Top Plant Picks for Zone 10b Gardening: Fall Edition for Urban Farms, Micro-Farms, Home Gardens, and Container Gardens

Updated: Sep 13

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Tulips
Ranunculus
Anemones
Narcissus/Daffodils
Potatoes
Garlic
Espalier Fruit Trees
Dawn's Fall Purchase Guide
Resources & Sourcing

Tulips

I have never grown tulips before, in large part because gophers were such a problem I just gave up on bulbs- but now that I have a small urban garden with squirrels and birds as my main pests- and I have learned the sweetness of growing bulbs in containers, I'm super thrilled to give it a go! My urban garden is in zone 10b, where it doesn't freeze, so pre-cooled bulbs are a must for me when selecting bulbs. If you can't find pre-cooled tulip bulbs, you will want to keep them in your freezer for 4-6 weeks before starting them.

I have a soft spot for Erin of Floret Farms, who granted me a partial scholarship to her amazing Fall Flower workshop in 2023, and just released an amazing free resource to help you learn how to save seed from your flowers, as well as Felicia of Menagerie Farm, who is responsible for all these beautiful images of the tulips, and she has an amazing variety of roses you can purchase, all grown in California- and is where I purchased some of my pre-cooled bulbs from this year!

My Top Six Favorite Tulip Varieties This Year for Zone 10b Gardens

Each of the varieties I chose this year fall on the creamy pink to rusty peach side this year. I've included shopping links from several sources below, ranging from super affordable to on the pricey side. The quality of the bulbs matters, but I haven't tested the same variety from different sources, and honestly, I can't spend a fortune on tulips and bulbs alone!

Ranunculus

This will also be my first year trying ranunculus and I am really having a hard time deciding what types and colors, and where to purchase. Here are a few of my favorites and some of the places I'm considering sourcing them. These are grown the same way anemones are grown, so I am doubling down! As I say, if you are going to have one kid in diapers, you might as well have two:) That's a bit less romantic than these amazing blooms, but plants need fertilizer too...

Ranunculus Cloni Hanoi- I can't even with these delicate puffs of blooming petals!!!

Romantic Ruffly Deep Pink Ranunculus — Pon Pon Magic photo by @fleurfarm

Ranunculus PonPon Magic- This deep antique pink bloom reminds me of a double blooming poppy. The color and texture will make for stand out late winter/early spring arrangements.

Amandine Chamallow a creamy white pink ranunculus — Amandine Chamallow photo by @floretflower

Ranunculus Amandine Chamallow

this flower just gives me magical fairy puff vibes. It's creamy white pink petals seem never ending, and they make me imagine falling into a bed covered in soft silky creamy petals.

salmon pink fading to coral pink with a shock of green in the center, ranunculus flower — Supergreen Salmon photo by @fleurfarm

Ranunculus Supergreen Salmon This shocking combination of salmon pink exterior fading into deep coral petals surrounding the bright green center is a stand out must have. I can see this mixed with purple basil, bells of ireland, and some coral reef poppies!!!

deep rich burgundy blooms with feathery layers of petals and a dark black center, ranunculus flower — La Belle Chocolate photo by @floretflower

Ranunculus La Belle Chocolate-

I find myself drawn to white, cream, yellow and pink bulbs this year, but you just cannot leave out some deep reds. Everyone wants some variety to play with.

Anemones

Grown the same way that Ranunculus are grown, I am going to also trial some of these beauties this year!

soft white and pink anemone flowers with black center — Mistral Centro Nero photo by@fleurfarm

Mistral Centro Nero

I love this black center and the delicate petals. The feathery texture and dark center will add depth to any bouquet, arrangement, or garden!

Rich burgundy anemone flower with a white flash fading into black center — Meron Bordeux photo by @floretflower

Meron Bordeaux

Oh the flowy-loveliness of this dark hued large flowers.

Narcissus and/or Daffodils

One of my most favorite bulbs because they often are early to bloom in the late winter early spring, and they are super cheerful, and they repel gophers!!! Not that I encourage you to plant these without rodent controls in place- no one wants to loose $ to hungry pests! These also often have heavenly scent, and decent vase life. These can also be forced to add some Christmas beauty!

Creamy white double blooms of small daffodils — Narcissus Erlicheer photo by @floretflower

Narcissus Erlicheer

Stunning double blooming creamy white daffodil. I can just picture a blanket of these stretching out before me.

Double blooming daffodils with creamy yellow white petals and coral pink centers — Narcissus Replete photo by @johnnys_seeds

Narcissus Replete

Here again you can see my big preference for these peachy, coral, creamy yellow vibes. It's going to be an amazing spring!

