Sunday, April 25, 2010

New Plants For The Garden

 

What does a gardener get for their birthday.
Of course they get new plants.
I decided to hit the nurseries this weekend to see
what they had in the way of plants and to treat myself
to some new plants. Bad decision maybe because I am
not safe around flowers. But what the hey.

008

So off I went to Rhoads Nursery which is nearby.
Things had changed since I was there last summer.
There were fewer perennials and more trees and shrubs
gearing them more toward the landscaping area.

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They usually had tents filled with perennials and roses
at this time of the year but that day they only had a few
tables of them. Maybe they will have more later on near
Mothers Day.

 

001 005
Columbines, salvia’s, carnations, and spurge.

004 007
Heuchera, cintronella, and campanula.

I knew that last spring they had had Pasque Flowers in the
purple variety and I regretted afterwards at having not gotten
one then so that is one of the plants I was searching for this trip.

 

Pasque_RedClock

Not only did they have the purple flowering one but they
had a  “Red Clock’  variety so I got one of each .


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Pulsatilla Red Clock

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This was the other plant that I regretted not getting last
spring that they had, the Ornamental Strawberries, Fragaria
Pink Lipstick. It has the loveliest rose colored blooms as it
spreads. So I had the two items that I really wanted to add
to the flower gardens.
Then something else caught my eye.

 

Viola_Labradorica015

Viola Labradorica  “Labrador Violet”

A Violet? With all of the wild ones in the yard why
would I buy a violet. But just look at the dark leaves
with burgundy highlights. It was the leaves that got me.
I am a sucker for dark foliage. So it went into the cart to
follow me home. Since it seeds readily some dead heading
will be done to it if it starts to get out of hand.

 

Veronica_WaterperryBlue 

Isn’t this Veronica “Waterperry Blue” pretty?
I did not bring it home with me but it was a terrible
temptation with its tiny blue flowers.I almost got it last
spring also so I have a feeling it will get into the
garden eventually.
So I was happy with my purchases and went home to
plant them before it started to rain. When I arrived home
on the front porch was a box with some plants in it
that I had ordered from ‘Broadway Gardens’.
I had ordered  four plants from them after searching
for a Jacob’s Ladder “Stairway To Heaven” and finding
they had it in stock.

 JacobsLadder_StairwayToHeaven

It has blue blooms with leaves of variegated green,
white and pink. I had saw it on another bloggers site and
loved the colors.
Looking at their inventory of plants I also purchased
a Coreopsis”Limerock  Ruby”.

Coreopsis_LimerockRuby

Now this one was a stretch for me because of the color
orange but I thought it would look pretty beside of the
Meringue Echinacea I have.

hotPapaya_Echinacea

A “Hot Papaya” Echinacea. Bright orange pompom
shaped flowers.
This is my attempt to add colors to the garden that I
generally stay away from.
Also an Achillea ‘Royal Tapestry” with purple blooms
was the last plant in the order.  I love achillea in the garden
for butterflies and bees and this was a new variety for
me at least.


Acillea_RoyalTapestry

I got all of them planted in their new places in the garden
and you know with the addition of new plants some older
ones need moving or divided.
So it was a fun afternoon of planting before the rain
fell last night. The rain will help get them a better start.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Gardening Everyone!

34 comments:

Tankar från Trädgårdsmästarn; Hillevi said...

So... I see you really have been a good girl, getting so many treats:-)
Beware of the viola from Labrador! She gets around ewerywhere when you turn your back... I like her, like the wild ones!
Have a great week!

Sheila said...

They all look lovely and ... Happy Birthday! May all your new plants flourish and bloom with wild abandonment!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Love your choice of plants, Lona! Labrador violet is a great plant. Not fussy, seeds and spreads itself, has lovely blooms. Happy planting!

Patsy said...

