Photographs by Liesa Johannssen.
Some people, on Sunday afternoons, might visit a park, or a cafe, to read a book or spend time with a friend. But just north of Berkeley, in Albany, CA, people come to Flowerland.
The nursery, which was built in 1945, is one of the few spots of green on a long commercial corridor.
A 1969 Princess Airstream sits in the front of the nursery, serving espressos and cappuccinos from a side window.
Candy-colored cafe tables, Adirondack chairs, and a cement bench that gives off radiant heat allow people to sit and consider the greenery in winter.
“It seemed like a nice gesture to have a spot where people could come and not feel like they had to shop to be here,” says Carly Dennett, Flowerland’s owner.
It had been Carly’s dream to have an Airstream at the nursery, and fulfilling that dream came naturally.
Getting the Airstream up and running was a three-month project.
I think when you’re sitting there, you can really see the plants, instead of just walking through.”
And 8-year-old Tommy, Dennet’s border collie mix, is a constant, gentle presence.
When he isn’t napping, “he loves to sit by the front of the nursery, watching what’s going on. Or go through the trash bin, looking for pastries.”
Instead of neatly arranged rows of trees and shrubs, the nursery has nooks and crannies, which makes for good wandering, and good daydreaming, coffee in hand.
Scattered among the native grasses, succulents, and drought tolerant plants from South Africa and Australia are found objects, including this old, scaffolding ladder and iron bed, both flea market finds.
Carly admits to being a plant nut; before she opened the shop, she would spend whole days in nurseries, coming home at night to read plant books.
“We really love textural plants,” says Dennet.
Flowerland’s gift shop has a forest-floor theme, inspired by Carly’s childhood growing up in woodsy Mendocino County. Marmalades, olive oils, and artwork are on display on the country store-style shelving, a legacy from the building’s original owners.
“Things happen organically here,” says Dennet.