Today I planted seven wonderful new plants without breaking any vows. How did I do it, you ask? Well, I entered a contest at In The Garden Online for a $50 gift certificate from Annie's Annuals, and I won! I wandered through Annie's lovely on-line catalog, which is filled with plants not usually available here in the Midwest, and found seven that I just had to have.
The shipping cost was pretty steep, but the box arrived quickly and the quality of the packaging cannot be denied:
The plants arrived in great condition...
and with rootballs wrapped in plastic and damp paper, were very easy to remove from their pots and plant in various spots in the garden. They don't look like much yet, but just you wait...
Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis' and Heuchera sanguinea 'White Cloud' in part shade under the viburnum
Dianthus arenarius and Campanula medium 'Deep Blue' in the part-shade north garden
Echinops ritro ruthenicus...
and Linum lewisii (blue flax) in the prairie garden
and finally, Verbena bonariensis in the foundation garden. This one is technically Zone 7 and doesn't belong in my Zone 5b garden, but I put it in a warm, protected corner on the south side of the house and hopefully it will survive the winter. Incidentally, this is the very plant I said I wanted when I entered the contest :)
Wish my new babies luck! Many many thanks to Annie's Annuals and to Colleen for making these new additions to the garden possible!
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4 comments:
Congratulations! Great plants. The verbena is sure to reseed...note the leaves so you don't tidy up too much in the garden next spring. They seem to start to germinate a little later than one would expect. This is a favourite plant of ours. Fingers crossed it does make it through your winter. It overwintered for us in a neglected flower pot in the shed and we are just about your zone. It however, never makes it through the winter in our garden zone 6.
Ooh, you got some good stuff! I love echinops and verbena (two things I had at one point in my garden and lost for one reason or another, believe it or not!)
Congrats on winning, and I'm glad you had fun shopping :-)
That's so awesome, even if I am envious, lol. I Googled the Heuchera sanguinea 'White Cloud' and it's aptly names--I love the white fluffy blooms. (I love coral bells in general, noogie). I also like echinops and Verbena bonariensis is a personal favorite. It does not overwinter in my garden, but it does self-sow and re-pop up which I enjoy. Which reminds me, I've got to steal some seeds from a friend later this year... :) Also love flax.
Congratulations, Diane! I vowed not to buy too many perennials this year either, but I haven't been as good sticking to my resolution. This is the best way to add more--get them free! The 'White Cloud' heuchera sounds interesting; I'll have to google it, like Monica did. I have my first ever verbena bonariensis in my garden this year; I know they don't overwinter, but I'm hoping it will reseed itself as others say it will.
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