Spring Shopping

Kim and I managed a trip to our favorite nursery this week, Edwards Greenhouse. I always look forward to shopping for plants at Edwards. It's an annual (at least) event for us. But this year I felt a bit cheated. It's been annoying to me lately that Kim and I have no days off together anymore. That kind of schedule makes it tricky to get anything done together. We're usually in the mode of, "What did you do today?", after one of us gets home from work. Then we share what we did in the garden, or in the house, or about one of Kim's projects.

This year our shopping trip took place on one of my work days. Since Kim works 12 hour days I can't really expect him to shop on his work day. He's either sleeping or working during his work week. So we headed out to Edwards in the morning as I had to be at work at 1:30 in the afternoon. I was worried we wouldn't have enough time, that I wouldn't get enough of my Edwards 'fix'. Kim reminded me that we didn't have that much money to spend so how long could it take? He was right. We only spent about an hour and it was OK.

Just walking in and seeing all the plants makes me feel optimistic about gardening.



Edwards has many greenhouses, with perennials, annuals, veggies, etc. grouped together.





They had quite a bit of damage done earlier this month by a storm that passed through Boise. There were workers still doing repairs.



























This little cottage has been on the property for ages.






















Can't you just imagine this bathtub in your garden with you in it? I can.
(OK, so it doesn't look comfy enough, but it is pretty enough and I like the oddity.)





There were, of course, so many, many flowers to view.





Kim moseyed around some tropicals. Or what I assumed were tropicals. More likely they're not.




















I wish my nasturtiums would ever look like this.



















Our shopping consisted of a few new plants and some fertilizer.



So, I have some things to plant and that's nice.
I'd still like to have some days off together though.

Window Shopping

I received the Gardener's Supply Company catalog in the mail and as with all things that concern gardening I gave it a scan:





Like most gardeners I have bought a version of these shoes and I love them.










This seems like a practical idea. I don't really care that I might look like a dork in it. No one sees me garden but my husband, and he never dresses up for it.




I also like the look of these. I think they would look great by our front door. Right now I have two planters there with plastic flowers. (OK, I'm embarrassed now). I might try converting the ones I have and planting live flowers this year; we'll see how that goes.















Shouldn't they say "A Classy Way to KILL Pesky Wasps" not "CATCH" them?

And yes, both my husband and I have been bitten by wasps, and yes it hurts like h###, and yes, some people are allergic, but....per HGTV;

"Wasps and yellowjackets are thought of as nuisances, especially by those who are allergic to their toxins, but these insects are beneficial to a garden and prey on a number of plant-damaging bugs. For example, some wasps kill caterpillars that eat tomato plants; others feed almost exclusively on flies. Believe it or not, the diet of one type of wasp consists mostly of cockroaches. On the other hand, wasp traps may actually attract more wasps to your property.

Instead, learn to coexist with wasps and to avoid getting stung:

* When working in the yard, avoid wearing perfumes and other scents, including hairspray and deodorant.

* Avoid wearing brightly colored and patterned clothes, and never go barefoot in the yard.

* Don't drink soft drinks from open containers; instead use a lid and a straw.

* Don't leave meats or sugary foods sitting around on the picnic table.

* Don't handle wet clothes or towels before first checking to see whether a wasp is drinking the moisture.

* Keep the lids on trashcans firmly closed.

* Most important, don't panic or swat at a wasp if one is near. Sudden movements are threatening to a wasp and will increase the likelihood that it will sting. If a wasp is killed, it can release a chemical messenger that signals other wasps in the area to attack. So when wasps are present, stay calm: rarely will they sting a person at rest.

If you do get stung, wash the area with soap and water, and apply ice or meat tenderizer, which contains enzymes that destroy the proteins in wasp venom. If you're hypersensitive to stings or experience an allergic reaction, get to a doctor immediately. As an antidote, keep a supply of antihistamines on hand: an allergic reaction could be fatal." (bold highlights are mine)






This might be a better alternative.


