Our names are Eric and Crystal. We have been growing plants together since 1999, soon after we bought our home in northern California. We rapidly began collecting many different genera to populate the yard, and seemed to focus on things that we should not grow in our climate, but wanted to try anyway. Due to our small yard, we realized quickly that vertical was a good way for us to grow. We also had a chain link fence about 70 feet long and over 6 feet high between us and one neighbor, and because we wanted some privacy, vines were an obvious solution. We tried a few different types of plants, but the first few plants we tried did poorly in that spot. It is in a position where it gets all day sun, and in our climate that means death to most things tropical.
One day, we were at a local drug store and happened across a beautiful blue and white flower in a quart sized planter wrapped around a little hoop. We instantly fell in love. We took home our Passiflora caerulea and planted it in the ground on the chain link fence hoping it would enjoy its new home. It did, and we soon became obsessed with these wonderful plants, now having a collection of over 200 different types, including many of our own hybrids. We also expanded our collection to many dozens of genera outside of Passiflora, and enjoy anything beautiful, strange, fragrant, and smelly.
As for personal joys outside of botany, we both love the outdoors. Traveling, hiking, exploring, and appreciating nature, both immediately and with still photography are top of the list. Good wine and great food are favorites as well. We have long said that a perfect day consists of traveling to somewhere we have never been to hike to a waterfall, enjoying the flora and fauna along the way, and ending the day with a fine meal and fantastic wine. Thankfully, we have done this dozens of times, and with any luck… that will not end any time soon.
We hope you enjoy our website.
Eric & Crystal