LOVING MY NEW FLOWER BASKETS

I'm feeling particularly pleased with myself this evening. It was, unexpectedly, a day to garden, and I set several tasks for myself: Go to Garden Fever for knifofia and show the owner the species of erysimum I wanted, and then head over to Home Depot, where they had petunia baskets for $10.99.

I was disciplined at Garden Fever, and walked away with only the knifofia and one other that I just had to have, and true to form cannot remember the name of right now. But I'd been seeing it in a friend's flower bed for several years, and lusting after it. And there it was. And then, it was on my cart. Just like that.

Everything else, I resisted, but I can't pat myself on the back too hard. It was the fact that the back yard is in the midst of a major remodel that really stopped my buying more. I just couldn't think where I'd plant all the tempting lovelies Garden Fever had.

So, off to Home Depot. Well, let me tell you, those petunia baskets looked a whole lot bigger and better in the ads than they did in person.

So I created my own baskets. There's a plant clearance section there, and I checked it out pretty thoroughly, scoring two gallon pots of Lemon Twist petunias for just $3 each, and another gallon pot of a red grass that was really pretty and had enough in it to divide, for just $2. I also got a lush gloxinia for just $1, a real bargain, to plant...somewhere. At that price, I'd find a place for it.

After that, I browsed the annuals, picking out zinnias, blue lobelia, and little four-packs of hot pink petunias. Everything seemed to be on sale there, too.

The entire lot cost me just $14! I already had the containers I needed, so that was it. Two very pretty baskets of flowers, for just $6.50 each. (The gloxinia doesn't count.)


The lovely brown background is where the lawn used to be, and where I hope it will be again soon. Bob is putting some serious work in, and doing it right, so it will flourish.

I found places for the other plants I'd picked up today. I also transplanted a Russian sage start, putting it beside the white house at the back of our property, and set out the two basils, and the two varieties of variegated ground covers, and a tomato that had been waiting very patiently for me to get to them. And weeded the front bed. That bed tends to be a regular riot of weeds, for reasons known only to itself.

I ended the afternoon dirty and tired, and glad of the day's accomplishments.