On the other hand, I don't mind killing slugs at all. And I couldn't find much about them to change my mind;

"Outside the garden, slugs and snails actually do beneficial things. They recycle organic matter helping to build soils and they are important prey for other wildlife. Inside the garden and landscape, however, slugs and snails can do considerable damage and often must be controlled."
source: Living With Bugs




An attractive slug killer.









And I like the look of this. Being a flower person I would probably fill it with some mix of moss and trailing flowers though. Are they really "all the rage in Europe"?


















And last one; are these actually beneficial? This is the most attractive rain barrel I've seen, but it would only hold enough water to get us through a couple of days. Our rain comes in the spring and fall. That's it. We receive almost no, none, nada rain during our long hot summers which is when we desperately need it. So I would need to literally line my house with these things. Not really practical. And if we lived, say in Western Oregon or somewhere where they receive plenty of rainfall, then why the need? I'm sure someone out there has the answer. Please enlighten me.

Watering barrels explained:

"Dear Victoria,
My name is Frank Oliver and I work in the product development area of Gardener's Supply Co.. Your Blog review about water barrel use was sent to me for comment. I very much appreciate your personal assessments of our product line, most of which seemed pretty complimentary,so "thank you" for the endorsements. As to rain barrel use, admittedly if it doesn't rain at all during the height of your gardening season, this makes justifying rain collection difficult. But if you get very slight showers or even brief thunderstorms, consider the "math" of rain collection........say you have a small roof, only 10 ft. of gutter line and 15ft up to the roof peak, which gives you only 150 sq. ft. of roof area to "catch" rain. And let's say you get a very low rain event the deposits only one tenth of an inch of rain, or 0.10", not much of a rain event. Your roof area (multiplied by the depth of rain) could potentially "harvest" 15 cubic feet of water, which doesn't sound like much until you realize a gallon of water is only 0.133681 cubic feet (source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_volume_of_one_gallon_of_water ) . This minor rain event has deposited 112 gallons of rain water onto that little roof! Even assuming some evaporation loss, the water barrel is now full! I find it hard to believe that you get absolutely no rain at all during your gardening season. My point is, you need a lot less rain than you'd think to fill a rain barrel.
Rain barrel water has no additives (like chlorine, which could be present in town water supplies), so the plants like it. Since rain barrels are naturally situated near houses, they can supplement water requirements for border plantings and porch, patio, & deck containers. And admittedly, not many people are able to harvest their total in-ground garden watering needs using rain barrels.
Say, did you know that using self-watering containers to grow flowers/vegetables can reduce plant water requirements up to 70% during the hot summer months!!!!!! A recent study conducted by University of Arizona and their cooperative extension showed that commercial nurseries could save up to 70% water usage by using capillary mat watering versus traditional overhead irrigation systems. Another avenue to consider if water is a precious resource during the hottest months of the year.
Hope this provides a useful counterpoint to the question, "Why have a rain barrel where it doesn't rain much"?

Sincerely,

Frank Oliver
Merchandising
Product Design & Development

Gardener's Supply Co.
128 Intervale Rd
Burlington VT 05401 USA
(802) 660-3500 Ext. 5650"






Well, that was fun. Shopping without spending a dime!

Ahhhhhhh...........shopping!

We went to our favorite nursery...



Right away I embarrassed Kim by taking photos...he's a bit too easily embarrassed, don't you think? As you can see, it is sooooo easy to spend money here...





Kim's trying to decide which peony we need...



He thinks our cart is full...



If you have some cement pillars sitting around you don't know what to do with...



His advice to us...buy catnip. Kim's advice to him, run or she'll take your picture!



I didn't buy any of these gloxinias but I thought they were beautiful...




Very satisfying day. We came home and Kim planted the tree and shrub above the stream. I planted the perennials I bought, the annuals will have to wait until the threat of frost has passed. We're going to dinner tonight; should I really annoy Kim and take the camera???