"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Well that was an interesting day!

Yesterday I had planned to head out to a nursery to look for some plants.  While I was getting ready to leave I decided the weather was a bit too rainy and breezy to take my little gardener outside to walk around the large nursery.  Instead we went to the local Home Depot to look around.  
A few things I realized yesterday.
  • Home Depot has a plant clearance rack with pretty good deals.
  • It was windier than I thought.
  • Our fence blew down.
  • I'm getting better with power tools.
  • Our view just improved.
  • The weekend plans of spreading compost just changed.
I had no idea that Home Depot would put hellebores on clearance, can you believe that?  If you live by one, head over and see what deals you can find.  This one was unmarked, could it be 'Ivory Prince'?   It was $5 for a one gallon plant!
I also picked up a couple of Wallflowers (erysimums).  One variegated
and one I think is 'Bowles Mauve'.  
 I've seen them on some blogs lately and remembered I needed to replace the ones that died last year.  They are known as short lived perennials that will "bloom themselves to death".
I also found this planter, what I'll use it for I don't know. 
When I got home our power was out and I realized our fence had almost blown over.  We have planned to replace it soon, but not quite yet.  I found some plywood and a power drill and did the best I could to temporarily fix it.
Guess "the muscle" will be putting fence posts in this weekend instead of spreading compost.
I also noticed that a tree in the schoolyard blew down.  It didn't hit anyone or anything luckily, and now we have a bit of a view.  I think the Cascade mountains might even be visible on a really clear day now.
Glad my motto is "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans."
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28 comments:

  1. How lucky that tree didn't hit anybody! Your Hellebore lookes nice and had a nice price aswell. We should always keep our eyes open for plants wherever we are =)
    / gittan

    http:/gittans.tradgardsblogg.se

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  2. Told you that you would be tempted if you went near a garden center! Great plants and I love to rescue clearance and distressed plants, makes me feel like I'm saving the environment somehow. Sorry about all of the yucky things that happened, glad no one got hurt. Have fun this weekend......looks like you may have some muscle of your own.......Great job!

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  3. Oh, now I need to go to Home Depot. Especially if they have the variegated wallflower. I believe that is Ivory Prince, one of my first Hellebore. It's pouring here, btw.

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  4. Anytime I go to a garden center, the first place I check is the clearance rack. You never know what yo umay find. I hate your fence blew over. But you did a good job repairing it!! You go girl!!! ;)

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  5. Catherine,

    I'm heading towards our Home Depot to have a look. Sorry about the fence, it does look pretty old. See your handier than you thought too.

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  6. oh dear, what a day. Catherine you are awesome to tackle the power tools! My first instinct would be wait for hubby to come home. Good for you. And I am heading to Home Depot TODAY!! I hope they have the same good deals you found. It's really surprising what can be purchased there. Last year I found 3' high Brugmansias! I couldn't believe it. I hope today is nicer and CALMER!!

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  7. Awesome girl. What a good deal on a hellebore plant. I want one so bad but as yet I haven't found one at any local garden center. I haven't gone to Home Depot yet. I will check them out. You can repair a wood fence - you go girl.

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  8. I second Gardeness, I think that Hellebore is 'Ivory Prince.' Not only does it look like it, but I had read that Home Depot had started carrying them. I love that variegated Wallflower. Must go look for it now...

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  9. I LOVE bargains! What a great, (curve-balls notwithstanding) day you had. Typically the Five dollar hellebores are the tiny seedlings. And as they gain in girth and verticality, they double-gain in price. :)

    I might have to detour over to Home Depot myself...

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  10. Sorry about your fence and the tree but glad no one was hurt in either instance.
    What a deal ya got. Everyone's heading to Home Depot and I'm too cold to even go up to the greenhouse and plant a houseplant a friend gave me. I guess if I went to Home Depot I'd be warm cause the car heats up so fast. But then I'd have to take off my toasty warm robe to get dressed. Yes, I know it's 2:00 too bad! I'm too cold to get undressed to get dressed. Brrrrrr - Did I mention how cold it is here today?

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  11. What a great deal on the Hellebores. Glad nothing was damaged with the fence and tree coming down. I love the pretty blue planter you found too. A bright yellow plant would be pretty in it.

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  12. Love the variegated wallflower! Both the foliage and the flower color are great!

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  13. Gittan - Yes, you just never know what deals you can find.

    Darla - This is the second time this spring I've found great plants on clearance. I think the weather should get better this weekend and then we can get this fence fixed the right way.

    Melanthia - Had fun today with you and the little guy! Did you make it to Home Depot?

    Dirt Princess - I've learned a lot from watching my husband, he was pretty impressed I got it done by myself :)

    Randy - This fence is very old and ugly. I guess this pushed it up on the to do list a lot quicker. I hope you found some good deals today!

