Cymbidium 2

Another beauty.

Very nice!
Mine has a spike at last! I don't know what colour it will be (I bought it for £4 back in April out of bloom), but this would be nice....

What a joy to have this flowering now, and so many flowers too.

Oh yes, I agree Janey. That would cheer anyone up...even Hywel!!! lol ;))))

My old ones aren't even 'thinking' about flowering, yet!

Spritz - it was outdoors from the day that I bought it right up to the first frost! This is my "reward" for bringing it indoors!
Oh, I got the price wrong by the way - it was £6! I bought a Hibiscus rosa-sinensis out of the same bargain bin for £4.

I leave mine out too, Meanie. I only brought them back in at the very end of October when we had a light frost. You really did get a bargain there. Well - two!

Thanks, Homebird. :-))

This particular GC is a little like Waitrose - their prices can make you wince, but when they reduce stuff they do it properly!
I went into Waitrose Tuesday night and left with five farm reared, corn fed chickens for less than a pound each!

What a beauty!

Meanie - a very good place to know about.
Why were the chickens so cheap?

Thanks again, Bell - I'm glad you like Cymbidiums! :-)

Sell by dates Spritz! Roasted them, took the meat off and stuck it into bags in the freezer. That's a load of chicken pies sorted! Boiled the carcasses up and froze the stock too. I only went in for a couple of spaghetti squashes! Good ol' Waitrose.
Back to the garden centre - it's ok. Very good range of bulbs, seeds, house plants and orchids. Very pricey too. But for garden plants it's a little unimaginative. But I'm in there regularly as I have a lot of customers nearby. And I always check out the bargain bin - it has proper reductions in there. Mostly because it's finished flowering or hasn't sold well!

We haven't got a Waitrose - no idea where the nearest one is - probably Bath or Bristol, both far too far to go food shopping! You did well there.

I'd like a GC like that, as well - the one I frequent mostly does have a corner where they put a few reduced price plants, but they always look a bit on the dead side. Hmmmph!

Just about every posting on GOY gets around to food at the moment!
This particular GC is the biggest around here, but to be fair, everything always seems well cared for. Because of their size, I assume that they may be tied into order quantity contract to get the best price. Good range of indoor plants too - it's the only place for miles around that stocks Collumnea.

I hate going to GCs (or Nurseries) where the plants appear to be neglected. It's a pleasure when they're properly looked after. :-)

I know what you mean.
It's hard though - just up the road there's a small one man nursery. He survives because of the sale of "frilly" annuals, which by his own admission gives him little pleasure. As a result, the perennials can look a little sorry at times, but needs must. Without support, places like this will disappear and there will be only garden centres full of christmas from October left.
It's not how he would like it, but as it's his livelihood, he has to prioritise.
And his selection of Fuchsia is far more to my taste than most GC's too!

We have one like that, Meanie, and I frequent it regularly, but sadly, the owner died recently and there's just his wife running it now. I can't see this situation lasting. Such a shame!

It is a shame. The large GC's offer us so much choice, but I do feel a little guilty about spending money with them. I feel like I do when I buy meat from the s/market instead of the butcher!
I've just taken a walk up there and dropped some Cleome and Aserina seed in. And we've done a deal over a cup of tea - I get bench space in his seedling house (about 8 sq metres), and I'll give him a couple of hours here and there to help out. Between us, we'll spend next year building up a good stock of perennials. I have a couple of ideas for marketing too.

I almost feel like going there and offering to help - but she has a sister in our village, who does just that, so I can't really do that. Your idea is a very good one, Meanie! :-)

A bit of it's the trotski in me - I hate to see the little guy squeezed out!

Good for you! :-))