There are always so many beautiful and interesting planters to see at The Tropics, Inc. in Hollywood, California - it's definitely become one of my favorite stops whenever I'm in the Los Angeles area.
During a recent business trip, I paid a visit to Ron Horziencik, CEO and President of the 20,000 square foot gallery. You may have seen the post on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Ryan and his team offer plants and accessories for both residential and corporate use, real estate staging, and television and film projects. If you're ever in the vicinity and want to browse through the space, please call and make an appointment.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I always try to add a stop at The Tropics, Inc. to my list of must-see places whenever I am in Los Angeles. It really is a treasure trove of beautiful and unique items. In the back is a large Deuterocohnia lorentziana mound in a handmade vintage French concrete planter with
encrusted sea shells. In front are vintage hewn stone, ceramic, and terracotta planters.
Ryan’s father, Ronald J. Hroziencik, started the business selling junk at a swap meet with his college roommate. Occasionally, they would have plants to sell, and customers loved them. Now, it’s a successful establishment with a large inventory of unique and beautiful plants, containers, and so much more.
This is a massive aged elephant foot tree in a large vintage steel industrial planter.
Ryan has a variety of planters for sale inside and out – in all different sizes, forms, and materials.
In this corner is a braided Pachira aquatica forest planted in a large vintage French foundry crucible container with original patina. A Ceiba tree on the left sits in a vintage planter.
And this is Ryan’s container garden – so inspiring.
In another area, these assorted vintage Willy Guhl hourglass planters with original patina. Willy Gulh was a Swiss industrial designer and cabinet maker. These items are from Switzerland, circa 1960.
Here is an aged sculptural Cyphostemma juttae, commonly known as the Namibian grape or tree grape. It is in a vintage Willy Guhl chalice planter with its original patina – circa 1960.
Perhaps you recognize these plants – Kalanchoe, echeveria, and hanging sedum in different vintage hewn stone planters.
This is a Deuterocohnia brevifolia mound planted in a hollowed tree root.
Another interesting item is this aged deciduous Adenium obesum bonsai in a vintage French concrete planter with its original patina.
Here is a trio of vintage French concrete planters with encrusted sea shells.
Ryan also carries interesting busts – this one is a vintage French plaster bust with original patina on a table. Underneath is a large cluster of pink barnacle.
This vintage French lion sculpture looks to be guarding the space.
Sansevieria hallii, or baseball bat Sanseveria, is a slow-growing evergreen cactus succulent with blue and green foliage. It is planted in another Willy Guhl geometric planter with original patina.
I also noticed this bird’s nest fern – I have many bird’s nest ferns at my farm.
Look at this interesting aged Haworthia truncate mound in a vintage steel disk planter.
Planted here is a Brachychiton populneus bonsai with Deuterocohnia brevifolia mounds and rocks in a vintage Willy Guhl bowl planter with original patina – from Switzertland, circa 1960.
This is a vintage French bust of André Le Nôtre, a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. In fact, Nôtre was the landscape architect who designed the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
And this is the item I bought – a very interesting Dioscorea elephantipes, also known as Elephant’s Foot – a slow-growing caudiciform succulent native to South Africa, and loved for its large, sculptural tuber.
And here I am with Ryan. Thank you, Ryan, for another wonderful tour of The Tropics, Inc.
It's mid-March, the snow is gone, and every chance we get we're cleaning up and getting our pre-spring chores done around my farm.
The crew is busy with many projects, including raking the garden beds, pruning the weeping willows, grooming the beech tree hedge around my pool, blowing any old leaves and branches, washing my Polaris off-road vehicles, bathing the dogs, etc. I keep a running list of all the chores that need to be done at any given time. So far, it's a strong start to the season ahead.
Here are some photos.
The snow has melted here at the farm and with refreshing, mild temperatures earlier this week, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been able to get a lot of jobs done.
While work is being done above to trim the dead, diseased, damaged, defective, or deranged branches from my weeping willows along the edge of my pinetum…
… Lots of raking is done below to clear away all the fallen debris.
This day was in the high 70s. Here’s my driver, Andres, giving my trusted Polaris vehicle a good washing.
And here’s Matthew cleaning the beds outside my greenhouse. All the beds look so much better after a fresh raking. More than two feet of snow covered the beds for so many weeks.
Phurba rakes the beds outside my Tenant House – being very careful not to step on any emerging bulbs.
Here’s Adan blowing underneath the dwarf apple espalier – debris and old twigs left over from last year.
And Chhiring blows all the old leaves from the tree pits in my allée of pin oaks. Soon, spring croci will fill these areas.
Before the coldest days of winter, I like to cover various gardens with evergreen branches. Doing this provides a protective barrier against freezing temperatures, drying winds, and heavy snow. They also help to insulate plants and reduce temperature swings that can damage certain plant roots. But it’s much warmer now, and Matthew can pick them all up.
