Our 30 Minutes At The Garden Nursery
We made pretty good use of our 30 minutes at Southwoods yesterday afternoon. I think we went a little over. I practically had to pull Kendra out of there. She wanted to look at everything.
This garden nursery has a beautiful indoor shop too, where they sell everything from patio furniture to incense.
There are gorgeous water fountains that I could never afford and Kendra was especially taken with the arched windows they were selling. Half price for those was still around $350.
She’s got a lot to do in her backyard. She’s rebuilding her deck after she gets a shipment of wood and an electric saw today from Lowes.
So here’s what I got. I bought a few perennials, as I do every year. I got Veronica in beautiful spires of purple. I bought allium, which I don’t think I’ve ever bought before.
For herbs: Pineapple sage, lemon verbena, lovage, lavender and patchouli.
I bought both purple and green sweet potato vines. You get a lot of bang for your buck with sweet potato vines.
For flowers I bought several purple varieties of petunias, both purple and white sweet alyssum, for their wonderful fragrance. Yellow goldilocks rocks, which I’ve never bought before and don’t know a thing about. And purple verbena.
And yellow marigolds, which I typically don’t get. But they’re good to plant around vegetables and I needed a bit more yellow. I think that’s it unless I’ve managed to forget something.
All this came to around $180 all told after I bought three 15 pound bags of their specially made potting soil.
I tend to gravitate toward purple, yellow and a bit of white for my patio garden.
I absolutely love purple in the garden. It is such a soothing color against the green of plant leaves.
Charlie is at acupuncture. I decided to drive on down to Reasors grocery store to get a few things after I dropped him off. I managed to find toilet paper. Seems I’m always buying yogurt.
And I threw in a few cans of beans. Beans can be the main ingredient to any meal.
I think the chef will have food for tonight and I will either drive to Kendra’s house or she will drive to mine for my share. I ate what he made for me on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and ended up freezing much of it.
I still have a meal or two of frozen meatloaf slices, some of the rice he prepared, broccoli, navy beans and 1 chicken breast. And I believe another serving of shepherd’s pie.
When I go to the grocery I hardly buy anything for meals anymore. I snack on peanut butter and crackers or cheese and crackers for lunch typically.
I probably won’t plant my haul until Saturday, as it may get down to near freezing on Friday night. I thought we were done with the 30s and then it springs back into the forecast.
I’m looking forward to looking out my patio door and seeing colorful flowers. Walking outside in my little bit of heaven with Charlie and enjoying what I have growing and blooming.
Of late Ivy is entranced with the front door. There is a letter slot in the wooden door, but I have a storm door so it is not used.
I usually push it open for my house plants to get light. Then Ivy comes along and stretches herself out on the door to that mail slot and shuts it again.
I don’t know what she thinks she sees. Maybe she’s discovered the peep hole in the door that emits light. You never know with Ivy.
I’ll warn you with allium…it spreads like wildfire and overtakes everything! It even splits off and starts appearing in places you wouldn’t want it. I highly suggest planting it in pots.
I’ve got a lot of cooking to do with Brian working three 12-hour shifts in a row this weekend. He has to take all of his meals to work. This isn’t because of the virus; it’s the way it’s always been. He’s not allowed to leave the building. Last night I made a sheet pan dinner of kielbasa, onions, and tri-colored bell peppers; tonight I’m making a chicken – black bean enchilada casserole.
I’m planting it in a pot. Thanks for telling me.
Sounds like you got a beautiful selection. I also gravitate to purple and yellow flowers. So pretty together ! I love Lavender, but I have such crummy luck growing it ! Can’t wait to see yours !!
Purple is just so pretty in the garden. And yellow has always been a fav of mine since childhood.
Oh how lovely, I’m envious – we had snow again today, that’s two days in a row in mid April – uggghh I’m over it!! Our temps are crazy cold this week, so I brought all my seedlings back in and they are in my dining room….so much for hardening them off!! Oh well, it is what it is, and I can’t change it. I’ll live vicariously through you until I can get my own garden going!
But once you get going, you’ll speed past me because of all the room you have and that lovely deck!
Plants sound nice…glad you and your daughter had fun there together!! And still nice to hear you are enjoying the chef’s food…and how nice you do not need spend much time in the store too!!
Yes, I’ve been very fortunate.
Wow. Lots of plants Brenda! You must be very happy with everything! What does patchouli seeds look like? Or wherever it is yiu bought? Years ago, I always used Patchouli oil or cologne essense. Unsure who made it. Would love to use again. Scent us mesmerizing.
Can’t wait to see your garden once again! Best of,,,,,,
I didn’t get the seeds, and I’ve not bought it before I don’t think, so I don’t know what they look like. I’ll take a photo of the plant and show it.
Very pretty flowers. The purples and lavender colors are mesmerizing. It looks like Ivy is able to get up tall enough to see through clear glass, so she must be looking at something out there – maybe things humans don’t notice. We’ve had several days of below freezing temperatures at night and my bird bath froze over and has stayed that way now for 4 or so days. I’m worried about the condition of the plants that have already popped through the earth, and now I’m sort of glad I didn’t get to clean out all of the leaf layers from all of the garden beds, at least they offer some protection to the plants. The iris looks okay so far, but no sign of any sprouts coming up on the three variegated hostas I planted underneath my large picture window out front last year. The large hostas that grow in the back are popping out, but they get more sustained exposure to sun this time of year, I am hoping that is the difference and that the rather costly hostas I planted last year didn’t die over the winter! No sign that the lavender plant is alive, and I read that I’m not supposed to clip it down, so there it stands, gray and withered looking. Geez. It was supposed to be hardy for Zone 5. Two previous lavenders I planted 2 years ago didn’t make it through the winter, either. Maybe I just have to give up on them.
Lavenders need excellent drainage. I used to plant mine in my garden beds and they always died. Then I saw a friend in zone 5 who had huge lavenders growing in rocks and sand, soil that I would never expect to support plant life. I found a patch of crummy, sandy soil and planted lavender ‘Phenomenal’ and it has survived 2 years.
I always manage to kill lavender too. But I love it. Maybe it would grow in my big piece of driftwood!
I may have to give up on lavender too. Doesn’t your birdbath freeze and crack? That’s what happened to both mine and Kendra’s. I learned a few years ago and she’s just learning and birdbaths aren’t cheap!
I am glad you got such a nice and interesting selection of plants. I just put patchouli in my diffuser and love the smell. I don’t ever remember seeing it to buy as a herb. You must post a picture of the Goldilocks rocks, that is a new one for me also. Glad you have someone to cook you some good food,I am getting tired of the same old thing. Love the picture of Ivy. Plants and pets, sounds like a good afternoon!
Oh yes I have lots of entertainment.
That pic of Ivy is so cute !!! She is such a character. Looking forward to seeing your
garden grow.
I’m looking forward to seeing my garden grow! It gives me such joy.
Nice selection of flowers and plants! I’m looking forward to my Mother’s Day flowers that my daughter buys for me !
That’s so nice of her, and also something to really look forward to. That doesn’t change though lots of things have changed this year.
Looks like you got some beautiful flowers. I know you will be excited to get them planted this weekend. I called downstairs and the manager said it will be next week before they get the garden spaces handed out. In the meantime I have ordered some wild flower and zinnia seed from Etsy. I plan to plant half my space with the seeds and the other half with a few veggies. xo Laura
I wish you lived around here and I’d let you garden on my patio.