BIG clearance at MD. Flower and Foliage

I thought I was all done planting! Is there ever such a moment???

Nope! Not when my friend, Patty, stopped by with her van full of big, beautiful HB's and other plants and told me "MD. Flower and Foliage" is trying to get rid of all their summer stuff and is selling things off for a pittance.......almost....:o)

Here's the deals-----

Full 10" HB of Geraniums, Petunias, Dragon wings Begonias, etc... lots! 2/$11.
ALL 4" pots and 6" pots of annuals--$1 each. What a selection they have left!!!
Full flat of 12-- 4" pots--any kind--$10.
All Perennials--$1 (all I saw was pots of Cannas)
They had a slew of Hibiscus . Not sure they were on sale. I did not ask.

I spent a total of $45 and here is what I bought:

2 full flats of 4" annuals.
Lantanas, blue Angelonias, Ageratums, Scaevola "New Wonder", Lysimachias, yellow Straw Flowers, Coleus, and 6 pots of Dragon Wing Begonias. They had lots more, but I only got what i wanted.

Two 6" pots of Marigolds--4 plants in each. $1 each pot.

3-- 10" HB's--Two Geranium and one of Dragon Wing Begonias. They had other flowers in HB also. They have at least 3-4 plants in each. I decided not to split them up as they are a bit root bound by now. Will just plop them in a big Patio Pot and--Voila! Instant planter for my steps or patio.

Anyone want to make the trip, it is bargain Time! They grow all their own.

Sally! You are not that far away. Maybe you want to take the trek. Then you can also come by and see me. I am close by--maybe 10 minutes.

OK! Just wanted to share all this with you. And--YES! I planted everything already this evening. Another day shot and nothing done for my Cookout that I am now seriously obsessing about. I know myself. I go through this every year! Same pattern.....

Gita

I'm so jealous. I never even heard of this place.

Happy,

Do you want to make the trip? I will send directions to you via D-mail. I am close by if you want to come over here and air-layer the Camellia. Is this the time to do it?????

Let me know.....Sunday I am off after 12:30. Have to work 8AM-12Noon.

Gita

Nice haul, Gita! Wish this place was closer.

Wish I could! This Saturday is French class, and probably Potomac Mills to go my girls summer clothes. Maybe a family movie night (rent a video and have dinner on TV tables). Sunday is father's day (steak for dinner, maybe a bike ride -- except we need to buy the girls new bikes first, hope to squeeze in some time to weed and label).

But that Camellia of yours has such a "come hither" look!

Gita,

Where is this place? I'm just up I-95 in Bel Air and I could become very interested very quickly. Let me know a few more specifics. I got all excited when I read your post, and I know you know a lot of good bargain spots.

Lesley

So tempting but time and dollars are tight right now!!
Gita, your datura-two of them- are in my front flower bed. I think they doubled in a week! The third will be a housewarming present for a very nice deserving friend. Wouldn't give it to just any old body.

Just found this for you, Gita- a picture of the columbine from which you got seed last week. I had to move it this spring due to construction but this is they guy/gal.

Sallyg: That columbine is gorgeous!

Lesley,

To get to this Nursery, you need to be on Rt. #40. BUT--You can come down I-95 to exit 67A (White Marsh Blvd. East). Go to the light and hang right on that big loop and it will dump you out on Rt. #40. Go to the right (Rt. 40 East) to the next traffic light (Ebenezer Rd.) and turn right--one mile up the road. There is a shiny "Double T" Diner" on that corner and 3 gas stations--one of them Royal Farms.

Go about 1/2 mile and on your left you will see "Richardson Farms"--a small store and nursery AND they grow their own chickens and you can buy fresh chicken meat and eggs as well as assorted produce.make sure you stop in there.
Anyway--I digress--Across from this place, on the right, is Vincent Farms Rd. Turn right there (there is no left) and go about 1/3 mile and the nursery is on your left. It has a sign on the road side. They have 2 HUGE greenhouses. Make sure you visit both of them. You may not see anyone floating around there, just the workers, and they do not speak English, but just grab a cart and help yourself. When you are done, just wait--and someone will appear in a few minutes. You can pay cash or by check there. NO credit cards are accepted.

