Gardenweed (or anyone else who has NOT visited White Flower Farm): People's observations are spot on: most of the catalogue items sold through WFF are definitely overpriced. . .but, as others have pointed out, they have been in business a long time, and have clearly found their upscale market, for whom the price is simply irrelevant . That said, I would humbly suggest that isn't the complete picture of WFF. . . if you live within a reasonable distance, I whole-heartedly recommend that you make a day-trip to this remarkable nursery. You may NOT end up buying anything -although I'd be willing to bet you will! - but that's not the reason to go. . .they have some of the most magnificent perennial gardens around, (including a white "moon" garden); massive hosta plantings that are decades old; and, if you go during a few specific weeks during the summer, the greenhouse full of their legendary (and wildly expensive!) Blackmore & Langdon begonias will take your breathe away. When was the last time you visited a nursery where most of the perennials were laid out in alphabetical, (and botanical) order? Every few years, a group of us pack a big picnic lunch and head up there for the day - yes, there's acres of lawn for picnics and ample restroom facilities, with lovely restaurants and coffee shops in downtown Litchfield nearby , if you prefer that route. Besides, just spending a day ANYWHERE in northwestern Connecticut is a pleasure! Finally, if you'd really like to learn the history of WFF - and, yes, some of it is manufactured - try to get your local library to locate you a copy of "The White-Flower-Farm Garden Book" (pub. 1966). which is exceedingly rare. . .the first half is all history - they were pioneers in more ways than one - and the encyclopedic second half is a template for the lush catalogs that eventually evolved. I was lucky enough to discover this book in a friend's collection in the early 1970's, and by the latter part of that decade, I had made my first pilgrimage to CT. . .and 35 years later, while no longer one of their customers (the competitive nursery industry has exploded since those early days), I still look forward to those trips north. It's a fascinating journey, on so many different levels. . . Carl

My late beloved mother in law always used to get me WFF gift certificates. So I'd get plants from them, but the quality was really poor for the price. I don't understand how they get away with it. They do have one hydrangea that I'm tempted by, Blue Billow, but I plan to resist the temptation - don't want to spend my $ there. The only thing I got from them that really did well was "The Works" daffodils. I have to say, they are utterly stunning and have thrived. But everything else was a real disappointment. I hope your hydrangea is ok - my advice would be maybe pot it up and grow it on for a while til it puts on some size (its likely to be very small). Good luck!

Nice house, but the decor felt uninspired to me. Like a middle of the road decorator was hired to pull it all together. I met Mustaine about 15 years ago. DH was a big fan. I found the rocker to be dismissive and arrogant but maybe he just wasn't in top form at the particular event we were both at. But I digress.

You should buy it and be a farmer. You can get up before dawn every day! You’ll spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on the bare minimum amount of equipment needed to get some of the work done. You can work 18 hour days and not get it all done and not be able to find workers to hire because no one wants to do farm work. The government will help you by making it hard to hire migrant workers or immigrants who will actually show up to work on time with a positive attitude and do a good job. The government will also make you file towering stacks of paperwork regarding how your operations affect nearby water quality and over regulate your operations to the point you can’t make money doing what you are allowed to do. It will rain. It will not rain. It will be too cold and too hot. Your equipment will break down and the parts needed to repair it come from (came from) China. People will complain about smells but insist on only purchasing natural and sustainable and green and organic. Guess what gets used as fertilizer when people insist that “chemicals” not be used. But the smell!!! And the citiots with their bird feeders (we love to watch the birds) are spreading avian flu at warp speed. Avian flu is spread by wild birds and when wild birds congregate at bird feeders, it’s like putting someone with Covid on a jumbo jet. If one chicken in your flock of laying hens or broilers or Thanksgiving turkeys gets it, the government makes you destroy the whole flock. That $2 million price tag will probably cover what that farmer owes on his equipment, supplies, seed, etc. He is most likely selling because the rest of the world has a truly warped understanding of how food get to our plates.