Am I cheating?

From the short amount of time that I have been a member, I get the impression that there are many people out there who are propogating their plants, grafting, and growing from seed. I think all of that is commendable. Unfortunately, I have not had the time (or foresight) to do any of these - actually, I don't know how to do any of them other than plant seeds.

So, in order to ensure that I don't spend $1500 at Home Depot this spring, I have found a less expensive source. I recently purchased some geranium and daylillies through Ebay. This is the first year that I have ever done this, and I am impressed with the low cost and high quality.

Mind you, I am not looking for anything exotic, just healthy and inexpensive. Because I was able to get geranium plugs, they cost a fraction of what I have spent in the nurseries in the past. I spent a good time today, repotting them, and putting them under my growlight until I feel that they can safely survive the elements. I still have more to purchase, but I know that I have put a big dent into the flowers I want in my baskets, and front yard. Yet I can't help but feel that I cheated.

I never started anything indoors until a few years ago; I mostly bought things I could plant up right away. I'm still no good at propagating woody plants. I've found some limbs that had layered themselves in the soil and cut off those propagaations for planting elsewhere. I think of that as really cheating, or at least the lazy way out, to let Mother Nature do all the work and then just happen to find the finished product. :o)
You'll be able to learn a whole lot from the folks on DG if you're interested in doing more propagating yourself.
And, nice to "meet" you, pennefeather.
Michele

The only 'cheating' I can think of in gardening is if you steal something.
Shortcuts, lucky finds, gifts, trades and 'volunteers' are fair game. Part of the learning process.
Pennefeather, what you are doing is not cheating, it's smart gardening. Welcome to DG.
Andy P

I've been Wintersowing since December 21st and have lots of seeds that have already germinated. I'm probably going to start planting out my Dianthus, Poppies & Violas in my garden tomorrow. This year I'm only sowing tenders indoors under lights, such as Coleus, Brugmansia & Impatiens. I'm ONLY going to H.D. for lots of potting mix. I have to keep reminding myself of that!!! I'm chanting, "potting soil only, potting soil only"....so far it's worked!

You're a stronger woman than I am, Shirley!

mickgene: We'll see how long my stamina stays strong....!

Do you want me to wish you luck, Shirley? :o)

YES! I'll need ALL the help I can get to resist!!! :~)

If you can keep to your promise of only buying potting soil, at Home Depot you will save a ton of money!!!

Unfortunately, I can't do that since this is my first spring in the new house. I'm still waiting to see if there are any perennials in the front of the house, but I know that I need to add a lot of things to make it look the way that I want it to.

OK, Shirley, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

But pennefeather, get down to Merrifield Garden Center and get some shrubs or great close-out priced (but beautiful) perennials. You can put the shrubs in today and enjoy the weather, and save the perennials for a couple weeks from now when they'll be charging you at least double! My potted perennials are on the porch where it'll be easy to move them up against the house if it actually gets too cold for them again. But since they're mostly heucherae, they can take it. If you like camellias, they have loads of varieties covered with buds.

I'm sure that Home Depot & other big box stores were mobbed this weekend due to the unusually warm Spring like weather. Yes, definitely take advantage of ALL the specials now, because the prices will be going up very shortly!

Special prices at Merrifield Garden Center??? That place is great and their stuff is top quality but I have shopped there in November and all their stuff is still full price. So you are saying that I have to wait until late winter to get their deals?

I am not a huge fan of Home Depot's "nursery" and I have a strict rule that I will absolutely never ever purchase a plant from Home Depot...I only broke it two or three times last year. ;-) I actually like shopping at the Lowes in Sterling, though Meadows Farms is where the majority of my plant budget goes.

I have never tried eBay for plants, and I don't have much desire to give it a try. I have purchased a few things mail order and I have been thinking about giving Blue Stone Perennials a try.

Last year I grew 25 containers of plants via winter sowing and I ended up with way too many for me to use. I ended up giving a lot of stuff away and also traded for a bunch more plants. It was fun, a learning experience and an inexpensive way to add over 100 plants to my garden...and probably 200 plants to other people's gardens.

- Brent

Yes, Brent, you read it right. I was flabbergasted. On my way out through the greenhouse, there were a number of tables with closeout perennials, all beautiful plants at 50 - 80% discount. I've never come across a sale there and only went because I wanted specific shrubs I knew I'd be unlikely to find elsewhere. It was a welcome surprise.

Greetings everyone! I just finished reading the posts and would love to know which Merrifields you are talking about. I went to their web page and it seems there is more than one. I live in Laurel and would love to check them out but need to know which one to visit. I saw a couple of blooms on some lungworts and winter aconite yesterday in my yard. There are lots of daffodils up and a few crocus are just beginning to bloom. I have a friend in Beltsville who said her daffodils are all in bloom. Sure do hate to think of the twenties being here this weekend.
ShirleyC

wyldeflwr, the Fairfax location is by far the larger of the two; but if you're coming from the beltway, you can almost visit the Merrifield location as well and only be a minute or two out of the way. I haven't been there in 4 or 5 years, but they always had interesting displays that might be worth your while, too, if you have the time.
I know what you mean about the temperatures. It's hard to restrain my enthusiasm to get going. The species tulips in my raised beds are blooming.

Welcome wyldeflwr, from another Shirley @ DG!! Are you new to the Laurel area??? Haven't seen you before on Dave's Garden.

If you are looking for a good nursery, the best one around is Behnke's in Beltsville on Route 1. Great selection of plants and interesting gardening classes too.

