Lowe's is the place to find the deals! I lucked up a few weeks ago and found entire flats of pansies for $1.50 and they weren't dead or leggy! It seemed like they just had too many. I only bought 15 flats because that was all I could fit in my car! I also picked up entire trays of 6" mums for $2.00 and a couple of large Dahlias that were $1.50 each. Upon unloading all of this at home, I realized that I had ALOT of plants! I already had numerous other flats from previous trips when I thought $5.00 a flat was a deal...Needless to say, I am still trying to finish planting all of them. My 82 year old grandmother sure is enjoying the pots lining her front staircase! I guess it is better to have too many than not enough! There is always room for just a couple more! Happy Holidays everyone! PS If you really want to get some bargains at Lowe's, be sure to always talk to the people that work there. Not necessarily the checkout people, but the ones actually working and moving plants etc. I have met the people who are in charge of marking things down at several local stores and since they know me and know I buy alot of the clearance items, I can usually get an even better price than marked just for asking! Good luck!

Am going to try 3 new cultivars of our native Heuchera villosa; 'Caramel', Citronelle' & 'Mocha', all intros from France & plant breeder Thierry Delabroye. They are named for their foliage color. Found at Pikes in Tucker, were some very choice JM Bonsai's, with the rare cultivar 'Mikawa Yatsubusa' grafted onto very heavy rootstock of ½-1" caliper. I have the tree in my garden, but had to try a bonsai! They said the Alpharetta store would have them in stock tomorrow. Just received 36 new Minature Hostas from Mini Plant Kingdom in CA. Still on my porch, waiting for the wind to subside. Too dangerous to work in a woodland garden. Also, have received some Pink & Red? flowered Kousa Dogwoods that are waiting for the real Spring to arrive. Bought Tomato plants, too. Rb

I'd disagree with fall being the "best" time. Either spring or fall works equally as well but it does depend on your garden soil. Some spring soils stay too wet and too cool to plant lilies early enough to produce ideal first season growth and flowering. The old recommendation to plant lilies in fall was because the bulbs are never fully dormant and could dry out or deteriorate in improper storage. But most commercial lily growers have perfected the cold storage needed to be able to hold these bulbs for spring planting. And the majority of summer flowering bulbs - like lilies - are usually offered for sale in spring. And IME, fall has a pretty slim selection of bulbs available as well, as typically they are much later to harvest than other, often fall planted bulbs, due to the time needed for the foliage to dry and ripen fully before collecting. This is especially true for Orientals or orinpets which may not even bloom until August. There are several major commericial lily growers in my area (B&D Lilies, The Lily Pad, The Lily Garden) and they offer their largest selection in early spring. If it is too early for you to be able to plant outdoors or you have to wait until your soils dry and warm before planting, pot up spring purchased lilies in containers. Keep the potting medium barely moist and bulbs cool but above freezing and then move outdoors when appropriate.

Most of the ones I've seen that were inexpensive were also pretty poorly constructed. Most of the ones I've seen that are well-constructed have been hideously expensive. There have been a few exceptions, but I would NOT buy one sight unseen. You can get good construction at a good price if you watch for well-made antique furniture pieces on Craigslist and convert the piece yourself.