Tough Decisions at the Garden Centre

Lily I think you`d drive me to distraction and I love going to the GC`s ,lol, however I do agree size is not my priority and I`d go more for the one with buds not open flowers, a cuppa and a snack is a must before going to the checkout, that way one has time to change ones mind if neccessary.........
Oh I nearly forgot that little square that appears on a regular basis really winds me up but I haven`t chucked the laptop out yet ,our furry friends also like to help especially Harry and Caspar.....

I'm just the same lily ... in fact I went one better today & spotted a fern in Morrissons ... there was one particular leaf which stood proud of the others & looked so healthy & perfect that I wanted the plant it belonged to!
There were 20 or more there, all packed tightly together & with every one I picked up that blooming leaf never moved ... until nearly the last one!
I always choose the plant with the most buds or best flowers & it can take time choosing as you say!!
Love the cosmos & artemesia... so pretty ... as for Daisy ... she's just gorgeous! :o)

You know what Sue, I drive MYSELF to distraction sometimes! LOL and it seems you are just a little like me........ wavering over that cuppa. :o))
He he Fluff, it's always the way isn't it, always the very last plant you get to that has THAT flower or leaf on it! I can just imagine you with plants all over the place in Morrisons, glad I'm not the only fussy one.

I am more of a 'take them out and consider' buyer too. Like you lily I always put them back carefully. I hate it when I see people just 'chucking' them back.
Mind you soe of the till people need to learn how to handle plants. I've refused the plant if they have snapped a stem. despite their cries of it will re grow. but i know that I have the best one from the display too. :o(

Oh lily, a woman after my own heart, I can spend hours doing exactly that with a cuppa and a cake in between, and then a big guilt trip when I get home.!
I too can never make up my mind which plants to buy but generally I tend to pick out the big ones. :0)))
Temples of Temptation they surely are.
Good blog as usual.

I've got all this fun to come yet....in the early throws of clearing back garden...I am already wishing spring were here so I could do the GC search. I'll note how it's done....so I'll look like a real experienced gardener! lol

I would like a Cosmos somewhere in the garden too...hubby doesn't really like them....but I have a plan! hehe

Quite agree with you about till people sbg, I always say no when they want to pack them for me....same as in the supermarket! It may regrow but the shape may be spoilt.
Only one cake Val?......bet that's a big one too! LOL. How would we ever manage to get out of the Temple if we went together??
How frustrating Wlass, having to wait all winter but I'm sure you'll get to the GC many times before Spring. :o)) How lovely to have bare borders to fill up.

I tend to go out with a shopping list but I will consider other plants I see if I know where I can put them in the garden. I try to avoid impulse buys as they never seem to 'fit' anywhere

I'm not quite as long-winded in picking the best specimen but I will look for:
a) a strong plant
b) multiple crowns (if applicable) - then it may get divided before planting
c) good shape and not spindly
d) buds rather than flowers but a strong plant takes preference over either
e) two plants in one pot! (it has been known)

Oh Andrew, you're so disciplined, I wish I could be too.....no wonder your garden is so lovely!
Great advice there, so Whistonlass, take note of Andrew, not me!

Right, Lily....I've noted Andrew's advice....but....your GC visits sound pretty eventful...like going on a treasure hunt :)

Has Daisy sat on anything computer related at all, Lily ? I don't want to blame her, but, you never know ! I went to the local GC last Monday, by myself, can't plant shop with OH, I walk far too slowly for him apparently ! As he's colour blind, it's pointless taking him really. Anyway, I pick up and put down many. many pots before choosing the best, in my opinion, specimen. I rarely stop for refreshment, but do visit each and every department of the GC ! On the last visit, I annoyed a member of staff by asking to look at their copy of the RHS book, he said the plant was correctly labelled, yes it was, but it didn't say how tall it might grow. The customer is always right, isn't she ? LOL !

Oh Andrew, I `ll be honest, since being on here I admit our trips are more organised and we do take a list of what we want but sometimes one see`s a plant/shrub that just has to go home with you.....

Definitely a treasure hunt Whistonlass.....and I love it!
That's a thought Shirley, maybe Daisy sabotaged it by clogging up the keyboard with cat hairs! She probably got fed up with being pushed out of the way in favour of GoY, come to think of it.....is that a smug expression on her face? My OH would pick the first plant he found, he has no idea at all and yes the customer IS always right, which is more than can be said for some labels. :o((

I always line them all up then shortlist them. It is a kind of beauty contest for plants and the winner comes home with me. I usually tidy the plants in supermarkets if I think they are not getting water from the mat. Hate to see them suffer!!

I totally sympathise Lily :o) LOVE the cosmos!!!

they are 'Temples of Temptation' so it's not your fault - personally I have trouble with what NOT to buy =\ finances obviously enforce a limit and after collecting the best of each species that catches my eye - i have to go round and put at least two thirds of them back

My OH made a blunder - in front of witnesses - last time we went to the GC - "A minimum of three plants" he told me in a loud firm voice - I looked at him - and looked at the lady next to me - "You heard that?" I asked her - she stifled a giggle and nodded - I grinned - then didn't have the heart not to point out what the edict he had just uttered actually was ... sigh - too nice for my own good =)

I'm laughing Lily lol.... You're exactly like me. I always tend to be rather self-concious in a garden centre when I do that - 'Hasn't that man decided which one he wants yet ?' lol, ... and Beryl is just as bad, so it takes twice as long with twice as many people staring at us :D

Isn't daisy lovely.
Actually when I was reading your blog my computer 'did it's own thing' again as usual, and scrolled itself quickly to the bottom of the page faster than I could catch it. And as it sped down I thought to myself 'what's Blodyn doing in Lily's blog' ? lol Then I realised it was Daisy. She's lovely isn't she :o)

