Forrest Hill trip

This is the small group that went to Forrest Hill. Oh! what a great time it was.

Jeri, Emily, Mary B. and Mary D.

Mary D. Karen, Mary B. Emily, Jeri and my baby "Princess FeFe Ann."
Princess enjoyed herself as much as we did.

some of my flowers.

A few more.

This is Emily's truck load.

I didn't realize that I had not taken the pictures of Jeri's plants until just now. We were all tired and I still had a ways to drive yet. Maybe Jeri took some. "Sorry"

FeFe had to ride home in my lap. There was no room for her in the seat.

Wish I could have been there! You all made quite a haul!

Thanks for sharing Mary. Your hair is very cute on you ! Good to see you are feeling well also. Everyone looks so good and looks like you are all having a great time. That is 1 trip I would love to make.

Oh wow! Looks like tons of fun! I wish we all could have made the trip...love to see great plants stuffed in a vehicle ;o)) Thanks for sharing, Mary.

good to se e you guys!! sounds like a lot of fun, one of these years I will have to make it to forest hill!!

Looks like y'all had a great time!!!! Nice truckload too!!!

LOL!!! I got away with no pictures of evidence to my haul!!! The angels were smiling down on me for sure!!!! Believe me my little car was crammed tight!!!! It was a lot of fun and as usual only made 3 nurseries I think. I sure wish all of Yall could have made it with us!!!!

Mary it really looks like you are going to have a colorful display. Good to see Lisa too. Emily you had quite a haul too. Jeri you know everytime we go there all of us have truck loads. You would think by now there would no be an inch of soil left bare. Of course I justify buying annuals as a good way to amend my soil. yeah right. I have spent my entire years gardening budget on pine straw. I have put out 75 bails of pine straw. I raked about 16 tightly packed bags of pinestaw in the early spring. My back would only let me do so much of that. I had to do something since the flood had washed away everydrop of wood mulch I had put down over the years. With nothing in the beds I was losing too much topsoil each heavy rain. Also if I consider having surgery I can't be dragging hoses around this summer. If I had been able to make the trip down there , up to Memphis and then to Rita's I would have spent 5 or 6 hundred in gas, food, hotel and plants. So I just took my mad money I'd been saving and bought pine straw. Sad to say even though the beds look neater, I would have rather spent my money having fun with you guys.

It was good to see that Mary was up to making the trip with you Jeri. Also Mary(BBee) you look so good. You have better color and I love your hair. I Hope you are doing well. Emily been missing you. It's time for you to come back an visit me.

Kathy Ann you know you can always come stay here to go to Forresthill. It's about 95 miles from my house. I would love to have you or any of the Ark. Tenn, or Miss group come visit.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2011 4:17 PM

We missed you this weekend Cindy!!! Everyone had their vehicle packed to the brim!!!! It is amazing that I can still keep finding spots to put all this stuff I keep hauling back. I guess it's a blessing that some things just don't make it!! I found a variegated dogwood at Dadney's That was my find of the trip. It was actually on my list of things I wanted. I'm going to take out a crape myrtle in the back that actually doesn't do well and put the dogwood in it's place.

Hi Cindy!!! We missed you too!!! I love pine straw too!!! I put out 350 bags last year. I hate the bales b/c they have so many sticks and twigs that I drive myself nuttier than normal trying to clean it up. LOL!!! That was Karen, Emily's friend in the picture. Lisa was coming but Michaela got sick the night before and missed school so Lisa stayed home with her.

That was my first shopping trip this year(other than coops and online) and I was very good. Although, Friday I went to Dupont's Nursery with my neighbor and may not have been as good. LOL!!!!

Charlotte how was the Ark. nursery run? I miss Yall!!!

Hi Jeri! I missed going on the Foresthill run! I had so much fun doing it last year and got so many wonderful plants! Don't think I lost any of them.
We had a great time on our nursery run this weekend! We went to 5 nurseries on Fri plus we even went to Lowes and Wal Mart after we had dinner!!! I had to be back in Little Rock by 5 on Sat as we had a 50th wedding anniversary party we had to go to. So Loretta and I left after we went to Rita's in Jackson, TN. I was not good!!!LOL I took my truck and the 2 of us had the entire back of the truck plus the back of the cab totally packed. Loretta bought a bunch of trees. I also bought several trees. I had been looking for a variegated dogwood and found that. I also bought a purple and golden smoke tree and a weeping cypress. I've been wanting something weeping and loved the look of the one I brought. I know it will grow large, but I'm going to try to keep it pruned and will probably eventually have to get rid of it. Think I'll keep it in a pot. Got lots of wonderful shade perennials, some serrata hydrangeas, lots of hostas (some really nice yellow varieties), things for my deck containers. I found a really pretty variegated shrimp plant at Rita's. The only real tropical thing I bought that I plan to keep. Well that is other than the upright variegated ginger I bought for a container. I have a variegated ginger but it sort of flops on its side. She said this one will stay upright. It poured down rain last night and is too wet to do anything outside today. I do plan to take out a cape myrtle and a rose of sharon and this might be a good day to work on that with the ground being so wet. I'm going to replace the crape myrtle with the variegated dogwood and replace the rose of sharon with the smoke trees.

