Greetings dear friends of Hive Garden. Today I'm sharing a very special post to tell you about my visit to one of the nurseries in my city. This is my first time visiting a nursery. You may be wondering why I hadn't before. The truth is, I was afraid the prices wouldn't be within my reach. During the crisis that hit my country, Venezuela, a few years ago, I barely had enough to eat, but like everything in life, things are temporary and everything can change.

I've always wanted to visit one of these nurseries because I'm passionate about plants, and well-kept gardens bring me joy and well-being. As I've mentioned in other posts, I want to spruce up my garden and turn it into the garden of my dreams. There are several nurseries in the city where I live, and I'll gradually get to know them. This is one of the most popular. It's known for its wide variety of plants. It's called Vivero las Flores. It's located on the main avenue in Tres Picos, Cumaná. It's not close to where I live, but the address is easy to find by public transportation. Upon arrival, I found a large green gate; across the street, you can see the fence inviting you to enter. Inside, there's a house where the nursery owners live. The rest of the land is used for selling plants, planting, and selling natural flowers.

A gentleman watering the plants kindly helped me. I asked if I could take pictures, and he said yes. The nursery is well-stocked; they offer all kinds of ornamental plants; some bloom, others don't, and there are also many varieties of cacti. I was pleased to see the plants in rows; everything looked very pretty and organized. I was curious about the names of the plants and their prices, because I want to buy several to decorate my garden later. I was able to recognize some, and I learned others that day, so I was grateful for this wonderful visit to the nursery.

From right to left, we see a part of the Lavender plant, behind them, Tears of Christ, then there is the one with puyita leaves between green and red, it is called Barquito, followed by the row of lilies and some varieties of Mother-in-Law's Tongue.

In this photograph, we can see a long row of Tereziña, a plant with reddish leaves that make a striking addition to gardens. I found the prices for the plants to be affordable, between $2 and $3.

Although I liked the Tereziñas, I was looking for Trinitarias and Vicarias. Unfortunately, they didn't have any, and they don't know when they'll be back. The flowers are brought from another state, Miranda, and the city of Los Teques. They don't know when they'll be back. Of the Trinitarias, I liked one species that the guide pointed out to me: it's dwarf and doesn't grow very large. However, if I brought the common one, he recommended keeping it pruned at all times. The Trinitarias cost $3. We can see all of this upon entering the nursery. Another flower that caught my attention was Bella las Once, which only opens its petals from half a day until sunset. There are white ones, fuchsias, and one that I really liked, a combination of white and pink. There are also Coquetas and Camaroncillo, the latter of which has petals arranged in a very particular, staggered manner, giving the flower the overall shape of a shrimp. Although we can find them in red, they are only available for sale in yellow.

Another of the plants I was looking for was the Desert Rose, scientific name Adenium obesum, one of my favorites. They had several specimens, but they weren't in bloom. If I buy it, which I hope will be soon, it will be a surprise to see the color of its petals. The price of these plants is $4.

On that same table, I found a large collection of cacti of all kinds, priced from $1 to $6. My favorites were the Mickey Mouse and Bunny Ears cactus.

Many varieties of non-flowering plants are also beautiful. I particularly liked the Dwarf Mother-in-Law's Tongue, ideal for keeping in a small pot. Among other species, I liked Lovestrap, Cinerarria, Stone Pine, and Coleus. The Stone Pine, also known as the European Pine, grows as tall as the common pine.

I continued walking through the nursery and saw some Desert Roses of various colors. I was very excited, but the man told me they weren't for sale. It turns out they have another area where they plant the plants, from which they acquire them and then put them up for sale. It was in front of a large and beautiful green space.

Aside from the plants, I'm interested in purchasing potting soil and flower pots. The soil is sold for $2 a sack, which seemed like a pretty reasonable price. Next, I went to the flower potting area. They sell pots of various sizes, as well as candlesticks, vases, and wall decorations.

Finally, I went to the natural flower sales area. Upon entering, a container full of roses caught my eye. It was the seven-color rose. At first, I thought it was artificial, but no, it's real, just painted. Most of the flowers are refrigerated in a closed room, and the rest are left outside for the public to view and choose from. There's a wide variety, some natural, others painted. At the nursery, they prepare bouquets with just one type of flower or assorted, at the customer's request; the price is $12. All of these flowers are beautiful and fresh; I didn't see any wilted ones. You can see the workers selecting the flowers and removing any that might be wilted.

The painted flowers are brought from Colombia. They explained to me that the powder they use to tint them is very expensive, so they buy them ready-made. The process consists of dissolving the powder in water, then submerging the flower stems and leaving them in a darkroom for 48 hours. The color rises up the stems until they are completely dyed. Unlike street vendors who usually spray-paint them, the process of painting the flowers for sale at this nursery is an art. It was a bit difficult to memorize all the names of the flowers; I'll only mention the ones I could remember.

Another variety of natural flowers left me spellbound by its beauty: Daisies, sunflowers, Herberas and Alstroemeria, known as Astromelias, a type of lily native to Peru.

Thus ended my visit to the Las Flores nursery. I hope that next time I can buy the flowers I long for to continue beautifying my garden.