Wednesday 12 April 2023

Easily Tempted By Plants

 I'm so easily tempted to buy plants at car boot sales. They are so much cheaper than garden centres. 

With almost all boot sales cancelled in March due it either raining on the day or - at Stonham barns - waterlogged field. It was good to get to one on the first weekend in April although there weren't many people selling there were several plant stalls. 

I got tempted by drum-stick primroses, Eryngium and a pot of tiny creeping Thyme which is for the plant stand.

Patio needs weeding again!

I wonder where my love of plants and books comes from? As I'm sure my Mum or Dad never bought either.

All the plants I've acquired this year have now been planted out....... that's the purple leaved perennial geranium, the tray of six wallflower plants, the rhubarb plants and these above.
Many of the perennials that were here already and struggled through last year's dry summer are now looking much healthier.

I've dug out several clumps of the blasted foreign bluebells that spread like crazy especially clumps that had popped up around the Helebore and some of the other perennials. Out in the front border I've left the grape-hyacinths which have also appeared and spread, I'll get them out later if they begin to take over.

Bet these won't be the only plants I buy this year!

Back Tomorrow
Sue


38 comments:

  1. Is that a magnolia stellata in your header pic? It's lovely. I don't recall my Mum buying plants either when I was a child, but she certainly did after retirement, she loved colour - plenty of it and very mixed! Whereas I prefer shades of pink, purple and blue. Plants have certainly risen in cost in garden centres this year, definitely much cheaper from boot sales.

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    1. It could be - certainly a Magnolia and different to the other one which looks more Magnolia-like!
      My mum was so house-proud and was always cleaning and she didn't do any gardening that I can remember

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  2. I was at a boot sale on Saturday. It was Very Disappointing. Less than 12 tables and 8 of them were people selling old toys (mostly pink plastic tat) But one lady had plants. I remembered that you often buy from boot sales, so got a tray of runner beans for £1.50.

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    1. Quite early for runners - hope they don't get too tall before we finish with frosts

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  3. Gardening is line bred in me - my mum loved plants though couldn't afford much more than seeds when I was growing up. My gran had an allotment and as she had asthma, the girls did the digging for her and she did the planting. Everything edible at home was made from scratch, using allotment produce. We couldn't afford books, so I had to make do with the Library. I seem to have, ahem, more than made up for it since!

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    1. I think my paternal Grandmother liked gardening but she died when I was a baby - I think it was just vegetables grown at home

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  4. I agree, car boot sale prices for plants are very tempting - I've had some great buys that way, especially for perennial plants.

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    1. The only problem with plants at boot-sales is having to carry them around or back to the car - which is always a long walk - but worth it

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  5. I sell my perennials and shrubs at car boot sales for less than half the garden centre prices.

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  6. I'm sure they won't be, Sue! :-)
    xx

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    1. No more bought last weekend - but it will happen

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  7. Plants and books are my downfall, I got the love of plants from my mum, I have always been a bookworm.

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  8. Blogger is messing about this morning! My comment disappeared!

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  9. My brother watched me tending to some geraniums in our sun room and laughed. My gran's youngest sister (elderly when we knew her) was just the same. I take it personally if a plant dies on me!

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    1. Every spring I worry that my vegetables won't grow!

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  10. I quite fancy a perennial geranium for our mud patch but not sure that it would like being so wet all the time.

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    1. They are pretty hardy - but we are so dry over here

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  11. My Mum had green fingers and could grow anything without much effort. I'm not too bad, but I do have some die on me. .

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    1. I just blame the weather when things die!

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    2. Can't do that with indoor plants.

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  12. Foreign bluebells are so difficult to eradicate. We're still working at it after 30 years.

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    1. Wish I knew why they spread so much better than other things - usually too much leaf and no flowers too

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  13. At least from the car boot sales they are likely to be locally grown plants and well adapted to the climate/suitable for the place.

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  14. I was a slow starter when it came to a love of plants and gardening. I was looking for geraniums yesterday - £4 each in Homebase, and they weren't very big plants! I'll be looking elsewhere for those.
    Alison in Wales x

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  15. I would love buying plants at car boot sales. We have nothing like them in Massachusetts. I went to the garden center yesterday looking to purchase several trees. No luck. I learned to love gardening from my father and uncle. Both grew luscious tomatoes and my uncle always had a massive garden of flowers and trees wherever he lived.

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  16. I always feel sorry when folk root out the foreign bluebells. I understand why they do it but the poor plants didn't ask to come here. Its a bit like the grey squirrels come to think of it.

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  17. I'm not much of a gardener and seem to spend most of my time trying to keep the weeks from taking over. I have quite a few perennial things that come up every year and then I add a few annuals to my few pots. Not too fancy.
    I am lucky to have a gardening brother who shares his produce!

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  18. Had to laugh at those weeds - funny how they aren't really that visible until you see them on a photograph! I often shudder when I look at my photos from around home - weeds, dust, clutter - I don't normally notice it :)

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  19. You've already planted out your various new plants and I'm envious. We had frost again last night so obviously it's too early to do much more than dig out weeds. Which are not at all set back by frost. Granny Marigold

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  20. Those plants look beautifully healthy. Our neighbours Magnolia tree was looking lovely the other day then the high winds came and have blown off all the blossoms from the top two thirds, and now it looks a little bit sad. Such a shame.

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  21. I don't blame you for being attracted to plants, I'm the same way. My mom had a green thumb and a huge garden but I have never been as successful as she was. It's harder for me to keep plants going in Florida heat but I continually look for some to plant.

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  23. There could be worse things than being addicted to plant buying lol. Hope they grow really well!

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  24. Those are wonderfully healthy looking plants! And since you bought them at a carboot, well, you are amazingly thrifty and should reward yourself with a few more of them!

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