The horticulture industry is chock-full of plant enthusiasts, and here at Loma Vista Nursery, it is no different. We appreciate our employees and decided to give them a space to claim their favorite plants by having a monthly “Top 5 Plants” post.
This week’s feature: Torrae
Torrae is in charge of all of our company’s inventory. She’s responsible for keeping track of how many of each plant variety we have and where they are located on the nursery. Look forward to a blog all about her job later this week, but we first wanted to highlight her favorite plants. Here is her Top 5 List below.
Torrae’s Top 5
1. Sunsparkler Blue Elf Stonecrop: Torrae is a big fan of succulents, so she had to include one first thing on the list. This succulent is super cool looking! Torrae thinks its name is super snazzy and believes it is an awesome new stronecrop that we have added to the nursery. “I always like seeing new plants on the nursery because it helps keep things exciting,” she says.
Sunsparkler Blue Elf
2. Chocolate Chip Ajuga: This ground cover is one of Torrae’s favorites because it is easy to grow and has some awesome features and uses. She loves the deep purple and green foliage, and in the spring, she likes the purple flower shoots it produces. She likes this so much that she has a ton in the back portion of her yard. For people wanting to plant ajuga, Torrae highly recommends planting them underneath trees. They are a hardy ground cover that can easily be run over with a lawnmower and not damaged, so they make an awesome addition underneath trees featured in yards.
Our crop of Ajuga Chocolate Chip blooming in Spring.
3. Exclamation Sycamore: Halloween is right around the corner! The Exclamation Sycamore reminds Torrae of Halloween and is perhaps the most sentimental plant on the list for her because it makes her think of memories with her three boys. On Halloween, Torrae would walk her boys from house to house and point out these sycamores and call them “the ghosts of the trees” because without their leaves, their tall frame and bright, white bark stand out in the night. Her boys grew up calling them “ghost trees” because of this. There are a ton of them scattered along the river close to her house where she takes the boys swimming. Torrae also appreciates them in the summer because they are massive shade trees with beautiful, huge leaves and really awesome bark.
A grown Exclamation.
4. Sunshine Daydream Abelia: Torrae likes everything about these incredible shrubs. They have the most beautiful variegated tricolor foliage and really nice blossoms in the summer. Not many plants have year-round interest like these do. This abelia is the second plant on her list that she also loves for their name. “I’m a huge Grateful Dead fan,” she says. “They have a song called ‘Sunshine Daydream,’ so that makes me love the plant even more.” If you’re not familiar with the song, you can check it out HERE.
Torrae standing in our crop of Sunshine Daydream.
5. Brandywine Crabapple: The last plant on Torrae’s list is another tree. Torrae cannot get over how beautiful this ornamental crabapple is, particularly in the spring. The trees explode in rose-like blossoms that are unbelievably pretty.
Brandywine spring flowers.
Have Questions About Plants?
We may be a wholesale grower, but our staff are experts in the field. What’s more, is we love helping people learn more and understand more about plants. We grow healthy plants, and we want our plants (and any plants really) to be successful in the landscapes they are planted in. Feel free to email us at sales@lomavistanursery.com or call us at (785) 229-7200 if you ever have plant-related questions.
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