Potatoes

The humble potato may not be something you would imagine I'd add to this growing flower garden with limited space, but- you can store potatoes for a considerable amount of time, and growing your own is much like growing your own tomatoes- You haven't really tased potatoes if you haven't grown your own. With a world of varieties to explore, this is definitely the year to get started. They also make beautiful textural and colorful foliage additions to any patio or container garden!

So many colors, flavor profiles, and textures to explore! Johnny's Seeds is a fantastic place to source your potato tubers.

9 potato varieties ranging in color from white to red to pink to purple — Potato Variety photo by @johnnys_seeds

It's tough to get tubers from Johnny's now, but here a few links to some of my favorites you can still get your hands on elsewhere!

Baked potato with brown exterior and deep purple flesh cut in half to see the cooked potato holds the purple color — Adirondack Blue Potato photo by Organic Heirloom Gardens @amazon

Adirondack Blue

I'm in love with the fact that even baked they stay a deep purple color. These are item 'E' in the Johnny's Seed chart and photos above.

Red Lasoda, Yukon Gold, and Baby Blue potatoes falling out of a burlap bag — Red Lasoda, Yukon Gold, and Baby Blue Potatoes photo by North Valley Seed @amazon

Red Lasoda, Yukon Gold, and Baby Blue Mix

With one order you can have three beautiful varieties to try!

Golden potato, stack of four on a grey towel — Irish Cobbler Potato photo by @amazon

Irish Cobbler

I just love the name. Never know until you try it!! Gorgeous color, and looks like a solid pantry staple.

Garlic

If I could have just one thing beside salt and pepper in my kitchen, it would be garlic. Much like potatoes, its easy to grow and comes in a huge array of colors and flavor profiles. There seems to be a garlic from most countries available...experimenting with Korean Garlic vs Vietnamese Garlic is going to be amazing. Of course there are also Soft Neck (no scapes) and Hard Neck (scapes) garlics. What are scapes you ask? The flowering stock that grows up through the neck, they are often harvested themselves and are prized in the culinary world. I am a huge scapes fan, so I'm all about the hard necked varieties, but the soft necked hold their own place in the kitchen and garden as well.

Early Italian Soft Neck Garlic

Mild flavored and great for making garlic braids. Stores 9-12 months.

Garlic bulbs with pinky purple streaks in the skim and a creamy looking flesh — Heirloom Hard Neck Purple Garlic Bulbs

Heirloom Hard Neck Purple Garlic

Stunning color and will multiply well.

Four shiny garlic bulbs with long necks, white skin with dark purple tones — Korean Red Hard Neck Garlic photo by @territorialseed

Korean Red Hard Neck Garlic

High sugar content offers a milder flavor. Multiplies quickly and has a purple stripe so its not just delicious but its beautiful too.

Espalier Fruit Trees

If you have been wanting to add a gorgeous vertical and edible show stopper to your garden. Here is a list of 9 fruit trees you can grow in the San Francisco Bay Area that could be espaliered. Pacific Nurseries has a great post about how to get started, how to choose your tree, and how to care for it. They also mention a few more fruit tree options, however I haven't found great success with the other varieties on the coast, both in Half Moon Bay and San Francisco gardens. If you live anywhere from San Mateo to central valley, you will surely have more options available.

Here are my favorite resources for learning more about this vertical growing technique.

Espalier Fruit Trees For Wall, Hedge, and Pergola: Installation, Shaping, Care

University of Wisconsin-Madison has a great article on espalier here to learn more.

Barlett Pear Tree Growing Espalier Fashion along a long tall established fence — Espalier Pear Tree photo by @pacificgrovesnursery

Meyer Lemon
Plum (Santa Rosa and Green Gage)
Fig (Black Jack, Black Mission, Brown Turkey)
Avocado (Haas)
Apple (Fugi and Gala)
Mulberry (Persian and Pakistan)
Apricot (Blenheim)
Pluot (Dapple Dandy and Flavor King)
Pear (Bartlett, Buerre D’Anjou, Seckel)
Bay Tree (Laurel)

I'm so excited to share my fall favorites I'll be adding to my small urban farm in Noe Valley, San Francisco which is all grown primarily in containers. I hope this gives you some great ideas to get your creative juices flowing into your fall garden. If you try any of these, or find any of the resources helpful, please please please!! Share it with me and subscribe!

As I am early in my blogging journey, I am very curious to know what questions you may have that I can answer. If you found this information useful and inspiring, please share this with your friends and anyone you think will benefit. The more of us growing flowers and food there are, the closer we are to food sovereignty.

With Love & Dirt,

Dawn, San Francisco Urban Farmer