Repeat after me

It is a waste of money to stock up on perennials before the end of season sales start.

Please remind me of this next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

Every year, I get all excited and want to go out and buy boatloads of plants. Most years I do. Every year, only a month after gardening season starts, I stock up AGAIN on even better plants and rock bottom prices.

Case in point:
Last year, I bought three astilbes that were about 4" high. They cost $12 each. They didn't survive the winter.

This year, I bought three astilbes that are about 2' high and full. They cost $5 each, and at that price I don't care if they survive the winter.

I guess it's like any discount shopping: you've got to be willing to pick through the junk to find the good stuff. Plants and colours are limited; but I've never been a person who believes that gardens should be colour coordinated anyway.

I also bought four (Count them 1-2-3-4) peony plants. I love peonies. I think they're the perfect plant for the back yard, because they're full, they've got beautiful blooms and they're green all season. Even better, at the end of the season I can hack them down to the ground. (Plants in the back yard must be able to disappear over the winter so that Tula and I can romp in the snow until our hearts are content, and not worry about what we're trompling.)


I held back, and wouldn't let myself by annuals yet, but they're dirt cheap too. I just need to plant what I've got now, and then I can fill up again. :)


Off to go plant stuff....