Spending spree pt #6

Will you make jam?

No, blueberry pies, blueberry muffins, BB bread, BB Dumplings, :)

Yum!

never had bb dumplings

OMG...to die for!

We are taking the truck off Island on the early boat tomorrow.....plenty of room for some plants. Coming back on the late boat on Monday. We did a walk through the garden and took notes on what is lacking and where. Plenty.

Thom, Sorry about the slugs and crappy plants from Bluestone. I never had a problem with them, but didn't do an order this year with them and I did hate all the peanuts too.

The top 30 thing often makes no real sense. Having more buyers who write good things doesn't mean that the nursery is superior to a small operation that actually provides better plants and service, but has a small customer base and thus only a few reviewers. It would be like saying a box store garden dept is better than a fine independent nursery, which it never is, though the box store has a bigger customer base who are willing to write how wonderful the cheap roses are even if mislabeled most of the time and sold to you by someone who doesn't know a rose from a peony.

I try to read between the lines and am also very interested if the reviewer is someone like Thom or Victor who has consistently written reviews or is a one time reviewer who has no history as being involved with DG forums and maybe just reviewing as a friend or worse. I caught two nurseries padding the numbers and told admin about it. Dave himself responded that I was correct about my suspicions or thesudden popularity of a vendor. Upon checking he found that all the reviews were being sent from one computer. The fictitious reviewers had all registered that day from address all over the country and then sent in glowing reviews. I smelled a rat, reported it and they got boomed. So I am leary of many one time wonders. Patti

Good catch, Patti. I am always suspicious about that on sites. It's tough to run a small business and this extra element makes it even more so.

Well, it didn't seem normal when someone you never heard of before suddenly has 15 or 20 amazing reviews in one day from people all over the country who all just happened to join DG on that very day. Easy catch, no CIS or police dogs needed. The other was similar, but I think they had a special deal for people who agreed to join DG and write a review as the reviews came from different computers but all in the same area as the vendor and over a very few days. They must have gotten some sort of kickback for submitting a glowing review. Also not helpful nor above board in my opinion. Patti

20% off this weekend at Garden Crossings. (No need to thank nor curse me. ^_^)

Garden Crossings is to me like Bluestone is to you, Victor. Their plants are tiny and I lost After Midnight and another coneflower over the winter when I bought them.

Really?? Never received a small plant from them. Have lost cones from them - and from others. The new varities just plain suck in general. Have not bought echies in years because of it.

Good to know about the newer varieties of echies. My After Midnight is not doing so well even after 3 years. I'm glad it's not just me!

my glasshouse works order... eh just ok .. came today... and my clem order from brushwood.. dang it's hot out there still... I unpacked everything and watered... and ran back in.. sweating my #&! off

Really humid.

def a july oven feel

Yes - feel basted.

I got a bluestone order and a Graceful Gardens order this week. I dug a new bed and I am a rock lobster (a lovely shade of pink)

oh no... got to remember to slather before going out

As to GC, I took a look at their Memorial Day "sale" and the plants are so overpriced, it's like they upped the price by 20% and then offered a 20% discount. I bought a large "Georgia Peach" heuchera at Bedford Fields GC for $10.95 and didn't have to pay any shipping. GC is charging either $16.95 or $17.95 for the same plant before "discount" and shipping, and I'm sure it wouldn't be half the size. I think we all have good and bad experiences at the various mail order places. Sometimes we luck out, and sometimes we get stuck. I guess it's just a mirror of life in general. :)

I agree with you, Victor, about the new cones. They don't seem to do nearly as well as the Magnus ,etc.. Disappointing! I still love them though.

GC has gotten really expensive the past few years. It's one of the main reasons I have not ordered from them in a few years before getting the email special. The other reason is that I just don't buy many perennials anymore.

Just an FYI Georgia Peach is fabulous.

We went to Bay State Perennials in Whately Ma today and got some great goodies including another Japanese Maple called Acer palmatum’Ruslyn in the Pink’ as well as some primula (capitata ssp. mooreana and P.luteola) a fern called Adiantum venustum, a nice shrub called Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Red Velvet’, an odd find called Wikstroemia trichotoma, Paeonia obovata var. Willmottiae, a rose called Rainbow, Corydalis lutea and no doubt a few more that I have forgotten about already as they are all outside in the shed in case we had hail tonight. I have to enter them in my journal tomorrow. We also stopped at Nourse Farms for raspberry canes and then did some damage at Five Acre Farm in Northfield Ma. Veggies and annuals mostly. Tomorrow we will go to a couple of other local places. Gotta fill that truck up. Heading home on Monday, dead broke, I assume.

Victor, I kill echi's too. Everyone of them. Patti

http://www.baystateperennial.com/index.html
http://noursefarms.com/
http://www.fafgrowers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.main/index.htm

sounds like a fun day!!

Bought some dahlias, gerbera daisies and petunias today for my priority containers

Patti - I love those places you mentioned. We're heading to FAF this morning for veggies and unusual coleus. Have fun with all your new babies!! Next time let me know when you're doing FAF and I'll meet you there for mutual enabling. Lol

Saw Bill's JM collection this morning and promptly went shopping afterwards to see what I could find! Found a large Seiryu For a good price.

