I ♥ Sacramento {High-Hand Nursery, Loomis}

Ever since I discovered the beautiful wonder called the succulent, I have become a reluctant gardener. I only say reluctant because I still have a higher death rate than I care for my plants, which is to say if any of them die, I get cranky and Aaron gets crankier. "How much was that one? $12.98? Twelve dollars and ninety-eight cents just died." *sigh* 

Yup, that's pretty much how that goes. And yet, he loves me enough to still take me thither and yon (hither and yon? dither and yon? eh, never-mind). He loves me enough to take me to fancy pants nurseries on really hot days just because it's Mother's Day and that is what I want to do. 

So, for MD, we piled into that car and drove up to Loomis to High Hand Nursery. During the drive Aaron tried to pin me down on a dollar amount of what I wanted to spend, but after twelve years I have learned the art of the non-committal answer, "Oh not much, I just want to look around..." I have also learned not to kick a gift horse (or a husband) in the mouth and only buy two plants (at a time). 

Ok, so it isn't exactly a Sacramento gem, but for the green thumbed (or wannabes, like me) the High Hand Nursery is a must visit. Even if you don't need to buy any plants or like to garden, it's worth a visit just to walk around. There is a walk up cafe, a sit down restaurant and in the Fruit Shed, a whole bunch of shops and even a small wine tasting room, which was a welcome surprise.

One of my favorite things about High Hand is their awesome display of Japanese maples, which is gorgeous and makes me wish I could drag a $500 maple home. Or a $100 one for that matter. Since that isn't in the cards, my $15 Home Depot Japanese Maple and I will just limp along as we have been.

For now, I'll just dream of having a beautiful, coppery, feathery, maple in our yard one day.