Thursday, February 25, 2010

Plant shopping, done.

I decided that this season's projects will be a mulched path to the veggetable garden, an extension of the "island" flower bed that is out in the middle of the yard, and work on the bed on the right front of the house. Excavated topsoil from the path will go to the other two locations. The island area will be desert-themed. The front bed will be regraded a bit to prevent water from seeping into the garage, the foundation for the rain barrel will be redone properly, foundation shrubs will be added, and the front of the bed will be prettied up and made to match Gabe's Garden on one end.

From Tripple Brook Farm, I have purchased the following:
1 Apios americana (groundnut)
1 Opuntia compressa (common prickly pear)
1 Empetrum nigrum 'Compass harbor' (black crowberry)
1 Armeria maritima (sea pink)
1 Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen, a.k.a. teaberry, a.k.a checkerberry)
1 Epigaea repens (Mayflower, a.k.a. trailing arbutus).
This is my first time purchasing from this nursery. The plants are pricey, but they have some native plants that I have never seen before. The crowberry, for instance, is a near-native (arctic, actually) ground cover that produces edible berries. I saw it, and was instantly afflicted with plant lust. And groundnut I have lusted after for a couple of years now. A friend gave me some tubers last summer, but they had been soaking in her sink in preperation for dinner, and I think that treatment did them in.

From Musser Forrests:
5 Myrica pensylvanica 'Bayview' (northern bayberry)
2 Picea abies nidiformis (bird's nest spruce)
2 Pinus mugo pumilio (mugho pine)
1 Sempervivum (hens and chicks)
Musser Forrests is the source of the bare-root serviceberry bushes I bought last Spring, among other things. I was quite impressed with their quality and prices.

Twice now I have purchased seeds from EasyWildflowers.com. It must be a tiny operation, because there is no online ordering, and because when I e-mail for clarification, it's just "John" who answers. I think his is a one-man operation, and for no logical reason I find this deeply appealing. This is the first time I am ordering potted plants from him.
2 Sedum ternatum (woodland stonecrop)
2 Amorpha Canescens (lead plants)
1 Talinum calycinum (flame flower, a.k.a. rock pink)
1 Opuntia humifusa (prickly pear cactus)

Then of course there were the plants I bought from Kelly Nurseries, a rather mainstream catalogue company that I haven't bought from before. I was sucked in by their amazing deals on blazing star and phlox.
40 Liatris spicata (dense blazing star)
24 Phlox subulata (creeping phlox)
2 Diospyros virginiana (American persimmon)
2 Asimina Triloba (paw paw)


The grand total was about $180. Not too shabby, considering I've spent more on hobbies I've cared less about.

Sorry, this is such a boring post. It's more for my records than anything else.

4 comments:

Just Jewelry By Dana Whitney said...

I just wanted to say that I never find your posts boring. Thank you for all the links, I shall peruse them all! I found your blog some time ago and it is one of my favorites. Thank you.

Michelle Clay said...

Thank you Dana! :)

Gloria said...

Ditto, as a totally unreformed plant person it is always interesting to see what others have decided to order.
Gives a preview of what to watch for in future on your blog.
Can you let us know how you fare with the apios americana/groundnut.
I am so curious as to how gardeners are using this plant and their results. Gloria

Michelle Clay said...

I will most certainly keep you posted, Gloria! Thanks for speaking up, and for stopping by. :)