Sounds like everyone here has gotten so many nice new things since the last time I checked in. I've slowed down on buying. I have way too much to plant now. I need to get all my stuff planted before buying more. I'm planting new DL's in pots until I can get either a new bed prepared or dig up ones I'm phasing out to make room.

Carrie, glad to see you here. Sorry I missed wishing you a happy birthday, either here or on facebook. I had gotten the email reminder, but forgot anyways. Been so busy trying to fulfill daylily orders, pot up stuff to sell, clean up beds and getting the new puppy. This puppy will keep me busy now, too. Guess I won't be checking in here as much now.

Thom, sorry to hear about your bad experience with Bluestone. I got an order from them recently, and everything was fine. This was my first time ordering from them.

Wow, Patti, can't believe companies would go to that length just to boost their ratings. Crummy!

Victor, I got that email from GC about the 20% off. Too bad I can't take advantage now. Gotta control myself. Besides, I spent a lot on the new puppy.

Karen

Went to Walker's Farm yesterday. They have a glorious collection on their own raised veggie plants plus great annuals and and my favorite finds always are their little 6 packs of perennial starts. I love those because they are super cheap though no instant gratification however by next year they will all be blooming away. I have been adding them to our garden for a few years now with great succuess and they sell those 6pks of the perennials at 3.99. They must have 75 different heirloom tomato plants and a ton of interesting pepper plants too. We went to the Brattleboro Farmers Market and got some Gillfeather turnip starts and a couple of unusual kale types (for us). Today we are going to Dutton's Farm, our local Newfane Nursery and then on a road trip up to Rocky Dale which is suppose to be nirvana. I have bought primula plants from them in the past at Tower Hill Primula Show, but never been to their amazing show garden and nursey. And I'll bet we find more nurseries on the way, but the truck is really full already. I bought two more roses yesterday too, but mostly to fill in holes the dear doggies have dug. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

SOJ, lucky you. Bill are you home tomorrow for a drive by? Heading your way mid day.

DonnieBrook, I picked up some mixed 6 packs of coleus at Walker's yesterday. Not rare, but very nice mix for 2.99. I loved asking for something there (Cobaea scandens 'Royal Plum') and having the lady say, oh I potted up seedlings that I started months ago to grow out and have some more choice one in the back greenhouse. Off she went and came back with two big 6" pot with bamboo hoops filled with a mass of it for 7.99. I also asked for Evolvulus glomeratus which a friend in Nantucket was told was not available due to a crop failure from the "growers" and of course they had it as they had grown it themselves. They do sell some other peoples stuff, but so much is grown by them. Nice to see, plus she will love paying 4.00 for 4"pots of it rather than 7.00 bucks as it is in Nantucket. Off to the races. Patti

Awesome, Patti!! Where is Walkers located??

All winter long I dreamed of plants, and from Bluestone, Lazy S, Songsparrow, Forest Farm, Wilkersons and more, I purchased some great plants. But it will be a while to finish getting them all into the ground. Here are some-- potted for now on my deck.

They all look wonderful, Rosemary! Patti, zipped through Brat today on my way home from West Leb....could've met at the nursery :( Love the small places with the rare plants...hard to find around here....

Those all look great, Rosemary! Post some pics of your gardens when you get them in, please!
Marilyn- sounds like you had a fun day! :)

Nope.....drove 4 hours, stopped to do grocery shopping, unpacked, did laundry, & planted....ready for bed!

Ugh! No fun... Time to curl up with a good book!

Very nice, Rosemary!

Three more (small) JM's today: corallinum, koto no Ito and orange dream. I'm done for the year. Maybe.

SOJ, nice list and they will certainly have the very nicest of places to grow old in, and very lucky to have been picked up by you.

Walker's Farm is on RT 5/10 between Brattleboro and Putney. Looks like a little road side stand, but has a great deal out behind it, so do stop sometime. Cool place, nice folks.

We went all the way up to Bristol Vt to Rocky Dale Gardens today which was a botanical dreamland. Amazing collection of plants, many I know nothing about, like conifers, but fun to see. Chatted with the owner for quite awhile and wandered through his gardens aside from looking at every plant, tree and shrub and of course bought a cart full. Nothing extravagant, though sorely tempted. http://rockydalegardens.com/ Patti

I look forward to visiting some of those small nurseries, and perhaps some of your green thumbs will rub off if we rub sholders sometime, LOL. My plants mostly came from mail order. I think the major nurseries around here are expensive with their very large plants. My son says he'll help me plant the trees. That means prying out the old roots, so Yayy for a good DS!

aaaaawwwwww

My son is in Rhode Island this weekend.....he did help with a project last week, so I can't complain. Patti, your trips around the VT nurseries sounded wonderful......I've gone through Route 5 a few times out of Putney when my DH liked to stop at Harlow's Orchards.....distant cousins of his......