Spending spree #11

coming from here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1241270/

Tell us all about your new purchases

I notice a lot of online purchases. Any particular reason for that? Unless it is a sale, or for an unusual plant, I don't see any savings purchasing online. (Or unless it is a small shrub/tree.)

I shop online for specialty plants, such as iris or daylilies......

Way more variety.

Had a large part of a Maple come down last fall so had the tree worked on extensively and it changed the property a great deal,plus new neighbors who are much nicer,so created a dwarf conifer garden on a slope bordering the property.Those young trees get VERY expnsive if you are selective so spent a bundle.

I agree with Victor WAY more variety, all local centers have mums, petunias, begonias and impatiens...if you want those in EVERY color you're set

interesting, thanks. been curious.

sorry to hear nurseries suck for some of you. I guess I have it better than I realized for local nurseries. I have several choices that provide a good variety. They don't always have the specific thing I'm looking for, of course :)

Just went to a new place and they had ferns that hadn't gotten moved to retail pots so I got them for $4/ea. W00t! Then went to another place and picked up 2 of the native lobelia, which can be surprisingly difficult to find (I'm always looking for natives but usually find a cultivar or spin off of the native).

Then got home, put them in the ground, and now I (more my back) am pooped!

The conifers I bought can't be found locally

If your garden center is a big box store, you probably won't find the unusual varieties that you'll find online. However, if your garden center is a landscaping nursery in an affluent area or a grower, there's a greater likelihood of finding something special. We have the most wonderful herb growers less than 20 miles away, and they carry unusual varieties in smaller quantities which the Walmarts and Home Depots cannot.

Oh don't plants at hd or lowes or walmart unless it's a really good deal, and garden centers don't necessarily need to be in an affluent area to have variety...I mean for example, Fairweather Gardens is in a far from afluent area but has very unusual and varied selection and also has some great ratings on Watchdog

y'all need to come to Burlington! Apparently I live in plant addict's, ahem, gardener's paradise.

Besides Gardener's, which sells plants locally (pretty nice variety, tho everyone local thinks they're expensive), I've got:
- Horsford's - http://www.horsfordnursery.com/ - grow their own stuff
- Rocky Dale - http://www.rockydalegardens.com/ - lots of conifers, plus beautiful location
- Full Circle Gardens - http://www.fullcirclegardens.com/ - only a couple yrs old, grows their own perennials
- Cady's Falls - http://www.cadysfallsnursery.com/ - not near me & haven't been yet but I drool at their pictures

Those are the big hitters. There are a few more here and there for different things.

I just hope the stuff I planted makes it. It is a bit early to be planting. Stupid me just had to get a fix! :D

I enjoy shopping at the local places, but agree that the variety is sometimes lacking, depending on where you go. But you never know, sometimes you find a gem, even at a non specialty place. That's part of the fun sometimes. Hosta I generally order online now.

So far i've just added a few Heucheras, a dwarf Spruce, and a few more hosta I really did not need. I'm going to keep it really simple with the annuals this year.

Got my Bluestone order today after it sat in the UPS warehouse all weekend, was pretty ticked about that when I saw on the tracking they weren't delivering it to me on Friday...glad the plants look ok

Bluestone really got their act together after a few boo-boos in the fall. My order came last week and was perfect.

Although I will admit to buying some things I could probably get locally, this year between co-ops and on line nurseries I got some really special plants. I zeroed in on hostas and clematis, in particular. I also found a Veronica, a Salvia and a species Geranium I'd never heard of before. Even with shipping, I think except for rare, newly patented or cultivars that are difficult to propagate, the cost is competitive with buying locally. For instance, my most expensive clematis was only 13.95, usually much more locally (except for the box stores, of course). But maybe the best part is that instead of having to choose from existing stock in a local nursery ( which of course I still do), I can read about specific plants that intrigue me, then go locate a source for those same plants on line. Nothing like instant gratification!

Pam

True, Pam....we have WFF near us, but it's usually the small places that carry the rare plants....used to be a small nursery in the next town to me that carried wonderful salvias....everything was all mixed up in the greenhouses, but it was fun seeing what you could find....but, he's out of business....Memorial Day weekend I will be in NH, and will visit our friend's nursery in Plainfield... Edgewater Farms...they also grow some very unusual plants.....

I buy from catalogs, not only for the wonderful variety, but also for price. I'm willing to buy a teeny shrub by mailorder to not have to buy a very large one at a huge price. The plants I got from the local nurseries were also more root bound than any of the mail-order plants.