Hi Shirley! ! I have been around since 2002 but hardly ever post. I know it's awful, but I haven't fully checked out all that is available here. I didn't even know there was a place to chat with others in our area. That's so cool! Oftentimes, there are folks who don't understand the weird climate conditions we have in this area. I will most likely be around more now. I went to Merrifields yesterday after hubby got home and scooped up some of those sale plants. They really had some great deals. Actually, the prices on the regular plants were really not too bad either. I know Behnkes well. Have you been to Garlands? They have a great selection usually but are a bit pricey. The best sales you can go to are the Beltsville Garden Club sales. Two spring sales and another in the fall. They are held in the parking lot of High Point High School on Powder Mill Road. This year they are on April 22 and May 13, beginning at 8 am. It's a good idea to get there before they blow the horn. The parking lot is usually full to overflowing and you need to be there early so you can check out what is available and be near it when the sale starts. Really nice plants at great prices and they go really quickly. I am a member but haven't sold anything in a few years. You can get some really great deals on plants you can be assured to grow well in our area. Check it out. It's well worth the effort.
Happy Gardening! ShirleyC

Hi Shirleys,
I'm looking forward to these local sales....Nikki

Does one have to be a member of the Beltsville Garden Club to participate or attend the sale? Do they have an on-line website to check out?

I too love Behnke's! I've been to Garland's once, but it was at the end of the season & really picked over by that time.

Yup! Local sales are GREAT! Don't forget about the local greenhouse sale at the Howard County Vo-Tech Center on Rt. 108. I haven't seen signs posted yet because it's still a bit early. It should be toward the end of next month or in early May. Great buys!

You do not have to be a member to purchase plants. You have to be a member to sell your plants. Membership is only $7/year and the web page is http://www.beltsvillegardenclub/org
What sort of plants do they have at the Vo-Tech sale? BGC sales have trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.The second sale also has vegetables and herbs. There is also a greenhouse table. Members sell the extras they have from their gardens. There really are some wonderful plants at decent prices. If you go, bring something to carry your purchases in. You don't have to make as many trips back to your car/truck. Every sale I go to and think, well, I probably won't find anything I HAVE to have and end up with a trunk full. I can't help it. I simply can not resist when it comes to gardening. Hubby keeps telling me I don't have any more room to plant anything else and I somehow manage to find a spot.
ShirleyC

ShirleyC: Thanks for the link to the BGC! I'll have to check them out.

The Vo-Tech Sales has annuals, perennials, herbs, hanging baskets, veggies, trees & shrubs (I think). You can tell the "seasoned" buyers because they come prepared with wagons & wheelbarrows to haul their goodies to the check-out lines! Just like BGC, you have to get their early before it's gets all picked over. Great buys!

You can ALWAYS find a spot to put a flower or plant, if you can't, buy a container!

Here is the link for the Beltsville Garden Club http://www.beltsvillegardenclub.org/ The one above didn't work.

Pennefeather,
If you are still looking for daylilies, try the lilyauction. Just cut and paste this address: http://daylily.com/cgi-bin/auction.cgi Click on the line to take you to the auction. They have great prices--from high to low. I've purchased from ebay--and I've only received 1 dud--not bad for as many daylilies that I have purchased. But you have to check the feedback either place...The majority of my flowers do come from the lilyauction...take a look.

I agree with Mickgene--I think the Fairfax Merrifields is the better of the two. I did stop by Behnke's last week, just to see what was in...they now have a nice selection of bulbs and tubers. Come spring, I will buy most of my annuals at Lowes or home depot and maybe a few from the local Meadow farms nursery....I guess I tend to stop everywhere I see flats of seedlings...Spring is hard on the wallet! Nancy

I'm actually hoping to try the Reston Home Depot tomorrow. Falls Church is closer, but it is so congested. I always feel like I get a good deal since I'm not looking for anything exotic - just healthy and cheap.

pennefeather, have you ever tried the "Reston Farm Market" at the corner of Baron Cameron and Rt. 7? It used to be a very nice source of plants, but I think it's changed hands and I haven't been there since I left Reston almost 6 years ago. But it's on your way to Home Depot, so it might be worth a stop???

Shirley, thanks for putting the "org" on the link. Must have been one of my "DUH" moments. I thought I had added it.
Shirley C

This message was edited Mar 17, 2006 7:36 AM

No problem! :~)

Mickgene,
I didn't see your post until after coming back from Home Depot today, so I didn't have a chance to check. I've only been in Viriginia for a year, and just bought my house in the fall, so I didn't have a need to look for plants previously.

I will say that the Reston Home Depot is a complete waste of time. There was nothing of value there other than lawn fertilizer. Very limited shrubs, no flowers other than pansies. I guess I was spoiled when I lived in Savannah. The garden center in the Home Depot the was probably 10 times the size of this one.

That Home Depot is in an old Hechinger's, a local home improvement chain that was put out of business by the bigger, better stocked Home Depots and Loweses that came to town. It's really small, isn't it? Convenient, but not a great selection. When I saw your post about planning to go, I thought maybe it had changed.

Yea, the Reston Home Depot is even worse than most. If you are looking for healthy and cheap...I was in the Sterling Costco this morning and I see that they have their garden center open. They had about 20 different shrubs to chose from. Pretty large plants at very good prices. Their display of bare root boxed plants seemed smaller this year, but I gave it a try last year and ended up with a dozen nice hostas, some pretty (but mislabeled) daylilies and some dead heuchera.

- Brent

I've been very disappointed in their (inside) plant selections so far this year. I started checking in mid-Feb for the boxed, bareroot perennials and found only a very small selection for the first time this week, much later than ever before. Usually I can count on finding 15-20 of interest, only 2 this time, and only one each of the ones I found. And J&P roses are not there yet either. I was counting on adding 3-4 Bonica since the one I bought last year was so lovely.