I have a friend from college who is my kindred sister in all things plants. I like being with A especially when we are touring her garden (she has her own de facto botanical garden) our conversations can be about the social and the political, but frequently it circles back to plants we’ve seen and stopped for on the side of the road, flowering this and soil that. For all intents and purposes, we are nursery nerds at heart. Yes. She is one of the best ofs in my garden world. Critical of big home improvement store’s seasonal nursery sections, A and I still appreciate the convenience of picking up a vegetable start because the birds ate the seedlings and also lament the big box store’s challenge to train someone to water the plants so that they might live a bit longer. We both have nursery experience in our lives, spaces we separately learned in. For myself, it was the houseplant room, bedding plant and gallon can sections at Navelet’s in Walnut Creek (CA) where I packed seeds and filled bags from barrels of Daffodil and Hyacinth bulbs (do be careful with Hyacinth, for the fungicide dust will leave your hands itchy). Or for A, among the grow outs of lettuce seeds in greenhouses she worked in that included a flat of her own flower seeds because that is the privilege of being a seed tester.

And every year it feels necessary to do a pilgrimage to one of the best nurseries in my area. Yes, an hour and 30 minutes drive, mid-week, late morning, is strategic planning for A and I. But Annie’s Annuals and Perennials in Richmond California is worth the effort. Sure, you may argue that that Half Moon Bay nursery or the one in Berkeley has the best selection. Ok, but this nursery is my must-go-nursery to inspire my annual garden clean-out and planting.

And its location in the industrial corner of Richmond is a big part of it. You will hear the sounds of the city when you are there; the deep bass beats of speakers in cars passing by is a perfect reminder of the intentionality of this location: the space is about plants and access. Annie’s space makes me want to be a gardener every time I visit.

I try not to get too ambitious when I go, so I stick to several unspoken rules for achieving a good visit.

Just note, it’s a beautiful nursery because it is not fancy. It’s Richmond, so the weather is perfect. They have color-filled demonstration sections, aisle end-caps of display plantings and expensive stragglers that have seeded/rooted on the edge of the fences, intentional and aesthetically pleasing. The plant signs are like a page out of a good plant encyclopedia. They take me back to my handmade sign days; with grease pencils on plastic cards and metal plant card holders in buckets. So, Rule #1: dress comfortably and be ready to be inspired.

Rule #2: A visit to Annie’s requires that you bring no kids, no spouses or partners who don’t care about plants, no one. This is not a promenade with the family. You’ll need a couple hours at least, and A and I know that the annual visit can’t happen with the non-committed. The long drive is just enough time to talk it out so when you get there, you may go off to search with a purpose.

When I visit, I need to leave with items that made my wish list, and if we arrive early in the season, I know I may be leaving with almost seedlings. Thus, Rule #3 Trust Annie’s. The nursery has one of the best soil mixes and the regular rotation of flats on their tables means that I never get plants that missed a watering or can’t survive a few weeks in my garden waiting for me to plant them.

Rule #4 Keep. A. Budget. You will find yourself buying plants that you would never consider because the selection is so vast. And yes, I often need to relax my rule and buy a $9.00 four inch pot for a rare Nicotiana.

While there, I must walk the aisles in careful form so not to miss anything; check both sides of the aisles, all throughout the grounds. I give myself a chance to touch, read, and plan for colors and shapes that I don’t already have at certain times of the year. The nursery can have customers blocking areas on your tour. You may need time to come back to that area where that customer is challenging the nursery people about that plant that grows in their neighbor’s yard. I hear echos of conversations from my WC nursery days:

Me: “Did you bring a leaf, or better, a picture?” And in my mind I am thinking: Your description of that plant that flowers in full sun all year long without water really doesn’t narrow shit down enough.

There are assumptions that people make about people who look like me milling around a nursery. One is that we couldn’t have possibly studied horticulture, took nursery certification classes to be a nursery-person, worked for five years in a large nursery and then managed a small nursery and landscaping business for two years before transferring to the university. We look like we are probably looking for a flower, but beyond that, I often get the feeling that the subtext of questions from workers in a nursery are more interested in me in this space. These experiences do not happen at Annie’s. I am never perceived as lost at Annie’s. I can ask deep questions: “Yes! I am looking at your Leucadendrons! In particular, that “Inka Gold.” I see you have some Leptospernums in five gallons. Do you carry a dwarf pink as well?” Elsewhere, I hope for an open mind as a person of color and that the workers will remember that most people walking around in a nursery love plants. When I am not asking questions I am most likely thinking, “I love the sound and feeling of walking on pea gravel and gallon cans in tight rows.”

Again, the minimum two-hour stay at Annie’s is a pleasure every year. I feel seen as a I am: knowledgeable and methodic on my pilgrimage. The workers at Annie’s understand their product and the plant nerds that visit everyday. I now hope I can get my flat of sixteen various four inch planted in time for next year: this includes the crazy-looking Papaver, another Sphaeralcea, a tall-ish Ajuga (why not?), and that pink bottle brush (Callistemon “Cane’s Hybrid”), an intentional lure for more hummer’s and butterflies to make their own annual journey back to my garden. There will be no questions in my garden. Worship however and whomever you please.