I enjoy going to the nursery to pick out plants. Thanks for taking me ,I will look for the red clock for my garden. Have a good day.
Patsy

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Happy birthday! A lovely choice of plants for your garden. It is always fun to select some favourites. Generally when I don't get a plant I coveted I regret it later when it is not longer available. I am into salvias at the moment as they do so well here in the subtropics, but they are the tropical ones which grow up to 2 m and the flowers are huge. I usually buy them at the open garden schemes. I hope your lovely selection does well over summer. Have a nice week. T.

Liz said...

Hi Lona,

Lovely selection of new plants you have... I too am just not safe around garden centres... Temptation is far too great, and yet every year no matter how many promises I make of not buying, it's never going to happen!

I was tempted by a Pasque flower on Saturday too... Do wish I'd picked it up now!

Unknown said...

Sounds like we had the same kind of day - I spent the morning at the local nursery - came home with some new treasures and planted them up this afternoon. Waiting for the rain to start now.

Lona said...

Hillevi: I will watch it because I know it will be one that seeds everywhere.I am always a good girl LOL!

Shelia: Thank you so much and have a wonderful weekend what that is left of it anyway.

Tatyana: I may wish I never got it but I can always move it to the woods bed and just let it go crazy LOL!

Patsy: Hey, a free trip to the nursery and it did not cost you anything or tempt you. ;-)

Titania: I do that all the time.I like salvia's too they just bloom and bloom.

Liz: You can always go back and get it LOL! That is why I only go about twice a year, spring and fall. I always drag something home but I do love the fall clearance plants.

Heather: Cannot wait to see what treasures you came home with.

A Garden of Threads said...

Nice selection of plants, I to went to the garden center, but have not planted mine yet. Tomorrow I will spend time in the garden deciding on new homes for them. Love the new header. Have a wonderful week.

Jim Groble said...

Lona, happy birthday. It alwys fun finding new plants for your yard. jim

Anonymous said...

Wow, what treasures you found! And they are all so unique! I've been wanting an ornamental strawberry too, and a variegated Jacob's ladder. I'm not familiar with Pasque flowers, they look like hellebores. I got that festive African violet at Meijer, of all places.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

If I get a gift card for my birthday I always go plant shopping, who wants new clothes? :)
You found so many great presents for yourself. I can't wait to see your Echinacea in bloom. You must have had so much fun filling your cart.

Gail said...

happy belated birthday! You took home some great plants! Have you ever noticed how other blogger's nurseries seem better then yours! I am feeling that right now;-)...You had wonderful plants to choose from! gail

Anonymous said...

Yay! My comment went thru!!! I didn't write a long one because I didn't know. I hope the problem is fixed and I can keep commenting!!!

Anonymous said...

That would be my idea of a happy birthday ~ spending it at the nursery! You found some great plants Lona!

Jeannie B. said...

I just love the way you know all the names of the flowers!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona girl ! Those are gorgeous and you have a few I do too ! I love my little Labrador violets .. hey anything that is a connection to a name of a province in Canada .. well you have to support it right ? LOL
I am going to be recieving a lot of mail order plants I was VERY bad over the winter but they are special ones I thought I might not get here ..
New plants are better than Christmas for me girl : ) congratulations on your finds !!

Jeanne said...

Happy birthday! Mine was this weekend too and guess what? My girlfriends and I went garden center hopping followed by a plant swap. It is so true!! (I netted new irises)

Happy birthday!

Joe Todd said...

Happy Birthday.. Haven't made it to Rhoads Nursery yet this year. I have had very poor luck starting my vegetables from seed this year and don't know why.. The vegetable garden is about ready for planting just waiting for right time Have a great one

Rose said...

A belated Happy Birthday to you! I can't think of a better birthday gift to oneself than new plants! The veronica really is pretty; I think you might have to make another trip back for this one:) And the Jacob's Ladder is one plant I've been eyeing myself for awhile--love those blue blooms and the variegated foliage!

RURAL said...

Happy Birthday to you. And what great choices you have made. I love buying plants as a birthday celebration, they always bring back good memories in the coming years.

This is one gardener, that might be going out to a nursery today also to buy herself some birthday plants.

Don't tell my husband.

