I've been behaving fairly well, except I bumped into a tree peony and a Stachys officinalis 'Hummelo' - which I'd read about here on the NE forum. I also picked up some blue eyed daisies and a black lace sambuccus, nothing especially rare about those though.

My favorite local places for unusual plants are Pondscapes in Bourne, which has great trees, and Flower Garden Nursery in Falmouth, which specializes in temperennials. Oh, yeah, I got a spare Sweet Dreams coreopsis there last week - forgot about that! I drove up to Katsura Gardens in Plymouth - waaay north of here - and oggled the fantastic stock but didn't buy anything, which leaves me regretting, but only partly.

I'm trying really hard to restrain myself and so far I've only bought some tender herbs, a dozen lavender 'Grosso' and a few other little things. I'd really like to simplify my garden, and concentrate on groupings of shrubs now. It's awfully tempting ... and I'm heading to Haskell's and Avant Gardens in SE MA tomorrow with some GW pals... we'll see who behaves and who goes wild.

Yes I know what you mean. I had more adventures yesterday Delahunty's and Lake Street Gardens and some other one along the way I don't remember the name. It was very crowded at all 3 places. I forgot it was Mother's Day weekend! I found a lovely Tricolor Beech but I couldn't find anyone who tell me how big it would get to be so I'll have to research that one first. I did get a nice Yankee Doodle Lilac that's dark purple.

I want a 'Stachys officinalis 'Hummelo' - after reading an article comparing all the different ones, and pronouncing the 'best' of all. Bummer that you got one before I did, Nan.

Well DtD, I was going to go to Avant on Sat, I would of run into you..and then my friend took me to the cape on Monday...she had to pick something up there for work, and we spent the rest of the time looking at the garden centers. We went to Hyannis Country gardens, Mahoneys, Bush gardens, and one more...I wish I had know ahead I could of asked for suggestions of places to go.

I havent found a place for miniature evergreens.. any suggestions ?

I was surprised to see that the prices werent as high as they are at some of the nurseries here.

Hey flwrs4ever - too bad we missed you! I don't know off hand of any place that sells mini evergreens ... just be sure you don't get small ones that actually get big, which I did once.

Thanks, Ill keep looking, I dont want to get the big ones by accident...that would be terrible.

BTW, did you see anything interesting at Avant this year ?

Oh, lucky you!!! I would love a Harry LauderÂs Walking Stick!

I too love Harry LauderÂs Walking Stick! I've gotten a few branches from my Mom's over the years to use in decorations
and now I finally have my own

(They have more)

I inherited my my mom's garden addiction, among other traits LOL

Recently a nursery after many years of abandon opened up with new owners. They are carrying a large line of *White Flower Farm* perennials. The nurserymen were running around frantically trying squeeze a 16 hour day into 8 hours so I didn't have the heart to query them about the prices as they didn't have anything I needed at the moment but I am going to assume that the pricing would be up there with Blooms of Bressingham. I am curious what others think of the White Flower Farm nursery stock? kt

I live not too far from White Flower Farm. I would say that their stock is premium. I don't know about when it is sold through other nurseries, but WFF guarantees your complete satisfaction or your money back. Everything I have planted from them has always come back very nicely each year. The exception is that winter when we had the week of ice storms where we pretty much lost most plants, including lots of trees.

I am told that a lot of places guarantee their plants. For instance someone told me that if plants do not come back after the winter, I could return them for a refund to all sorts of places. That seems like a lot of trouble though, and most of the time when something does not come back, all I have is dirt.

Their plants are a bit pricy, but if you are looking for a nice plant to go in and be spectacular pretty quickly, WWF is a good choice. If you are willing to start with a lot of smaller perennials or other plants, and develop them yourself, other nurseries might be in order.

Premium just begins to describe the WWF perennials sold in nurseries. Last year they started at 20-22, this year 24-26. I'm sorry, but I just can't see it. They are part of instant garden/immediate gratification phenomenon.

Instant gratification works for me, especially for trees and shrubs - I'm not all that young anymore,
and would rather not wait an eternity to see the results of my labor.
The bargin bins at the box stores don't do anything for me and I would much rather spend my money
at a local garden center owned by real people not corperations

I went to a nursery in NE Connecticut called Quackin'Grass. I little drive from RI but not too bad. Anyway he's got some mini and small conifers propagated from "witches brooms" and other unusual items. I bought a couple of sand myrtles and had a lot of fun checking out all the above average offerings. No, I'm not affiliated with the place, just wanted to support a real nurseryman.

One of our local nurseries is also stocking WFF perennials this year. They still carry a lot of unusual annuals and temperennials in small sizes, which is what I usually buy there. Some they grow themselves from seed, but most come in, as they seem to do everywhere, as "plugs" - small seedlings that are then potted up and grown on for a month or two before being put out for sale.

I tend to buy small plants, so I breezed right by the WFF stock. It looks helathy and well grown, but I do think they're selling the "brand" rather than the plant, and that's not an idea I want to support.

Also, while WFF has done a lot to encourage people to try new and unusual plants, I've bought a lot of real thugs from them over the years. Eupatorium 'Chocolate' and sweet autumn clematis are 2 that come to mind - both are highly invasive in my area, and I really wish they'd warned me before I bought those plants.

WFF has a good head for business, and I think they noticed the success of the other "premium" perennial brands, so they've decided to try this out. You still need to evaluate the plant in your hand before deciding if it's a good choice; the name on the side of the pot is pretty much meaningless, IMHO.

Too hot to garden today, but it looks like an outstanding day for nursery hopping!

Buying a specific nurseryÂs label, e.g., White Flower Farm, American Beauties, Jeepers Creepers, Blooms of Bressingham, is all "Branding". ItÂs a marketing strategy based on the customerÂs brand recognition tied to a purported reputation built by the seller. Fact is that most of these plants/shrubs are grown by Prides Corner Farm in Lebanon, CT. They are now about the largest nursery supply house in New England. Branding allows any seller to charge more for a recognized name and to expand that brand name in the nursery marketplace well beyond the original locale of the brander. My guess is that 40 years ago White Flower Farm was not very familiar to people much outside of ConnecticutÂs borders. Today, thanks to branding, they are well out of zone 5/6. Certain plants are only grown for and available through these branding programs. ItÂs marketing. This I know for sure: Brand name or not, if itÂs happy in my yard, thatÂs all that matters. IÂve successfully grown the cheapest plants ( a $ .99 cent azalea from K-Mart 24 years ago is thriving) and I have successfully killed the most expensive flora jewels.

Jane

Jane, LOL!

Re: IÂve successfully grown the cheapest plants ( a $ .99 cent azalea from K-Mart 24 years ago is thriving) and I have successfully killed the most expensive flora jewels.