Spritzhenry's blog thoughts

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Having just read Spritzhenry’s blog about the mis-labelled plant, it got me thinking about what I have bought that turned out not as expected.
This year, liking a bargain, I bought some plants/roots from the 99p shop. this is usually fine providing you buy them early before they dry out in the shop and are only looking for the run of the mill type, you won’t find anything exotic. Having poked and prodded most of the packets to make sure that there was something alive in them I made my choices.
Packets of three Incarvillea Delavayi roots which are all alive and doing well (33p each!)

At least two packets of 3 roots of mixed Phlox which got potted and are waiting to go out in the garden.

Packet of roots of one of the Eryngium blue thistles, though I can’t remember which one!
Also bought one of their roses, should know better but I always feel sorry for them! They are waxed to stop growth in the bag and I never do well with them, so I should steer clear.
I also bought what was labelled as a ‘White Buddleia’ which was just a small stick showing some life when purchased. Now as you can see from the photo below it is not a Buddleia, I think it’s a Lilac – what do you think?
It won’t matter anyway as if I have no room for it in the front garden it can always go up to the meadow and add to the newly planted ‘copse’.

I did buy from QD yesterday two very nice Fuschias with pink tinted foliage, at £1.49p each, some purple & white striped petunias and ‘Indian mint’ a trailing plant (Satureja douglasii) which was sold as a basket plant, but looks as if it could be useful as a ground cover plant without being invasive (I just looked it up!).

OH decided he needed to do some clothes shopping in Norwich so he sorted that out while I browsed elsewhere. While we were in the area we called in the wonderful Urban Jungle plant nursery at Old Costessey, which is inspiring, intriguing and can be a heavy hit on the purse strings. I limited myself to a couple of Tradescantia and just for the h—l of trying to keep it alive – a Bouganvillea!
Have a look at their website if you can’t get to see them in person. http://www.urbanjungle.uk.com/
A visit is a treat, summer of course better as everything is in bloom and growing well and not lashed by the wind as it was yesterday.
They have two ‘living walls’ looking terrific with a Myosotidium Hortensia on one with the most luminous blue flowers, alsolutely stunning.

More recent bargains were pots of miniature pink and white tulips just going over for 20p a pot, three or four to a pot so they will look good next year in the garden.
A different day and different GC produced two Ceanothus at £3 each, what I thought was a dormant Wisteria but turned out to be a Hibiscus at the same price and a Chaenomeles. All reduced because of being over-wintered and with lost labels.
Nothing exotic but if you are filling the garden there is nothing better than a bargain – even if some turn out to be not what you expect!

• 11 May, 2014
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