but first, to Sebastopol...
where we passed by farms like these complete with bovine friends...
until we saw this sculpture (more of these would be seen the next day) in front of our destination, California Carnivores, California's largest nursery of carnivorous plants.
This sculpture would totally be at home in "Little Shop of Horrors".
Their hours were very specific, 10 am to 4 pm everyday except Tuesday and Wednesday. We would be leaving Petaluma on Thursday. The day of our visit happened to be a Monday and it was already 3 pm.
There is an outdoor nursery of all kinds of arnivorous plants for sale. There was also a greenhouse in the adjacent building of plants for display only.
The outdoor nursery...
Inside the indoor nursery (where plants were NOT for sale, much to the dismay of a kid who was inside who didn't read the sign and was already choosing plants to purchase) were educational displays, larger than life replicas of some of the plants exhibited, and a multitude of carnivorous plants galore!
A tropical pitcher plant which looks a bit like an alien life form. Within the tubelike structure is a watery liquid produced by the plant itself. Insects that fall in have the lovely fate of being digested by these juices.
We really loved how the plants were displayed here...There were so many to look at it that it was like visual overload at times.
Many of the plants were beautiful in their own way...
Nice cross section depiction of a pitcher plant with the bugs trapped inside.
These plants were from the Drosera family which include sundew plants. They have sticky drops of fluid on fine hairs which catch any prey that fall into its trap.
Here were some Venus flytraps. This one plant cost $14.95.
Bert wanted to take a picture of me with my face near these Venus flytraps. I got as close as I comfortably could and even though I knew these little plants wouldn't consume me, I still felt creeped out being this close to them!
None of these inside plants were for sale. Some looked like they were still being grown. I suppose some of these are reserved for mail order as well.
TC bought a couple of Tillandsias (air plants), small ones, along with a small piece of bark and a tiny tube of epoxy glue to mount the plants.
Check out the tote bag behind the book.
The workers there were very knowledgeable and helpful. It was fun to overhear some of the conversations they had with customers about the care of their plants.
"Feed Me"!
If you are ever up in this area (and if it's the right day), check out this nursery! It's quite unique and an educational experience.
California Carnivores
2833 Old Gravenstein Hwy
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 824-0433
www.californiacarnivores.com; Fb page + reviews from yelp, Dave's Garden, Harmony in the Garden, The Carnivore Girl & even a mention from a site that I sometimes consult for places to go, Atlas Obscura.
Now it was time to finally drive down to Petaluma, check in to our hotel and then have dinner!
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