I left work in Santa Monica yesterday afternoon and fought the traffic east down Wilshire to check out the new Rolling Greens store on Beverly.
Stopped at a light, I was very surprised to see these hard-core, drought tolerant containers and stone hardscaping outside the offices of the Beverly Hills Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors, so popped off a quick photo from the car, waiting for the light to change, paparazzi style. The dragon trees and cactus made for quite the spectacle on stately Wilshire Boulevard, the containers gleaming in the late afternoon sun. From the car, the hardscape of rust-colored stones or broken stained concrete appeared over-large and uneven, uninviting to pedestrian foot traffic. It does read well driving by, though. This is Los Angeles after all, where supposedly nobody ever walks.
My stop at Rolling Greens was brief. Beautiful store, an inspired choice to adapt the former Town Tire Company building. Not much plant inventory this time of year, but still a wonderful horticultural asset for the neighborhood, heavy on pots, books, and furnishings.
Debra Prinzig blogged about the opening of Rolling Greens in December 2009.
“paparazzi style”…I love it, and you know plant paparazzi is WAY cooler than starlet paparazzi, even if you don’t make as much money on your photos.
…not much plant inventory…true. But right now all the big retail plant nurseries here are poised to start their 75% off sale any day now. I’m holding out for this. I bought the most beautiful cycads last year…plants I could not possibly afford at full price.
BTW: I’ve been in my first full week of school, so I’m enjoying this weekend of catching up on my blog favorites. I always enjoy visiting yours.
Such cool plants and posts!
David Tropical Texana/ from Hot, Humid, Houston
Loree, I completely agree that plants are way cooler.
David, glad you stop by. We both enjoy very similar plants. Maybe there’s a TexCal style?
Holy cow … and WOWSA!
Looks really striking. Glad to find out about this place so I can check it out next time I’m in L.A.
I love the plants, but the chunky red stone looks odd underneath a white building. Perhaps they wanted to prevent anyone from walking near the cacti?
Paparazzi style? I call it “drive-by shootings” so you can tell we are from different social classes. LOL. Although it’s not a scheme I would have chosen, many props must go to the creator and the building owner for footing the bill.
Very unusual choice of plants, which is a good thing as it gets people to stop and snap photos like this!