Was checking Bluestones planting guide and it does say to plant pot deeper than soil line and not to let pot stick out for possibility of wicking

Great hearing everyone's reasons for buying online. Thanks for all the comments!

Now I'm curious about all those specialty plants!!

Pfg - What size clematis do you get for $14? Is it a plant that takes a year or two to get settled and bloom? I know that can be a difference between online and local - usually local are older, more established (not always, but for clems it seems to be). I want to start using clems and $14 sounds like a great price to start at!

Fairweather is a top shelf nursery,I always get better than I expect

It depends on the plant, but there are times I'm happy to pay a bit extra to have a mature plant, earlier, by buying a more established one to begin with. My garden is primarily hosta and can take a long time for certain ones to reach maturity and I guess I am impatient. Plus, I live pretty frugally in other ways so my garden is how I treat myself.

I got some of my clems from a co-op, all quite a decent size... But then I went on the Clematis forum on DG just to brush up on proper cultivation--and the bug bit me hard! OMG, there is sooooo much Info over there, and such incredible pictures!! I suddenly had all these brilliantly creative ideas about how to use them running around in my head. So I ended up ordering a few more from Brushwood, http://www.brushwoodnursery.com, the go-to vendor everyone over there swears by. They say they get nice strong healthy plants with garden-ready root systems. I went on the site to look around, and to check out some varieties mentioned on the forum that I wasnt familiar with. Right at the beginning there was Nelly Moser, an old favorite from a different time and place, which of course I could certainly find locally- but she's on sale for 9.95. And I'll have her next week. Impossible to resist! Then she needed company...

Pam

This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 1:07 PM

Yes, WFF is near us, Marilyn, but last fall their selection wasn't very interesting, and quite expensive. I would guess there are more choices during the season, but at those prices I'll have to be very sure what I'm getting is special enough to warrant the price. I do like the place in Litchfield. They have all the normal stuff and some extras, and the prices are fair, I think.
Jen, Good tip about planting Bluestone's new pots. I'd overlooked that detail. That is, if anything survived the storm. We left on Thursday, planning to go back Sunday, then didn't because of the weather. So all my babies were outside in dappled shade on self-watering trays. We won't be there again until Friday. If there wasn't too much wind they should be fine, but if they tumbled and lay on their sides all week, who knows...

Pam

Have not been on the Clem forum in ages, but surprised to see you say Brushwood is the fave there now. Was Silver Star for a long time. I got most of mine from SS. Huge roots. Got a few from Brushwood and they were nice.

thanks for that link, Pam. I have to try not to spend too much money this year on plants, and that link isn't helping my itch :D but nice selection!

Victor, they did mention Silver Star, now that you mention it. But Brushwood came up more often by far, and no wonder. I just looked up Silver Star and they are significantly more expensive, $17 and up. But it also looks like the quality is fantastic, so I guess it all depends if they have something no one else does at the time... I'm sure I'll end up using them too, eventually.

Pam

I found Silver Star's website difficult to browse. No search to limit by zone, can't search on the groups (tried and it failed), etc.

Yes, they are $$, and have gone up again. However, I can attest to the incredible size. No one else comes close.

Eve, you can always email Debbie there. One of the nicest and most helpful garden people I have known. She is a doll.

Pam, Litchfield Hills Nursery is nice...forgot about it...I ordered 3 clems from Brushwood last year....they are all budded......

good to know, thanks Victor

I don't see one of my clems from brushwood.. last years order.. the others look good though.. don't remember the name right now though

oh it was Dancing Queen

Victor, It's good to know about Silver Star. Thanks for bringing it up.

Pam

i will second victor's indorsment of silver star - the plants have huge root systems - the only place i buy my clems and debbie is very helpful

Agreed, bought some from her (Debbie) on the recommendation of Bill & Victor and was extremely pleased with the size/quality!!

Eve, I'm planning a trip to northern Vermont specifically to go to Cadys Falls, which has such a tempting website. I looked up some of your other links, too, and loved the potential of Rocky Dale gardens (I'm into conifers) but since it is the opposite direction from Cadys, I guess it is not simple to do both. I'll post about Cadys after I get there (in May sometime).

Yeah, Bristol is out of your way, esp coming from Maine. Too bad; maybe another time.

I hope the drive is beautiful, and safe! Enjoy, and I look forward to hearing your "report".

This is the kitchen window in the city. Top shelf is all co-op hosta liners, clematis are bottom right. All the rest are seedlings, mostly annuals. Tomorrow the hosta and Clem's will go to CT. Can't wait to see what's been going on this week with all the low temps. Doesn't seem fair that it was so gorgeous in March. Someone reversed the weather for these two months, don't you think?!

Pam