Going back, go back to Rt. #40 and turn left at the Diner and asap get in the extreme right hand lane. It says: "To I 95" and goes off on the right up a small hill. From that take the exit that says I-95 "north" ( a little ways up--just the way you came) and you are on your way. You can also stay on 40 and go home that way. A few traffic lights to worry about, but Rt. 24 is about 10 miles up the road.
It is easy! You won't have any trouble finding it.

*******************************************************************

Sally,

My Daturas also doubled and tripled in size as soon as I planted them in my beds. I think they like the cool to their roots.

Love the blue in the Columbine! When do you think would be the best time to seed them? How? Where? In the beds or in a small pot? How would I overwinter them assuming they grew?
Where was it that you read all those direction ?

My beds are now truly stuffed full. I thought I was finished, and then I had to find spots for the swap plants, and now I bought about 30 more plants to plant. It's OK. Everything got tucked in here and there. Even my "yukky" bed got about 4diehard plants in it.

Gotta make lunch and take a shower. I had a busy day today. Gotta be at work at 6AM which means I get up at 4:30AM!!!!! Booo....Hoooo.....

Gita

Sally, the blue of those columbines is stunning.

Gita, do you dig up your daturas or take cuttings for winter? Or just start over with new plants the next spring?

If this is it, here's a map: http://gardens.com/go/view/5832/

Please drill down into it (using the "+" button), an let us know if we've got it in the right spot....and if you've visited them, please add a review for the benefit of others ;o)

Gita,

Thank you so much for the heads-up and the instructions on how to get there. I bought flats of vinca (2), impatiens (2), wave petunia, some stuff I can't remember the name of, some coreopsis, some astilbe, and a few other things which escape my mind. All in all I got 65 healthy, large plants for $55. Amazing!

The lady was there until 1 pm and I thought we'd have to leave, but the owner showed up (the guy), and gave us the friendly tour, recommended some things to try, and was generally a stand up guy. Wave petunias for $1.50! Thick and full. 2 gallon coreopsis moonbeam for $5!

I will definitely be going back. The owner said he's mostly a wholesale operation but doesn't mind the public stopping in, too. We told him we'd found out about him from Dave's and he said he'd take a look here. Another possible advertiser. I would certainly highly recommend.

So tempting!!! maybe I'll watch for it next year.
Columbine- I read about them in a book by the New England Wildflower Society on native plants. Basically, wintersowing sounds ideal. Multiple Cycles of cool moist. I have had little success with them self sowing. I had prepared for self sowing this past fall, only ot have new construction result in that being run over by a mini excavator many times-~~~oh well. couldn't be helped~~~~at least the momma moved OK. I got more seed yesterday.Critterologist seems to have the skill on columbine for seed. She's probably be along any time now......ladygardener also has awesome columbines, and a good seed starting book....................

Yes, I've had good luck wintersowing Columbines! I also store the seeds in the fridge so they get a little chilling that way (they need cold stratification, so definitely chill them if you're going to try to start them inside). Two years ago, I sowed pinches of seed in clear quart deli containers (4-5 inches of potting mix, holes in the bottom and holes in the lid), and this past winter I sowed rows of columbines in covered roasting pans from the dollar store (the deep pans hold maybe 3 inches of potting mix, again put holes in the bottom and in the clear domed lid).

With the shallow containers, it's necessary to up-pot clumps of seedlings into cell packs or small pots and then again into quart or trade gallon containers. When I used the quart containers, I just left them in the containers (with the lids off) all summer, then put them up against the house in a sheltered spot for the winter and potted them into trade gallons in the spring... those gallon containers are now filled with roots and ready to plant out into the garden (maybe tonight?). Not every seedling survived in those quart containers -- they have between 1 and 3 plants in each container now -- so if you want max. numbers, I'd sow seeds fairly thickly in rows and then up-pot the seedlings in late spring.

Lesley,

I am so glad you went and had a great experience. Nice plants you picked up!

Please click on the link Terry provided and add your comments about this place. I just finished mine.

You can go to "Satelite" and zoom and zoom and zoom until you can see every house. Read my comments and see what you think.

Then add your own. Please..........

Keep in touch! We are neighbors. I live in Perry Hall/White Marsh area. 5 minutes from I-95.

Gita