I so wish I could have met ya'll there! I desperately want to make another trip to Forrest Hills and get some more shrubs, etc for the front of my house! I have been to 4 nurseries here and havent found a SINGLE thing that I want to use! They are all carrying the same thing! I have been very disappointed!

I know some of the items that I want to use now - and now that I do , I can't find them!!

I can't even find any lorapetulem *(sp)...... or decent crepe myrtles and those are pretty basic I would think! Did find some azeleas that were on sale at a nursery in Magnolia, but wasn't sure they had enough of the ones I wanted to match - Plus, I really need to put some other things in place BEFORE the azealeas to get my spacing lined out......

Genna

You girls all look great! Mary (BB), I love your new hairdo--it looks great on you! Looks like you all stocked up on plants!
Cindy, you better watch out about issuing an open invitation--you might get company real soon! LOL

I think Forest Hill is in Louisiana? That would be so much fun..... looks like ya'll had a good time....

Mary

Thanks for the hair compliments but I only wear that when I don't want to bother about rollers.LOL.Love you guys!

Yes, Mary, Forest Hill is west of Alexanderia. It is a lot of fun and exciting to see all of the different plants to choose from. It seemed that each one was better than the next. Maybe you will be able to make a Forest Hill trip next time.

I would absolutely LOVE to be included in a trip like that ! Please consider letting me know when the next one will be !

Mary

Believe it or not I need to go back now. LOL!!!!

LOL...I'm game. There was a few things I forgot to get.

LOL!!! I wonder what Emily would say?

The same thing. I bet. She may have some more window boxes she needs to fill. I am still waiting for some pictures of the ones she bought plants for.

Give me a week to rest up from this plant sale and I'll be ready to hit it with Yall!!!

How about a trip back to Forest Hill 5/18/11 which is next Wed. Anybody game?

Jeri, do you know if anyone in Forrest Hills carries Proven Winner shrubs?? I have several things picked out that I would like to use at my house, but I can't locate them locally....even if I did I am sure I would not like the 20+ dollars a piece prices..... just thought you might know.

Thanks
Genna

Genna they use the pots b/c I have seen the PW on the pots but I don't know if they are actually from PW.

Came in for a look see and spotted our pictures! What a great day and yes I did buy quite a trunk load full! Loved loved loved it!! That was my first trip and surely won't be my last. I just can't do this next one tho. I did a City Park Greenhouse sale, then the City Park Botanical Garden sale a week later, then Forest Hill and about four co-ops, all in the last two months, if that! On top of that we went out and bought new edging bricks, manure, 30 bags of mulch, hanging baskets, soaker hoses and of course some plants from the local nurseries! My name is Emily and I am a plantaholic!!! LOL Sure was great to get together with Jeri, and the two Marys, have missed you guys!! My friend Kathy came with me and she just loved meeting everyone and was awestruck by the plants.
Mary bee - I will charge my camera and take some pictures of the new (redone) beds and window boxes. I'm not real happy with my flower choices for the window boxes but I refused to go out and buy more to change them right now (actually I did buy more from the local nursery but wouldn't go a second time - gotta have SOME restraint! ;) ) The geraniums did not work - they were too big - should have stuck with the smaller ones. Fifi was adorable and I surely would have snuck her away if I thought I could have gotten away with it! lol
Cindy - missing you too - hope you are feeling as well as you can. I would love to come visit again. Maybe we can do something in the late summer/early fall, depending on how you are doing - not sure when/if you are having surgery??? We have been sleeping on the mattress on the floor of the den all week while we are totally redoing our bedroom - furniture through out the house, bedroom floors stripped down to the cement, new doors, new baseboards, etc etc. Hoping I get everything that I want done in time for our Father's Day dinner with both families here at our house. In July we are off to Kentucky for a week on the lake with J's family for a reunion. So.... sometime after that??? :
Hope everyone has been doing well and staying safe with all this crazy weather - have missed everyone!!!! Hugs to all!!

Well guys with the river doing it's thing it may not be the best time for us to go to Forest Hill. We'll do it later just let me know when you want to go after the flooding subsides.

I am ready whenever. Lisa and Michaela should be able to go this time.

My Goodness, Em. Any of us would have a hard time keeping up with you on all of the plant sales you have just named. Whew! Makes me tired just reading about them. Just enjoy.

I got this last night from Wal-mart.

That's pretty Busybee ! What is it?

Hi mary,
It is a Beard-Tongue Phoenix hybrid Penstemon.
I wish they would have had more colors to choose from.
M.

Thank you Busybee ! It is a pretty color... I've only been gardening for about 5 years now so have a LOT to learn...

I have a "new" spot where I can put some annuals.... and I am wondering if some 'new' ones will be coming out for June ?

I have portulaca's planted, verbena, coleus, c(something else with a 'c') Marigolds, gazanias... don't care for salvia, vinca, zinnias (well may go with zinnias).... but just looking for something .... new... tropical and multi-colored....

Wow - love that penstemon Mary! It is beautiful..... they sure don't have anything like that at our walmart.... I was just looking last night!

Genna