And so I cheered myself up & went shopping :)

Lots of lovely purchases ... Trachelospermum Jasminoides is one of my favourites.. I have several around my gardens...

I like your "typo" on the planters $8.99 ... Lol. x

Hello Jacquie! That's good that you have gone out for a little bit of retail therapy! I hope you're feeling a little less deflated today, and as I said yesterday...only 13 days to go!
Your tubs are looking very lovely, the little balloon flower is just the most wonderful shade of blue! The baskets are really pretty too! I laughed when you talked about 'steering' your hubby towards the plant section... I think we've all done that! Lol;0)x

WOW.. you got some lovely plants there..well done you both :))))

Woops....didn't notice that typo, Terra...lol I hope the Trachelospermum Jasminoides will thrive...it didn't look to me that it was in bad condition. There was no tag with it so I have no idea what colour the flowers will be although I am assuming they will be white? Will it need any particular attention when I re-plant it?

Yes, Libet...the balloon flower is a pretty shade of blue...I am thinking it will grow outwards rather than upwards and fill a lot of the pot. I may end up taking some plants out of the pots and putting them in the borders but for now they should keep healthy in their pots.

Didnt take long to cheer yourself up then W.lass!!! Thats the ticket. Nice plants.

Very good day then, lol, the only time my hubby comes to the plant section is if I need something too heavy for me to lift, he disappears to the electrical tool section and I swear he spends longer browsing amongst those areas than I do in the garden area and thats even when he isn`t buying, lol....
Your baskets look lovely Whiston....

Jacquie ... plant the TJ in a sheltered position with some sunshine... away from cold windy areas ...

Nice one Whistonlass - glad you cheered yourself up - lovely buys :):):):):):)

Well done Whistonlass the men just don't understand us plantaholics do they! They will never get to grips with it 'Men are from Mars - Women are from Venus' think that's the right way round. lol. I just leave mine at home when I go plant buying come to think of it when I go and buy anything, he hates shopping lol. All the purchases look healthy and you will soon be getting them in the garden, not long to wait now. Time flies by when your enjoying yourself.

My kind of shopping, Jacquie! Lovely Balloon Flower, gorgeous colour and the Cosmos should bloom all Summer if you regularly deadhead it. Glad to hear you're happier today. : o ))

the jasomoid hun ................... is lovely , i am on my second as 1st one died , so fingers x , i have seen them in a village were it looked great , ltook over ther wall . minies still small . great pics hun

Glad you had a good day Wlass retail therapy has the knack of taking your mind of dissapointments. The Jasminoid as TT has already said needs shelter and sun and you will be rewarded with the most delicious perfume - I have a huge one in the corner of the patio next to my kitchen window where it fills the air with its perfume.

Ahh..a bit of retail therapy..never fails to work, especially where plants are involved ! Lovely pics Jaquie, and some great plants.

Very nice. As B&Q is just down the road from me, I often walk down there and go in to their garden centre section. I also bought cape daisies and Cosmos there recently.

1 white cosmos
1 pink cosmos
1 dark pink cosmos
1 yellow cape daisy
1 white cape daisy

I don't usually have problems with B&Q, and usually find them to be healthy and of good quality. That is why most of my plants were purchased there.

Alex...if hubby had been more amenable I would have liked more cosmos too!! You got a nice selection of cosmos and cape daisies there Alex :)

Little bit of retail therapy is just what you needed and they all look lovely:)

Thanks, I had cosmos last year (white), and I didn't manage to collect any seeds. This was my favourite, as I only started gardening in February 2010. Luckily they displayed some and I was drawn to them immediately.

The cape daisies caught my eye because of the bright colours.

I have noticed that the neighbour across from mee has spent a load on shrubs and has planted them round the side and front of her property in an L shape.

Pssst.... When your husband is not around, go an buy some more and plant them, and act like you have no idea how the cosmos reproduced. I buy most of mine when no-one is at home, or sneak home after a "walk" and stash them round the side before grabbing the gardening tools and putting them in pots and the ground.

Oooh Alex....your plan is tempting :) My hubby is an "Alex" too....well, Alexander actually.

I'll have to remember I can collect seeds from the cosmos although we did have it in the front area next to where we park our car for quite a few years and it keep coming up every year. Then I let my daughter's b/friend do a spot of gardening for us and he took it all out...thought it was a weed!!

Well what else would one spend a refund on eh...lol? You got some lovely plants there Jacquie and I do like the wooden tubs too. :o)

You've got some nice plants there. I like those baloon flowers. Mine died last winter. I had blue and pink ones, but no more.
Those wooden tubs are wonderful aren't they. And you've made some nice baskets.
You'll have a colourful garden yet ! :)

Thanks for your comments about the wooden tubs...I am very pleased with them too :)

I'm getting there....patience and all that....lol I am very impressed with my baskets too, Hywel (bragging I know!) as I had forgotten I had those baskets set to one side to take to the charity shop...and then on finding them had a flash of inspiration...and my photos tell the story!

Sorry you lost your balloon plant, Hywel. My plant is still small but I am hoping it will bush out and form a nice clump...I've no experience of growing these before (well...I have very minimal experience of growing anything before....so wish me luck!)...