Jen

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Beautiful post Lona!! Shopping for plants is so much fun, I just had my first shopathon of 2010. Your selection is lovely, and the Veronica is especially appealing. I also have the variegated Jacob's Ladder, it really brightens up a shady spot. Happy Belated Birthday! :)

tina said...

What a nice birthday present and plants you received.

Roses and Lilacs said...

I spent some time at the garden centers last weekend too:) This time of year, I cannot resist.

You got some interesting plants. I looked for a variegated jacob's ladder and never found one.
Marnie

Bonnie said...

Happy Birthday. I haven't been to a nursery yet this Spring. It is a very dangerous thing for me. I love it all. I have 2 kinds of Pasque Flowers. They are almost blooming. I love them!

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Oh! my, that is quite a selection of deliciousness!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Yay, Pasque -- one of my favorite perennials. I've had my eyes on the Hot Papapya Echinacea, too. But then I have a huge weakness for orange flowers...

Lona said...

Garden of Threads: It must have been gardening weekend LOL! I always have to move some when I get more.

Jim: That is a good Birthday present for me. Nothing better than more flowers.

Robin: You always find the prettiest plants. I looked at Lowes and no birdbath ;-(
LOL! I guess you have to live near the big city.

Catherine: How would it look with that orange Echinacea of yours? Really bright or clash LOL!

Gail: I know girl. My nurseries look so skimpy next to some of these places. Small town living maybe.

Kathleen: Yah! I am so glad you got the problem solved.

Jeannie B: I don't. I have the tags LOL!

Joy: I know girl. Flowers for any reason will really do.Presidents Day,Martin Luther Day, or even a boring day. LOL!

Jeanne: Good for you. A day of flower shopping is a day well spent LOL! Will be waiting to see those Irises.

Joe: Tomatoes is the only thing I sowed from seeds in the veggie department. They look sad too.

Rose: It probably wouldn't take much to get me back for the veronica. They did send me a Birthday certificate. They know a sucker when they see one LOL!

Jen: I won't say a word girl. Happy Birthday Jen!!!

Rebecca; I hope you got a bunch of beauties to share with us. ;-)

Tina: What better gift could one get.;-)

Marnie: it must have been the week for plant shopping. Hope you got some goodies.

Bonnie: I think they are so pretty with their fuzzy leaves.

KeeWee: Some pretties for certain. It is a dangerous thing to go plant shopping LOL!

Kate: I thought your purple pasque flower was so pretty.
It just helped to convince me that I should really get one LOL!

Bonnie said...

Love your new plants. I just planted my first pasque flower last week. I had a stairway to heaven Jacob's ladder, but the darn ants built a nest under it and killed it. It had grown to a nice size and was beautiful. The varigated leaves looked nice all summer.

Jezibels said...

What a treat! Im going to do the same, treat myself to a flat of something for Mothers Day!

Christine B. said...

That 'Red Clock' pulsatilla is on my list. I've only ever seen the typical purple one here...maybe this will be my year to find the red one. Have fun planting all your loot.

Christine in Alaska

Lona said...

Bonnie: Oh no, those darn ants. That is such a shame about your Jacob's Ladder. Pasque is such a pretty plant.

Jezibels: You go girl. What better Mother's Day gift. Have fun getting them.

Christine: I hope you are able to find one. The Red Clock is just as pretty as the purple one to my eyes.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona Dear, You definitely had my kind of birthday! Fun! I've noticed some of the nurseries are rather sparse on merchandise too. Others are brimming. Weird. People are definitely shopping though. Every where I go there are crowds of people buying plants. I love it.

I suppose by now you've been warned about the prolific propensities of the Violet. It's another case of right plant-right place. However there are exceptions. I am seeing a few blossoms sprinkled among the grass blades in my lawn. They're oh so much prettier than dandelions!

And, try as I might, I can't get 'Limerock Ruby' to winter over for me. Dang it. It's so gorgeous when it's blooming! I hope to see photos of yours in a few months.

pogonip said...

Happy Birthday! That red pasque flower is just yummy. I'm impressed that you planted them all! That's my downfall :)