    Kathleen - I hope you also found some deals. It seems like Home Depot is beginning to carry a little more of a perennial selection finally.

    Becca - I was impressed I managed to get it done, good thing we had the supplies. Did you find a hellebore?

    Mr. McGregor's Daughter - Oh good! I thought it looked like one, that's one reason I was so happy. They were over $20 at a nursery by us.

    Grace - I wonder if Home Depot will notice a rush on hellebores just like Target did on the solar lights you found. They were all gone when I went to find them.

    Rain Gardener - It was cold! It was snowing again here! I know what you mean about too cold to undress to get redressed. It's a good day to stay inside today!

    Mildred - I think yellow would look really pretty in it too. It would really brighten up our deck area I think.

    Janet - It is pretty isn't it. I couldn't resist it!

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  14. It's all I can do to stay away from garden centers right now! A freeze is forecast for next week, so I must exercise patience! Yeah, right! :-)

    Cameron

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  15. Every once in a while you need to have a really crummy day so the boring and uneventful days looks great! Glad no one was hurt on the playground.
    -Heather

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  16. Home Depot out your way is probably similar to Home Base here in the UK! I got some really good bargains there last year, including a Sambucus 'Black Lace' which I'd been hoping to find for ages!

    Sorry to hear about your fence - looks like you've done a good job fixing it!

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  17. Well, it was fun wasn't it? Great deals and you got lucky! Cool. Love the wallflowers - great captures

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  18. Love your motto and it's so true! Great buy on the hellebore.

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  19. Cameron - It's hard when it's says spring on the calender but the weather doesn't cooperate. I hope the freeze doesn't damage any plants.

    Heather - Very true. Today seemed so relaxing after that, even thought we had snow today.

    Phoenix - We used to have Home Base here too. It was the same type of store. How nice to find the plant you had been looking for there, I bet it cost less too.

    Chandramouli - Yes, quite a fun day! Now I want it to stop raining so I can get my new plants in the ground!

    Susie - I'm such a planner that I need to remember to be flexible, this motto helps to remind me of that.

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  20. How wonderful to find hellebores at Home Depot. I have never seen them there! I bought 4 new ones so far and they all came from 'nurseries'. They were half off but still not 'cheap'. 2 of them were in their gallon pot from last season, and 1 of those doesn't look all that well--hopefully it'll come around.

    The Ivory Prince is gorgeous! Also, you are one tough lady, drilling and hammering and putting up boards, fixing fences, etc. You don't really need 'the muscle'...but it sure is nice having the guys around to help us with those types of things, I agree. My husband does all that stuff and when he's not home (he travels a lot) I miss his help in things like that.
    Hope your weather gets NICE and STAYS NICE!!!

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  21. Himself has joked about banning me from garden centres for now after my last little spree - but he never mentioned anything about our equivalent of home depots!!!

    The hellebore is lovely - and what a bargain! I also love that blue pot. It'd look gorgeous with yellow or hot pink plants in it.

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  22. Amen to the motto and good job on the bargins!

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  23. I lust after that lovely blue pot!! And what a good score you made on the hellebores, etc. Sorry about your fence, but glad about your view of the mountains. Hope nothing else was damaged.

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  24. Jan - Hope your hellebores make it. Anything off the regular price is good I think! Believe I did call my husband, but I knew he wasn't going to be home before dark. That's when I decided to try fixing it. He gets to really fix it this weekend :)

    Nutty Gnome - Well, if he didn't mention it then maybe you can go then :) I think the blue planter does need a nice bright color in it too.

    Lanny - Thanks!

    Kris- I liked the blue and knew I could find something for it, so couldn't pass it up. I'm waiting for a clear day, if we ever have one again, to see about the view :)

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  25. Wow, what a day! I wish I'd have read this before Home Depot closed! I'll have to call and see if ours have any hellebores.

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  26. Ditto on the Mauve Bowles--I love it. It last about 3 years for me but you can start cuttings from the wood. Gosh your yard is so pretty and these new additions are going to be awesome.

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  27. Seven inches of rain in 3 days meant a lot to us, despite the flooding in the Upper Garden and the Front Yard that ran over the highway.

    It means that the aquifer from which our water comes will be replenished so that there is plenty of water later on when rain is scarce. We sit atop the Floridan aquifer, critical for drinking water in much of north Florida and south GA and AL as well as crop irrigation.

    I was glad today to see the sun again though, after all the watches and warnings during the storms.

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  28. Hellebores on clearance? You're killing me here! I was just at Home Depot the other day, and didn't see any hellebores period, let alone on clearance. DH is on his way to HD right now, so I had to call him and give him a heads up to check for them.

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