Good luck then :) !
I never got the balloon flowers to grow into a big clump. They were always small but had big flowers. and bloomed for a long time. I liked them because they didn't get overgrown like the other things in my garden.
The blue one is lovely - a nice rich colour but the pink one was rather dull. I won't buy one again but the blue one I'm on the look out for lol
Well I had some baskets like that which I found in my mother's house. I took them to a charity shop not long ago. I could have used them like you - didn't think
They are pretty :)

What a wicket little lass U R, the poor hubby did not know what hit him. ahem!!!but we girls know what makes them happy, heh, heh!!! lovely purchases there WL. love the baskets & off course the Cape daisies. Yahoo, nice job.

Thanks for your kind comments, Hywel & Adoons. Sorry you have rid yourself of the wicker baskets, Hywel, mine are really looking good since the last bout of rain. I've been out again and got more bargains this morning...minus hubby (left him in bed still sleeping).

I got a hot tip from my sister-in-law that Focus had reduced a lot of plants (they are going into receivership) and many were 10p and 49p...so I determined I'd get down there first thing and see what I could find.

I spent £3.09 and got about 10 plants...4 sweet peas, 3 alpine plants, a currant bush (for the birds), a fern, and a miniature rodie. All in all I was very happy with my haul :) Even hubby was impressed with the small amount I had spent.

I'll be going back when I get the nod from my sister-in-law that more will be going on sale. The plants have all had a good soak and are happily biding their time until the borders are ready :)

what a treat! well done :o))x
Our shopping today was shoes to go with prom dress for eldest daughter, all very exciting! Got what she wanted without breaking the bank, so a good day all round.

Those tubs are great Jacquie, must look for some for me good price too, and your baskets are lovely. Hows the garden coming on? Ignore that just seen previous blog...i too am still waiting..middle of May builder said ho hum..

Love your tubs i'm always looking a pots and planters but never seem to flash the cash..My mother works in a charity shop and is always bringing me odd pots and things to use They should all fill out nicely and i never thought of popping to focus to see if there was any bargains.

Called in a near-by Focus this afternoon but nothing reduced. Service as usual. You wouldn't say there was anything up.

Perhaps the Focus that is near to you Hywel is one of the stores that is being taken over by B&Q....I understand they have bought up some of the Focus stores but haven't (as far as I know) taken them over yet.

Our local Focus is closing as no buyer has been found...just don't know exactly when so I'm watching for the sales :)

Glad the baskets are a hit with many of you...SK, I am now only a week away from seeing things finally begin to happen....getting excited :)

I know the feeling Whistonlass i've been waiting for months for my paving to be done, luckily they have started now.. I hope all your work goes well for you and exactly how you want it !

Thank you Bill.....I wish the same for you...a successful and pleasing job of paving. If nothing else, we do learn patience as we wait!

hope your garden gets going soon Hun ............... a little tip , the wire baskets you get that need lining ......... never chuck em out . i use them to put over delicate plants so the dog ,cat etc dont dig em up . but i let the plants grow tho them !! as it adds support to bigger ones , and wen you cut them down . you can cover them with fleece . they will anker it down or tuk straw under them as well ......................... u wont see them wen plants grow !!! it also stops you treading on delicate plants so if you have any spare you no wot to do with them now lol

youv done really well on your shopping trip good for you,some lovely plants there :)

Yes, Cristina....I read somewhere else on GoY last week about using the upturned wire baskets so will keep that in mind.

I am looking forward to seeing what plants I have already got, all planted up in the borders and then I'll have a better idea of what I still need...that will be the fun part :)
I was definitely pleased with my Focus bargains, D...still hoping for more in the days to come...lol

Nothing like a bit of retail therapy to cheer one up! You got some really good bargains too, love the Jasmine, one of my favourites! :-D

Thanks, Red aly...totally agree the retail therapy is tops :)

Hi Jacquie, love your lovely plants youve been buying. I have 2 of the balloon flowers and they are beautiful. I had my lilac one last year and the flowers were lovely and at the end of the season I bought a white one thast was nearly at the end for 20p and decided to try and nurse it back to health. It did survive but you have to protect them through the winter. I put the white (20p) one in the greenhouse all winter and left the lilac one in its tub among other plants in the garden close to the wall of the house and covered the balloon flower.... (which I forgot to say dies back so unless you put a marker in you might forget where it was) .... and I covered the part where the Balloon flower was with a small piece of bubble wrap and held it down with 4 little sticks to hold it in place, and Hooray they have both grown back this year. On the ticket that was in them it said they were a 1 year plant, but someone on here told me to cover them and Hey Presto it worked, ...through all that snow aswell!!!.

That's a good tip, Lincs. I have had such good advice and encouragement here and I'm finding it a job just to keep up with all the info...lol

You may find me repeating myself if I can't decipher my written notes (pages of them in a little notebook but not in any particular order). It's like reading a novel going through it! lol

Thats OK W/L, our memories arn't what they used to be are they? Pleased you found this info useful.

Apologies Linsuffolk...I've referred to you earlier as Lincs! Oh dear....will do better next time :)

Never mind Jacquie, apologies accepted, all forgiven!!!!! :o)))

:)...... @ Linsuffolk