On Monday my friend and I had the rescheduled plant shopping trip. I was after pansies. I’d started looking for them a couple weeks back, but with one thing and another, it never happened. The selection wasn’t great, but I did get some nice “faces” on some.
My helper friend had thought he’d have a mock orange whip for me, but it turns out he didn’t. So I went looking for a mock orange. The first place we went to (I’d not been there in decades) had turned into a high end place and they were asking $27 for a plant like the one on the left.
But they did have a very nice mock orange and the price was more reasonable. So I got that and we headed out to another nursery store.
This one had been locally owned for a long time and was sold at the start of the pandemic to a chain store. I’d not been in it since that happened. But it wasn’t much changed and I did find a lot of what I was looking for.
This dianthus, heavily scented, was the first thing I found. My last dianthus with scent had died in 2019.
Next I browsed the organic veg and herb section. I got 6 packs of celery, lacinato kale, and parsley, 4 rosemarys, a biennial hollyhock, and a perennial hollyhock, both single flowering.
Then I went to look at seeds. They were pretty picked over, but I did find these. I really needed some paste tomato seeds, but didn’t see any tomatoes at all.
Then we went for a lunch of salad and parsnip bisque at a restaurant I wanted to try. We had the outside area to ourselves! And the soup was wonderful!
Back home as I was unloading the car, I discovered this tulip had come up overnight. It had not been there in the New South garden when I spread compost Sunday morning.
On Tuesday, a nice if cloudy day, I will be washing dozens of screens. My window washing helper is coming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to get as many of these windows done as we can.
On Wednesday, before it rains, I will be moving loose mulch hay from the barn down the road, for the gardens. I have to make sure there is a place to put it in the garden on Tuesday. So I have a very busy couple of days coming up.
Mock Orange are native here. The ones in my yard blow up with flowers and the Swallowtails LOVE them. One of the nicest looking of the native plants we have.
I have heard rumors of a vegetable seed shortage this year but it has sort of been mixed messages. Some people I have talked to have said they are having no trouble getting what they want. I picked up my garden seeds early this year just to be safe.
I have had no trouble getting seeds but I order from Territoial Seed in Oregon and try to order WAY ahead of time. Given what happened last year I am making sure to keep well stocked in case seeds become a "non-essential item" again....
This is so cool, I selected something native to you! I hope mine does as well as yours. :))