I was listening, as I do every morning, to the KFOG Morning Show (that’s our local SF radio station). A woman named Flora Grubb was speaking about gardening and her new nursery. I thought, seriously, Flora Grubb, did she make that name up? Or like people often do, did she just grow into it (no pun intended). I mean, what a perfect name for a garden expert extraordinaire and nursery owner.

It’s odd how a name just all of a sudden just starts popping up all around you, and Flora Grubb has been stalking me. Everywhere I turn I see an article about her move from her original site at Guerrero Street Gardens to the new 28,000-square-foot nursery she built in Bayview. She also carries some great home and garden accessories and, offers a conveniently located Ritual Coffee Roasters right inside the nursery!

What a cool job to have, surrounded by lush, green plants all day and helping people build their dream gardens while they sip on cappuccinos. And, she started this business after a dot.com bust, by offering her landscaping services on craigslist, which I find very inspiring and quite impressive.

She had lots of sage advice on KFOG’s In the Dirt with Flora Grubb that day and apparently she checks in with them often. I liked the way she answered callers questions and explained gardening tips in a really down to earth way. She also had great suggestions on the ideal plants for the unusual and ever-changing Bay Area micro-climates. I’ll definitely be getting some greenery, and some coffee, at Flora Grubb Gardens very soon. Doesn’t it look like a cool place?

Flora Grubb Gardens, 1634 Jerrold Avenue, at 3rd Street (415-626-7256).

*All these lovely photographs courtesy of Scott Beale/Laughing Squid at laughingsquid.com.