By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Illustrations courtesy Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books, ABAA 

Botanical prints are an endless delight—especially the old ones. Many are hand-colored lithographs or engravings made not long after subject plants became known, or when there were big enough collections of plants like roses to merit a pictorial catalog.

All make wonderful holiday gifts, when you can find them. Lowry-James Rare Prints and Books is a Northwest source I've recently learned about. Operated by Priscilla Lowry-Gregor and based on Whidbey Island, the business has about 100,000 images, so what you see online represents just  the tip of the iceberg. Nearly all were made during the Age of Discovery (1500–1900). You can get a wide selection of illustrations, matted, for $150 or so, but prices run into the thousands.

I asked Priscilla to name some of her favorite pieces, and she gave me some links you might enjoy following:

Sir Joseph Paxton's Magazine of Botany London 1836-45
Van Houtte's Flore des Serres; Ghent, 1845–1888
Miss Giraud's Flowers of Shakespeare; London, 1845
Miss Giraud's Flowers of Milton; London, 1846
Fruits of New York State; Albany, 1851
George Brookshaw's Pomona Britannica; London, 1817

She also offers a collection of botanical books.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I try not to look at Dirt Couture, the retail portion of Cindy McNatt's garden blog, Dirt Du Jour, because--between Coldwater Creek and Chico on-line sales--I have enough temptations as it is.

But, visiting her garden recently and seeing some of her products first hand, I got curious about what her best sellers might be.

Turns out Hose Clothes, which you might describe as tights for the common garden hose and which turn a utilitarian item into garden decor, are her top seller.  Especially in this leopard version.

Guess gals just can't get enough of animal prints.

And her best customers?  Germans.  Not sure why that surprises and tickles me but it does.

Air Head, a foliar feeder designed for tillandsia, is another customer favorite.

Tillandsias are such easy plants, says, McNatt, people forget they do need some care.  Soak them in water at least once a month, mist once a week and feed them with this mist-form fertilizer every other week, and they'll stay healthy and happy, she promises.

Here's another best seller.  When a friend complained about having to buy a 50-lb. bag of cement just to make one  hypertufa trough, McNatt saw a marketing opportunity.

Premix the hypertufa ingredients and sell in a size just right for one larger container or a couple of small ones.  Just add water and you're ready to sculpt.

Her mix also includes some colorant, which is a nice touch.

And the artisan-made concrete bowl below?  A little too pricey to be one of her best sellers most likely. But, maybe, why I've been wise to stay off Dirt Couture until now.  Tempting, very tempting.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

A friend of mine is going to the Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta this upcoming weekend, and asked if I could recommend an interesting nursery to visit nearby.

Well, that was easy.   Pearson's Gardens & Herb Farm in Vista, of course.  A small nursery hidden in a residential neighbor that grows an amazing variety of herbs.  17 varieties of rosemary, 34 different thymes, 27 oreganos, and 50+--I stopped counting--different kinds of lavender.  Also tons of unusual things like arnica, patchouli, Vietnamese coriander, fenugreek, angelica, and horehound.  A slew of ornamental salvias as well.  Good place to find unusual cultivars such as S. discolor or S. muirii.

You can also get gourmet vegetable starts.  Right now, ready for fall planting, all kinds of field greens including heirloom leaf lettuces, Italian dandelion and chicory, purple and yellow cauliflower, red celery and red pak choi, purple aspargus,and lots, lots more.

Don't live in Southern California?  Pearson's also offers mail order service.

By Johanna Silver, Sunset associate garden editor

You still have two days to make it to The Sonoma County Fair Grounds in Santa Rosa to check out The National Heirloom Exposition hosted by the folks from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. A team from Sunset was up there yesterday, and we were all blown away by the spirit of the event. It is NOT to be missed.

Here are a few shots I snapped on my phone.

Heirloom apples

Heirloom winter squash display

This guy won the giant pumpkin contest. 

A heritage rooster

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Maybe it's because I was one myself but I have a special fondness for late-bloomers.  Like Helenium, shown here, which doesn't even get started until late summer.

This variety is `Mardi Gras', a new selection from Blooms of Bressingham I'm trialing in my garden (left) this year.  I've also included a close-up view below.

The 4-inch plants arrived in spring and spent months quietly settling in, sent up tall stems at the beginning of summer, and in August finally began blooming.  They've been going strong ever since and look like they're good for at least another month.

Besides the cheery summer colors and the cute reflexed petals, I am loving how many hover flies and other small beneficial insects this perennial attracts.  I remembered that occurring the last time I tried Helenium and wondered if it would happen again.  It did.  And that's almost reason enough to grow this perennial right there.

Now I'm eager to see how well the plant blooms next year.  Helenium doesn't do well in Southern California I was told, and, in truth, the last time I tried it my second year bloom was disappointing.  

But, you know, I don't think I care.  If I have to grow Helenium as an annual to get this kind of success, then I will.  Because doesn't it look like the soul of summer?

P.S.  Helenium make good cutflowers, too.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

I love the cooling nights and lower sun angle of late summer. Plants set seed, flickers call in the distance, and I'm ready for a nursery road trip.