LOL Linda, yes that's just what it is, a beauty contest! I hate seeing plants blown over or gasping for water in shops and GCs.
Thanks Pip, glad you like the Cosmos. I thought we could all do with a reminder of summer as it's very soggy over here just now :o((
Yes it's so hard to choose what to put back Cate, two thirds is a really tough decision! Bet OH will choose his words a bit more carefully next time, I hpe you took him up on it! :o))
Hi Hywel, it seems like most of us on here are all a-dither at the GC so maybe most other customers are too busy dithering themselves to take much notice of us! LOL
Daisy is a real sweetie except when she insists on standing in front of the screen with her bottom in my face. YUK :o((
My computer does it's own thing too, often refuses to recognize me as logged in on GoY and refuses to let me access pm's and ignores my comments.......in fact it did it right now with this comment, this is the second go at posting it. So annoying when it's a long one like this, well here goes with the submit button...

Hooray!

What can I say about me? No discipline what so ever. I make my plans, I decide what I want, go the GC, I wander around admiring the plants, then change my mind and buy something completely different.

My OH can never understand how I can be in and out of a supermarket in an hour or less for weekly shop, yet it takes me all afternoon in a GC! I "line 'em up", "whip 'em in" my trolley and "move 'em out" to the pay desk..then get distracted on the way, change my mind..send OH with rejected plant back to its proper place...study the crown for lots of growth, look at the bottom to make sure its not pot bound...THATS why it takes all afternoon to buy three or four plants..and all day if we visit two GCs!!
PS I have been known to take sandwiches but please dont tell anyone.

sorry i missed this blog lily, they dont always come up on mt page ;o(
anyway im a bit like you as i do have to check out which plant i like best from the bunch, and i do go round a few times if i cant afford them all and decide which i need or want more, but once i know that it doesnt take long, i grab them quick and go before i change my mind lol lovely pics to especially Daisy ;o))

Oh yes Tetrarch, food shopping - so boring, get it over and done with asap but plant shopping, well it's so complex isn't it? Definitely not something to be rushed! LOL. Sandwiches? sounds like a very good idea to me!
I know what you mean about getting out quick Sandra, can't do with having to change your mind yet again!
It's interesting what you say about things not showing on your homepage. I get various odd things like that happen too, like finding new blogs in the members page which aren't in the latest blogs but later on, they are . If you see what I mean! It's so easy to miss things. Glad you like the pics, Daisy is a real sweetie.

I've just struggled to find homes for all the 'freebies' that arrived with a bulb order. Mixed narcissus (no indication how big they get) - back of an area planted for autumn colour. Three different bags of tulip bulbs - behind some fuchsias. anemone blanda corms (100 of!), some behind a group of phlox, the others in a shady corner under a sorbus. So even I can cope with unexpected plants - it just takes me a long time to work out where to squeeze them in :-)

Wow...that's some 'freebies'.....and lots of planting for you. It will be very nice in spring when they all pop into bloom :)
Lucky you, Andrew.

It's good to see you with some unplanned plants Andrew and just goes to show that we can always find room for things if we try :o)) It'll be interesting to see how it all turns out in Spring.

Btw J, what WAS your plan re the Cosmos???

Well the cosmos will go in the border (at the back I reckon) but it's hard to visualize exactly how it will fit in. It is a favourite of mine so I'll squeeze it in somewhere, M. :)

And as its an annual, if OH objects, all you need to say is, well it will be gone next year..which is true..but you can replace it with another hehehe

Lily2, sorry it's been a while since you posted this but, I've just found it. I do exactly the same! I drive my OH to ditraction, so much so, that now he sit in the cafe part of the nurseries or g/centres, or strolls round their shop. You know, it never occured to me, that doing this might get on other peoples nerves. He say's I'm the pickyist woman in GB. Aha! But now I know, I'm not the only one! lol!

I'd forgotten all about this blog, How long ago last October seems with all those nasty winter months in between. I'm glad you found it Helenium, better late than never! I think we're all vying for the crown of Pickiest Woman in GB and right now I expect we're all limbering up and raring to go for the start of the buying sprees. There'll be pots lined up up for selection all over the aisles at GCs everywhere! lol. OHs are best left at home as they don't understand such things can't be hurried and they always say "HOW MUCH!!!" when they look at the bulging trolley! (and again at the checkout) :o))))

I was at the GC a couple of weeks ago, they had perennials in long, 4in pots@ £1.99 each or 6 for £8, quite good I thought, and they looked healthy, but it's way to early to plant them, which means they have to sit in the porch. What if they don't survive then that's not much of a bargain. I'm thinking about it.... right I'm going, I've got £6.50 left in vouchers, so I'll only be £1.50 down if they don't survive!

I think that's a very good way of looking at it, vouchers don't count as money do they! If they're perennials they should be OK in the porch I would think. I couldn't resist a 'bargain' just after Christmas when I bought a large shrub/small tree (I can never remember it's proper name but often called 'Sun King'). It was 1/2 price at £7.50 but I didn't notice it was frozen in it's pot. :o(( It's not looking much of a bargain now!! Still, the stem is green inside so there is some hope. Wait and see.....

Good bargain Lily, hope it survives. I bought a 9ft bamboo in a sale, cost £20 reduced from £60, I even had visions of it swaying in the breeze, you know, just daydreaming. Then only one month after I bought it we got really bad weather for ages, persistent low temps, it didn't survive the winter, so not a bargain after all. I think it would've survived had it been in the ground, but by that time of the year, the ground was solid and cold.

What a shame, that would have been a wonderful bargain 'if only'....... Never mind there's always the next bargain and it's fun tracking them down! :o)

I'll keep treasure hunting!

Have fun, I hope you find it!