Are you a Plantaholic?

A definite YES from me Spritz.,It must be a very catching disease,only known to Gardeners :o)..no cure,and I hope they never find an antidote..your choices are lovely,and we always find a space for them,no matter what,don't we?..I have never bought online.,I much prefer to see what I'm buying too..plus we have the pleasure of a day out...I bought a Rudbeckia a couple of weeks ago..and three Coreopsis..one for me,two for our daughters new garden..this is going to be my problem..If I buy her one,am I destined to get another for me?? Lol.

My name is Andrew and I'm a plantaholic. This is a meeting of Plantaholics Anonymous isn't it? You won't tell anyone else will you? I can't stay - I'm off to Wisley to look at - errr - I mean buy some plants.

My name is Denise and I too am a planataholic and attend regular GOY sessions!
I dig up more and more lawn to create new beds. I will be going to my GC today for patio cleaner and barley straw and will almost certainly come back with a plant or 2 or 3 or?
Then I think of all the exercise I get everyday in my garden - that must be a plus for my addiction so I guess there is no hope for me!

I attend this meeting as a Scottish representative of Plantaholics Anonymous. I do not buy online either as it is absolutely necessary to see what I am spending my money on. Hey I am a Scot and we are known for our thrift. On the plus side my frequent forays in to garden centres allows me to indulge my passion for saving unloved and sadly neglected plants which I take time and pleasure in reviving. My lips are sealed Andrew, what did you buy? Lovely choices Spritz. I think you have turned your disastrous flood into a gold winning success.

I think I'm a proto-plataholic, I really want to do so much but I hold back because I know how much I don't know (well, of course I don't know the dimensions of my ignorance, but I know they're considerable!) but oh, how I wish for things

I'm a Welsh rep, but not the only one! I would love to be able to get all my fixes locally but sometimes the only way is on line. Sadly I find that these meetings do not help at all, and my habit is getting worse. But who cares?

I can definitely recognize few plantoholics on this board. :-) I am one of them.

World Wide meeting of the Goy Plantaholic Society.......???

wonderful!

can you be plantaholic......and chocaholic???

I am not an anonymous plantaholic, If you walk past my front garden there's no grass, all plants, bit of a give away!

Yes you can Pam

Why would we want a cure?

Now there's a sensible comment!

I too fall into the category of Plantaholic. I look what's lacking in my garden throughtout the year, do my research, make a list and just have to get them. Insane but sooo satisfying and enjoyable.

I can answer "YES" to all those questions.

I was in Carmarthen yesterday, and said to myself :- "I won't go to the garden centre behind the market today - there won't be enough time to go there and the library as well."

But guess what ? ... I suddenly found myself in the garden centre :)
I don't remember walking there. I think I just materialised there ;) lol

Well I can go to the library next week (maybe !)
And I would only take out books on plants anyway :D

I do like your Clematises. I would have done the same as you :)

Or on the other hand,Hywel..you might have wasted all that time in the Library,and not found a book you fancied ! Lol..you made the right choice in my eyes..did you buy anything? :o)
..

Now there's a horrible choice because I am a bookaholic as well. You'll need to set off earlier next time Hywel!

My name is Val....I am a Plantaholic! I always think when I go into a Gc/Nursey, I am keeping someone in business.Thats my story and I sticking to it!!!Love the Rudbeckia Spritz, whats it called?

I've been laughing all the way through your comments, fellow Plantaholics! I'm in the right community, aren't I. :-)) I'm so glad other people would have driven all that way just to buy 'Princess Kate'.

Val, that Rudbeckia is a new cross between an Echinacea and a Rudbeckia and it's called R.'Summerina Yellow'. Guess what - they were sold out when I looked for another one. :-( That's another regret - why oh why didn't I buy TWO!!!! I think it's going to be a real treasure.

Ah there you have it Stera...... a garden, a good book......and chocolate....bliss

Sorry to hijack your blog Barbara but I want to reply to some members -

Sandra Bloomer yes I bought a rather large Aeonium which was staring me right in the eye and saying "BUY ME !" :D
How could I refuse ... ?

Sue Steragram I had to catch the bus home. It would have been another 2 hrs before the next one, and I would only have gone back to the garden centre to buy something else ! :D
Not a bad idea really though ... lol

I too hold my hands up, I am a fully fledged member of this group, rarely miss a meeting, cannot have gaps in my garden, trouble is I cannot drive so my trips to the GC's are not as regular, does that help, Nope, when I do go, I tend to buy in bulk, where does my list come from, well thats easy, its made up from the minutes of these meetings..

Too true - but aren't we fortunate that so many are kind enough to send cuttings and seeds across the country to other addicts? So much generosity and support frm all over, this addiction can't be all bad.

Lol Hywel, a garden centre and a cuppa and you might have missed the next bus as well!

Yes Pam, chocolate too...

LOL :D
As you know Sue, I find it easy to miss buses ;)

I may be. I do go to nurseries (not GC's anymore) and my first port of call is the bargain bin. Second, the tender stuff. Then I take a look outside proper, although I rarely get tempted.
But my growing from seed is out of control! Lots of Salvia, Australian bulbs, winter blooming South African bulbs, various Australian and New Zealand members of the pea family, members of the Iris family and so on. I start off looking on-line for such and such seed, find it, trawl through the rest of the shop buying stuff I've never heard of and then end up not getting what it was that I was after in the first place.I have thirty pots of seed started indoors, rather a lot in the cold frame ready to germinate in the spring and lord knows how many waiting to be started.
Then there is the burgeoning succulent collection (I blame Hywel for that!), the climber collection, the existing collection of tender bulbs.....................

Yup - I may qualify!

