so excited I just had to tell you.

And it comes with seeds and tools and things too!

Mike is the newest member of the Cactus Jungle team. He’s a tree person, but here he is cleaning the canopy that we’re putting up for winter. I think it’s to keep the Pachypodiums warm.

Nice pots.

I came upon some photos of the nursery on flickr, by Syene, sandwiched between photos of Sacramento and Vallejo.

Nice!

Yesterday I forgot to mention that we’re also now making Tillandsia Wreaths.

That looks like hundreds of tillandsias on that wreath, but then I haven’t counted so I could be totally off.

There’s been a lot of demand this year for succulent wall panels.

This is our new design for a wood-framed succulent wall panel that you can hang on the wall vertical or horizontal.

Yay!

The Robot Show is coming to the nursery November 6.

The other nurseries got nothing on this.

Yes, we are having our 30% off all 1/5ga. natives this week.

I figure I have to post this on the blog, even though it seems more like a sales pitch than a blog post. Oh well.

If the IRS ever audits this site, then they can determine indisputedly that this site is just one cog in our corporate* behemoth**. And you thought this was simply one little crazy garden and cactus blog. How sweet; how naive.

*by corporate I mean sole proprietor.

**by behemoth I mean small independent garden center.

It is an extra muggy day here in Berkeley. All you people living in Florida probably think we’re wimps, but I don’t like this at all. It’s 66°F and 84% Humidity. Oh, the humanity.

And we’re busy setting up for our 2nd annual Native Plant Sale. (That’s 30% off all 1 and 5ga. natives 10/18-10/25) so you can imagine how muggy it must feel here.

I’m in Reno today and tomorrow, for a very exciting and informative trade show, or not so exciting as it may be, but still informative, or maybe not so informative, but at least it’s in Reno. Oy.

If you can stop by the nursery, say hi to everyone for me, OK, and make sure the store is actually open, you know, not that they would close the store and go to the beach, it is October after all, but you never know, so I need all you blog-readers in Berkeley to check in on the store.

Coming this November to a Cactus Jungle Nursery near you.

Lipson Robotics! You may ask what this has to do, thematically, with cactus. Well, let me tell you, robots and cactus have a long history together in the science journals from the turn of the 18th century, and if you don’t believe me, check it out. Primitive, for sure, but still quite remarkable.

Is it October yet? Can I start posting about cactus costumes yet?

This one is a professional mascot costume, which means it’s expensive and probably not what you would want for Halloween.

I’m not particularly clear on who would want a cactus mascot costume, except maybe a cactus store. That’s us! In fact, I’ll bet Keith would love to dress up in this as the store’s mascot, and hang out on San Pablo Ave. waving down potential customers.

Succulent Wreaths are shipping!

Or BUY ONLINE now!

We’re setting up new systems to track our growing stock, and are putting together low tech binders with plant pages in them. So the question is should we use regular paper, or go for the weatherproof papers that are out there, but cost at least $.15 per sheet. Such are the conundrums facing the nursery business in the 21st century.

We have a lovely new crop of baby cacti and succulents. I’m photographing them today, and should get them up on the blog over the next week or so. As the nursery has grown, we’ve had to regularize the crop cycles. So here’s one group of small cute plants coming your way. I’d watch especially for the baby Old Man cactus – oy, it’s to die for.

…on our yelp page.

if you need a cactus, u need to go to the cactus jungle. cool place and great staff. thanks for the help Ian.

Keith got one too, but they called him Kevin by mistake.

Otto came into the store today very excited about getting a Big Eye Dummy. He went right for Slicka.

And here he is pulling Slicka’s eye right off! Shocking!

It’s a good thing Otto’s a friend.

My brother makes these toys, see, and he sells them too, and we sell them at the store too, and I put together the website, and they get reviewed.

I don’t know who the kid in the picture is, but he sure looks happy.

The mailman came the other day while Ryan was diligently helping me plant my garden. What he brought tore Ryan away for the remainder of the day. He brought a Big Eye Dummy, and to be specific, we received Milton the cat. I have to be honest, I was surprised this cute little plush doll could keep Ryan’s attention for as long as it did. It has been hours total at the least.

From the Irma García Blanco exhibit at the nursery, a couple of pots we’ve planted up.

Lizards!

Musical chickens!

It’s Suzanne Long‘s art at the nursery, on Joe Mud’s photostream.