On the inside of my pool fence I have a hedge of beech trees, purple columnar Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple.’ I instructed Pasang to trim one foot from the top all the way around. It’s good to do this now when the hedge is still bare.
I like as much pruning and grooming as possible done by hand. These Japanese Okatsune shears are specially made for trimming hedges. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
To ensure the pruning is perfectly straight, we always use bright landscaping twine pulled between poles and placed along sections of the hedge. Here one can see what trees were trimmed and what still needs work.
Here’s my gardener Ryan bringing beautiful plants in bloom to display in my home. These are forced white amaryllis.
Down at the stable, my Chow Chow, Emperor Han, with his dense double coat also needs attention. Carlos gives Han a thorough bath.
Carlos washes carefully around Han’s face and chin and around the outside of the ear canal – never inside.
Chow Chows have a lot of coat around the head, giving it a lion-like appearance, so this area needs a lot of grooming. After a good and thorough drying and brushing, Han looks great. Now, don’t walk through any mud, Han!
Inside, Ryan tends to the growing artichokes, which will be planted outdoors in the vegetable garden come spring.
Matthew mists the tender seedlings that were started last week. Everything is growing according to schedule. I can’t wait until my giant half-acre vegetable garden is full with produce once again.
And look – some of the first blooms of spring are coming up! Here is a bunch of crocus growing outside my Equipment Barn.
And some of the first snow drops, Galanthus, growing outside my guest production house. Today’s temperatures will be colder – low 40s in this area, but don’t worry – spring is officially here in just one week!
Here at my farm a mix of rain and snow are expected today, but inside my greenhouse there's a flurry of spring activity. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, is starting flower seeds in preparation for the coming growing season.
We sow thousands of seeds every year - all those wonderful seeds I enjoy purchasing during my travels and seeds we order from our favorite sources. Our first trays include a selection of poppies, foxgloves, and violas.
Enjoy these photos.
This time of year my head house tables are often filled with seeds ready to be planted in trays. Seeds are available online, at garden centers, and through friends and family. One of my favorite seed sources is Johnny’s Selected Seeds in central Maine – a company I’ve been using for quite some time.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds that are known to be strong, dependable growers.
Ryan keeps them well-organized by type, so they are easy to go through when selecting what to plant.
Ryan also chooses the necessary seed starting trays. These trays from Johnny’s can be saved from year to year, so don’t throw them away after the season. Seed starting trays are available in all sizes and formations depending on seed needs.
He fills several trays with a pre-made seed starting mix. I use Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix, which is specially formulated for fast root development.
These seeds trays have deeper cells for those plants that have tap roots or those that are sensitive to root disturbance.
Here it is from the bottom. Johnny’s has a large variety of seed starting trays from which to choose. Ryan fills a series of trays, so they are all ready when he plants.
Ryan uses the top tray to make cell indentations in the bottom tray for the seeds. The holes just needs to be big enough for the seed to be dropped in and then covered.
Small wooden markers identify the specific flowers and varieties, so we can keep track of the kinds that grow best in my gardens. Ryan prepares the markers for the Icelandic poppies, writing down the flower name and variety.
Poppy seeds are very tiny, kidney-shaped seeds that are less than a millimeter in length and typically bluish-black in color.
Ryan drops the seeds into the cells by hand – about two for each cell. Germination is never guaranteed, so multiple seeds are always planted. This provides a better chance at least one will take root.
The seed packet itself is very useful. It provides the common plant name, growing duration, and plant size.
The back of Johnny’s seed packets also provides blooming information, light and soil requirements and plant spacing. It’s important to read these seed packets for valuable information and tips.
For these seeds, Ryan covers the trays with a layer of vermiculite. Vermiculite is a mica-like mineral often used as a soil amendment. It is mined out of the ground, exfoliated, treated with high heat and pressure to force it to expand. Vermiculite absorbs and retains water, allows for proper air circulation and takes in essential nutrients for healthy seeding development.
And don’t forget the water. Ryan gives the trays a drink before placing them on the shelf. Seeds will start to grow within days in optimal temperature and lighting environments, which is 50 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit under bright light.
These foxglove seeds are pelleted. Pelleting is a process where seeds are coated so they are easier to see and handle when sowing.
They make it much easier for Ryan to drop into the designated cells.
The wooden markers are inserted into the tray where the seeds are planted.
And finally he prepares to plant some viola seeds in another tray.
These seeds are also extremely small. They should start to sprout within seven to 21 days depending on growing conditions. Once a few inches tall, the plants will get selectively thinned so the stronger ones are left to continue growing.
We’re off to a great start for my flowers. We have many more trays to go. Seeds are usually started about two months before the last frost – we’ll be starting seeds indoors through this month.
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