One of the best I know is near Portland, Oregon, where three great nurseries can keep you busy for a day or a weekend. Cistus and Joy Creek nurseries are open every day, but Bamboo Garden is only open Saturday, so if you want to make a Labor Day weekend trip out of it, today's your only chance to bag all three at once. All three nurseries are on large rural properties where they have display gardens that support retail and mail-order sales, plus design services. The nurseries are 13 to 23 miles apart.

This is also a terrific time to shop for nursery stock. As the days get shorter and cooler, transplanting becomes easier, and soon cool-season rains will take over and do your watering for you.

Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island (15 miles northwest of Portland) has the most unusual stock, including lots of fascinating natives and Mediterraneans. Many push climate-zone limits hard, so it's best to ask about hardiness before you buy.

Bamboo Garden in North Plains (20 miles west of Portland) has 16 acres of bamboo, most of it in sometimes-huge naturalized groves, but considerable space in containerized stock as well. Expertise in both running and clumping bamboos runs very deep here. While you're visiting, be sure to track down Jiro's coccoon.

Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose (18 miles northwest of Portland) is justly famous for its perennials (including such diverse groups as hostas and penstemons), but their clematis and hydrangea collections are spectacular as well. This is a wonderfully peaceful place to walk, take notes, and make garden plans.

Happy Labor Day weekend.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

In every age there are one-off horticultural characters that are brilliant, quirky, funny, provocative—and the source of wonderful plant material that's hard to find anywhere else. Tony Avent at Plant Delights Nursery is such a one.

If you haven't seen his perennial-plants catalog, which you can get for 10 stamps or a box of chocolates (no kidding!), you should order one. Avent's stated goal is "to change the way America gardens by offering the best, the newest, and the strangest fun, garden-worthy perennials...." For the most part, he succeeds, picking up where Heronswood left off when Dan Hinkley sold out.

One reason PDN succeeds is because it's attached to its own 5-acre display garden (Juniper Level Botanic Gardens in Raleigh, NC) where everything is grown out and studied over a period of many years.

I've ordered from PDN, and their stock is always in great shape and accurately labeled. On the rare occasions when something goes awry—when Avent discovers that something was midlabeled, for example—he's fast to proactively notify his customers with generous options for making things right.

Be sure you get on his e-newsletter list while you're at it. Each issue has much to say about PDN plants and doubles as a journal of eclectic hort news—who bought out whom, who died, or the state of plants in the national arboretum. Tony also occasionally rants about gardens and the environment. You have to read it.

PDN's catalog covers (the most recent is pictured below) are always done by illustrator Jack Pittman, who uses it to put a horticultural spin (and poke irreverant fun) at political/cultural news of the day. If you haven't been offended by it, you haven't seen enough copies.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Would you like more information about using native grasses in the landscape to reduce irrigation needs, prevent erosion, and enhance wildlife habit?  If so, you might be interested in the workshops the California Native Grasslands Association is holding on September 29th at Fallbrook, CA and on September 30th in Arcadia,CA.  The all-day workshop is open to both professionals and homeowners.   There is more information on the CNGA website and you can register there as well. 

Need a landscape designer but don't know any?  Monrovia can help.  The wholesale grower has added a new feature on its website to help homeowners and landscape professionals connect. 

Enter your zip code, narrow the search by choosing a style (Contemporary or Cottage, for instance) or an expertise (edibles, meadows) and a list of professionals comes up with links to their websites.  Pretty handy.  Click here for a trial run.

Wish you could visit the gardens of some of your favorite garden bloggers?  I have.  Rueben Munoz of the Rancho Reubidoux blog is high on my list.  The below photo, shot by TK, shows why.  I love the way Rueben makes arid look stylish. 

Photo by Mitchel Maher

Maher shot more of Reuben's garden and turned the results into a cool video.  Click here to take a look.

While you're on Reuben's site, read about this wonderfully shaggy living wall he saw at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles.  More about it here.

By Johanna Silver, Sunset test garden coordinator

Today we're having a big photo shoot for amaranth. I'm in love with this plant. I think it's extravagant and bold.

I picked up a whole mass of stems this morning that I'd ordered from Andrei Krylov at Not Just Flowers in San Francisco and took a quick shot with my phone. PS -- Amazing floral shop.

Just wanted to share....

By Johanna Silver, Sunset test garden coordinator    

Readers -- Are any of you anywhere near Salem? If so, you must, must, must go to the Minto Island Growers Farm Stand. 

You might remember Chris Jenkins and Elizabeth Miller from Sunset's April 2011 story, White-linen farms. They run an incredible organic farm in Salem, and are upping the coolness factor by about a million with their on-site food stand that includes fresh produce, U-Pick, as well as delicious meals designed and created by Elizabeth's mom, Sally. 

Location: 3394  Brown Island Rd. S.

August hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 10-5 

Check it out:

This is the view when you drive (or bike!) up.

Here's the super cute farm cart.

You'll likely be ordering your meal from Sally Miller, Elizabeth's mom, or one of their stellar interns.

Gaze at the row crops while you eat...

Sally's latest experiment (inspired by a very cold summer): Fried green tomatoes with a side of cheesy grits. YUM.

Yours truly, about to devour a Salad Niçoise that includes the farm's lettuce, beans, tomatoes, and potatoes. 

The two unstoppable (and recently engaged!!) farmers take a break to enjoy a peach milkshake. Sally's secret? Use whole peaches -- including the skins -- plus old-fashioned vanilla ice cream.