I don't know what other people's beef is with big box stores, but here's mine: Two years ago I went to Lowes. I was very new to the flower gardening thing (still am, but learning quickly) and saw blue hydrangeas, rainbow KOs, and wine and roses weigela on sale. I bought them and planted them. The blue hydrangea: Might be hardy up here, but you'll never see a flower. Mine died, but HAD it survived the only thing that would have lived would be the roots. They would grow every year into a measely bush with no flowers. From what people have told me, the flowers come from the previous year's growth - which would die each winter. The KO: Dies to the ground every year. Slow to grow back and only produces less than a handful of malformed, non-scented, unattractive roses. I only bought it because a lot of people were bragging about them on a (different) gardening board. I'm giving the durned thing away this summer. The weigela: Love it. Luckily I planted it somewhere that gets lots of sun and is somewhat protected by the porch in the winter. I get a lot of die-back, but I also get a lot of blooms. Other locals can't seem to get anything out of them from the die-back. So, the lesson is - unless you REALLY know what you're doing you'll probably wind up buying things that are "technically" hardy for your area but will likely die. And if you are a seasoned gardener you will probably be turned off by the things they have in stock. Local nurseries carry what they grow - meaning it will grow, and well! It's been tended to by a handful of local gardeners that didn't unload them from an overheated stock truck where the plants have been sitting overcrowded for days - probably collecting mold. However, truth be told, if I can get a pallet of near-dead annuals from Lowes for a couple of bucks - I think it's money well spent. :-D But I'd never buy anything full-priced from them. When I called one of the local nurseries and asked a question about what they had in stock that could do this, that or the other thing, the man on the phone told me that they landscaped a local place with (name of plant here) two years ago and when they made a service call to fertilize and clean up in the spring that everything was still growing beautifully. Local places stand by their products. They have to. They don't have the resources or money to re-do jobs.

In your zeal to be angry & sarcastic, you've missed my point about the sandwiches. I was trying to say that it's a fun event and people from all around the US look forward to it annually. WFF lives/dies by their reputation. Competition for plant sales is fierce. I make no apologies for supporting WFF. I have 20+ years of experience with this company. I feel confident in my assessment that they will do all that is possible to correct a customer complaint. But, as all of us know who have businesses that deal with the public...some people can't be pleased no matter what you do, or say. That's life. And yes, I believe some people are more inclinced to complain than compliment. For example, when was the last time you took five minutes from your day & phoned management at the restaurant that served you a good meal with good service, & at fair price to give a compliment? If you have a problem plant from WFF, or any other company, by all means call & get it corrected. Yes, WFF's plants are small...so are Bluestone Perennials'. If you want a bit larger plants...try Plant Delights. They are also an excellent company with vast experience...way more than any of us. I was fortunate to attend a horticultural lecture on hostas by Tony Advent a couple years ago. If you have a chance...I highly recommend paying the price of admittance to one of his lectures. I'm trying to say that there are people behind these companies. Those people want you to be a satisfied customer. /t

I've never liked using UPS or Fed-Ex... I rely on the USPS, mostly Priority Mail or Next Day Air, and I'm never disappointed. We print our labels right online, so all we have to do is run the box to the Post Office. I take special precautions with everything I ship, even smaller envelopes. I know that even the USPS uses automated machinery to sort, so I never put seeds in regular envelopes. Those go through rollers that crush them flat when being sorted. I usually use padded envelopes or small boxes for seeds. One would think that after sending bulbs twice and having them arrive frozen, the company would look for an alternative method of shipping... My method of receiving items is to know exactly when they shipped, so I can keep watching my mailbox for the packages. If a company can't give me a date of shipment, they're not getting my order. It's not impossible to send and receive tender items during cold weather... and I don't understand how some companies just can't get it together!

Hi all... I just about froze my bulbs off outside! Its so cold! I walked to the liquor store (I'm making the wife hot buttered rum tonight!) and thought by walking I'm saving wear and tear on the car and not burning dinos... and it isn't a far walk but now I'm sooo cold! Its hard being green when you're blue. I had to go to Lowes today-- pathetic offering. Paperwhites! Pffft! I'm glad there are other double junkies. I'm not ashamed of it at all. Kristi I don't know how many bulbs I have now... when I de-potted my bulbs a bunch of babies broke off so they are technically bulbs...though not blooming size yet. They all went into a big communal pot to keep growing. I think Picotee and Ragtime both broke off two pretty big babies that I think could be blooming size in a year. I think from now on, as I grow them, I will offer up spare babies to you guys here. I just haven't the room. But I will keep just enough on hand that should one give the ghost, I'll have a spare. Off to the gym before we hit the rum ;o) Ryan