Temple City California 1940s Tormeys Gardens Camellias Gardenias Ad Blotter 9 x 4

This 1940s advertising blotter promotes Tormey’s Gardens of Temple City, California, a Southern California nursery specializing in fine camellias and gardenias during the region’s mid-century residential growth.

As suburban development expanded across Los Angeles County, local nurseries played a central role in shaping domestic landscapes with ornamental shrubs and flowering plants suited to the mild climate. Printed blotters like this functioned as everyday desk accessories distributed to customers, reinforcing business names, addresses, and phone numbers while reflecting the aspirational garden culture of postwar California.

The left panel features a grayscale image of a child holding a bouquet of blossoms, visually reinforcing the nursery’s focus on camellias and gardenias. The right panel presents a clean, modern typographic layout with the business name Tormey’s Gardens, street address on Baldwin Avenue, Temple City, California, and a period telephone exchange. The reverse remains a solid pink blotting surface and is unused, with overall dimensions of approximately 9 x 4 inches.

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