No doubt about it Meanie! It will take you all Spring to plant that lot out.

Lol Hywel! It was my fault as much as yours...

Such sad news - tragic, in fact. Some horrible animal has DUG UP my beautiful 'Princess Kate' and wrecked the root ball. so she won't survive. :-(((

I shall have to order another one online, as I really haven't got time to drive down to Devon again. Fellow Plantaholics will all understand my fury and sadness.

Oh ! That is unforgivable :(
I understand how you feel. I am the same - a plant dies and I have to replace it, as well as buy new ones that I haven't had before. You miss them, don't you ...
I hope you can get another one.

Sorry Meanie ... lol ;)

Oh Spritz!
its rabbits here they even pruned the Cordylines ?
Could you put a ring of wire netting around the replacement.......

Squirrels here - bulbs out and hazelnuts put in to replace them.

Don't throw her away Spritz. Put her in a pot and wait and see what happens. Plants are very good at surviving especially if you can take the time to ensure she is not attacked again. It is a worrying development though and I would be concerned for other plants until you find out what has done this. To find out what wildlife you have in the garden if there are no tracks that would help you take some sand and spread it around where you think the little blighter came from. A good thick layer will be needed and you should be able to find out what is scampering around your garden from the tracks they leave. Put the sand on a thin sheet of something which you can move around if necessary.

i found a site for squirrel-resistant plants, it also covers other pests, don't know if it'd be any use to anyone

http://www.vanbloem.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.search/index.htm

You are not alone. I would have done the same thing, esp for clems

Just going to look for the Rudbeckia Spritz, it looks a lovely one.Going to our local Gc on Sunday, they are having a Dahlia show....never know might find one there. I've got a voucher to spend as well....Yipee here I come!!!Lol

I hope you find it - it really is a great plant! :-))

I replanted my poor Clem, in the vain hope it might survive, but I wish I'd thought to cosset it in a pot. I suspect it was a fox - the hole was too large to have been a cat.

You should see the rabbit holes......overnight once they excavated a big tub of annuals, it was so annoying .....all the mess and dying plants.
they love soft soil thats been disturbed, and is bare easy digging!
physical barriers are the only thing that really works, in my big heuchera troughs I 1/2 buried clay pots in the bare spaces then put a viola in, they can't get in to dig.....grrr . ?

Fingers crossed Spritz. I do hope that our No.1 Plantaholic can prove its possible to save even the most badly treated plants. I would dig it up and pot it up or put a bit of wire netting over the top of the space to discourage other menaces. Could it have been a badger. When I planted up a hedge for my daughter the badgers were a real nuisance. They even came in to the garden and dug up freshly planted pots.

Oh dear, I've lapsed again. Just ordered some plants from Kevock Nursery in Scotland, plus two paeonies from Kelway's in Somerset.

Well done Andrew.

It's amazing that Kelways get away with their reputation intact - the actual GC is awful, unless you go immediately after Chelsea, when they sell off the exhibits. The famous Paeony Field is weed-ridden and I've never found anything I'd want to buy. Such a shame. :-((

Watch this space - I'm definitely going to order another HRH. ;-) Well, you all knew I would, didn't you????

Poor Princess - I'm certain she's a goner. Not worth digging her up - she only had three weeny roots left. :-(

"It's amazing that Kelways get away with their reputation intact - the actual GC is awful, unless you go immediately after Chelsea, when they sell off the exhibits. The famous Paeony Field is weed-ridden and I've never found anything I'd want to buy."

I have a nursery close to me that has a lot of weeds and as such it has a poor reputation. However, the plants that I have bought from him have been excellent without exception.

Anyway, I too succumbed to temptation and ordered a load more Salvia seed from Annette Bax/Salvialicious in Australia. I already have too many, but I am weak!

Another definition dawned on me too - when you do the spring clean in autumn you may very well be a plantaholic!

No I am not a plant-aholic [but I might still be in denial] :o)
Bought a large unknown to me, bulb today just coz it was there and cheapish Urginea maritime.

Poor clem. it is so disappointing when this happens.

It's not fair. I was taken to the Wisley Flower Show today. There were dozens of stalls selling plants. That's like taking an alcoholic to an off-licence.

So what did you come home with?

Whenever I see a plant I like, I have to buy at least 3. I once heard somebody say "good luck comes in threes...wait...yeh, I'm in denial....

You're right to buy in threes, or even fives if you have room, Bathgate. They look great planted in odd numbers! :-)))

Andrew -we're all waiting for your confession! Oooh, Wisley Plant Show - sheer bliss for plantaholics! :-)))

Lychnis chalcedonica (three plants). I had this and moved it, and it promptly died on me, so these are replacements.
Molinia caerulea 'Moorhexe' - a grass that takes on red tints in the autumn.
Heuchera 'Blondie' (three plants) for the front of a shady section of my yellow border. Although the foliage is purple, the flowers are yellow.
All these were on my shopping list.

Loropetalum 'Fire Dance' - I've never been able to get this through the winter, but I'm having one final attempt (and it was very cheap!)

You'll be lucky, Andrew - I agree, it's not hardy, and I've tried three times as well. My 'ordinary' Loropetalum is against the house wall, and that has come through several winters - I think it must have been in about 6 or 7 years now.

Your plants sound good! (I could have sent you seeds of the Lychnis if I'd known).

Wonderful blog Spritz, and I'm very glad there is no cure for us! Btw, my Loropetalum 'Fire Dance' is in the greenhouse and has just started to flower . . . again!

Best place for it, Sheila, especially with the v.v.v cold winds we've been having.

Haha - I've got a new planting area and I've been having fun at the GC! :-D)