When will I stop buying plants....this year?

Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:11 pm

The problem is all Amanda's fault. She is attending the local community college and since she still doesn't drive I have to take her and pick her up. No biggie except that between our house and the college is a really nice garden center. Or maybe it is my car's fault....it seems that all I have to do after dropping her off is to think of a plant or comment (to no one but myself) on a plant I see along the street and the car turns into the parking lot of the garden center. Or it could be the fault of the garden center... if they opened up an hour later each morning I would already be home at that time, if they didn't have a 50% off sale on this summers plants going on.
But then it could just be that I am weak and even after whining this summer about the death of my garden in the drought, I find that I can not resist more plants.

This morning, as a case in point, I found myself sitting in front of said garden center looking at the big yellow 50% OFF signs. After wandering thru the center and passing right by table after table of Pansy...I really do not like Pansies. I found the Herbs....4 small pots of Rue and 2 pots of Fennel jumped onto the cart that I was pushing. I really don't know how I came to be pushing that cart, I was just going to enjoy a few minutes wandering and looking at the plants, but there it was, with 6 small pots of herbs sitting on it and my hands on the handle. Wandering some more I suddenly found the cart now also held an end of season Turk's Cap, two Fall Aster's in lavender and deep purple, a Carolina Jessimine and a miniature Caladium for that little cart I pictured with the birdhouse on a stick in another blog entry. Okay, this is enough I thought and headed for the check out counter....passing some Toadstool statuary on the way. One of the salesmen asked if I could read the price....not referring to my age but the fact that it had been sitting out in the rain and sun for several weeks. I couldn't, he could (okay maybe it was my old eyes) but the price was 10 times what I was willing to pay. He wandered up to the front of the inside store area and found a smaller one for $30....no thank you, I said, if it was under $20 I would.....he said you can have it for $15.....I guess I reminded him of his grandmother which sometimes is a good thing and sometimes just ruins the way I imagine myself looking. So the toadstool piece joined the plants on the cart.
At the checkout counter there was a display of mini plants....ornamental peppers and Kalanchoe. I have a really cool green cone shaped planter on a cool stand and this bright red Kalanchoe was just perfect for it.

So the newest plants are out back waiting to be planted. But since by buying so many plants over the last two months I have probably assured that we will indeed have a cold winter, I needed pots to put them in so they can be brought into the back room on those freezing nights. Not liking the plain, ordinary clay pots very much I headed off to the thrift stores in search of something completely different. I already had two old stockpots for two of the Rue, these will hold the others.

So tonight Randy and his pickup truck will take me to the Home Depot Landscaping center for potting soil. I need about 6 large bags, for these plants and some large Halloween cauldrons I got for transplanting the Lantana this fall. I have three that need to be moved out front but they will spend the winter in the large pots until the front yard is ready for them.
Tomorrow I will be potting the newest plants and moving my precious purple Iris.

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glendann wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:40 pm:

Oh my shame on that garden center for twisting your arm and making you buy all those plants and things.Such a bad thing.Then all the pots for sure had to be bought so they can find a nice spot to live through the winter.

pondlady wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:06 pm:

Isn't it awful how we are forced by so many outside forces to empty our wallets on plants. Seems we all share the same idiosyncracy, doesn't it? I will be expecting to see pics, Toni.

glendann wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:32 pm:

Yes,toni I want pictures also.

eileen wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:08 pm:

Ahhhhh Toni what are we to do with you? You are incurable you do realise that don't you? All those excuses and all that transfer of blame - typical signs of the true addict!!
How do I know?' Well ......... 'cause I'm one too!!!! LOL

Polly wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:19 pm:

Living in Michigan, I can only dream of buying plants this time of year. So enjoy it while you can.

Gardenstew wrote on Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:53 pm:

Well written Toni. I think the cart was possessed, you had no control.

cajunbelle wrote on Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:37 am:

Don't blame yourself Toni, there was really no choice in the matter. Until they develop a 12 step program for people like us, we will just keep buying plants and plant related things.