Baker's Acres!!!

After an exhausting spring with shows and Phoebe's problems, the rain that never seems to fall at our house and the unusually high temperatures, I needed a break! We had an unexpected downpour on Sunday afternoon and when the skies were threatening again on Monday afternoon, Rick suggested we should "go someplace" :)) Told him hart had told me about the half price sale at Kim's and we considered it - but then he came up with the ridiculous idea that we should go to Baker's Acres - what?? For anyone who's not familiar with this place, it's just outside of Columbus, Ohio!!!! I learned about them from DG when the owner, Chris (goodoldbake http://davesgarden.com/members/goodoldbake/) was posting on the Coleus and Begonia forums and two years ago we made a point to stop off on our way back from Michigan. This is probably one of the finest garden centers I've ever been to and we knew we would go back the next time we headed for Michigan. Last summer's drought prevented us from making our annual trek to Michigan and it's looking like we won't be going again this year :( We desperately needed a break and within an HOUR of Rick suggesting the trip to Baker's, reservations were made for a stopover in Beckley, WV to put us at Baker's first thing in the morning and an hour and a half later we were on the road!!! Plans were that we would return on Tuesday night, but that's another story :( I don't know what we were thinking, but the selections at Baker's are outstanding and we couldn't resist! First one, group of Coleus we picked up with Perilla in the center.

They had a great selection of Alpines that we picked up for an area we're hoping to create along the edge of the driveway. The silver one on the left is Chrysanthemum haradjanii (syn. Tanacetum haradjanii) or Silver Lace Tansy - I love it! Looks like it might be one of those "fussy" ones though and I'll make every effort to find a good spot for it.

I don't have the tag in front of me, but this Plectranthus is one I couldn't resist :)

Rick spotted this one - Cordyline 'Miss Andrea' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/104706/. They only had several and another customer was trying to decide which one she wanted. The sales staff said they were going to have to repot this one and Rick said if she sold it to him at half price he'd save her the trouble :)

And of course, the Begonia table was the first place we headed! We picked up a "few" :)

And a few more....

And a FEW MORE! LOL Their selections are outstanding!

Another "group" :) The silver plant in the front was unique - Centaurea gymnocarpa http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/72599/. Probably not hardy for us but will add a bright splash in the annual border. Probably my favorite though, is the burgundy and pink
Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/161676/! Just one more to add to the living room "jungle" this winter :)

A close second for my favorite - Leea coccinea 'Rubra' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60374/ - another one for the "jungle"! They only had two of these left and one was by the front entrance. I fell in love with it immediately and Rick missed seeing it completely! Told him to check it out while I was scurrying around finding other treasures. In the meantime he had headed for check out with our TWO carts and took our purchases back to the car. Then we found more treasures in the perennial section and after checking out for a second time l asked him if he had seen the plant - nope :( He's such a sweetheart, when we got back to the car to get everything loaded, he had grabbed the Leea when I wasn't looking and whisked it off to the car :))) This picture doesn't do the plant justice - the flash went off when I took it - but you can get an idea of how rich the foliage is by the new shiny foliage. When I got home and read more about it, I found out it might get as big as 6'!!!

Last one - at the bottom of the picture are the few we picked up at Kim's Greenhouse in Broadway! Several Plectranthus, Fiber Optic Grass, Evolvulus 'Blue Daze', a scented Geranium, etc. And you're thinking, I thought you went to Ohio? LOL Well, when we left Baker's Acres after our three hour visit, we decided we wanted to head back home a different way - absolutely hate going through the mountains of WV. So we decided to head across on I-70 and possibly head home through Hagerstown - mistake! When we "could" have been home around 8:00 PM if we had traveled through the mountains, instead we were checking into a hotel in Cumberland, MD - 3.5 hours from home :( But the good news is that because we were coming right by the exit for Kim's the next morning we were able to stop in and take advantage of the incredible sale :)) I don't think we'll be making any trips like this again in the near future but I have to admit it was fun! Rick has been busy potting up all our purchases and as soon as they're happy in their new 'homes' I'll plan to post more pictures.

Thanks for posting these -- I love your photos and commentary!!!

Debbie what beautiful plants! I have to ask DD about Bakers she lives in Newark outside of Columbus. If I get down there to visit that might be a day trip for us. She is so busy she doesn't have the time to garden like I do. I wish I lived closer to her so I could do her gardens for her.

I just drooled over your selections of Coleus and Begonias. You 2 will be very busy for the next few days lol.

That's quite a haul, Debbie! Could you believe those pots of fiber optic grass at Kim's for only $2? The plants from Bakers look extremely nice too. I really like the group of alpines.

boy gorgeous stuff. Maybe wasn't too hard to fall in love with a guy who buys plants, eh>> ^_^

Beautiful plants, So many really nice ones that I liked. But this is my favorite Cordyline 'Miss Andrea'. I'm going to have to look for one of those.

Sure makes me wish we had a place like this close by. Looks like you got a wonderful collection of plants.

susan

Chris, OMG - Newark!!! She's right next door to Baker's Acres! It's actually in Alexandria, 12 miles east of Columbus :)

hart, I know, the prices were incredible! Although I thought the prices were reasonable at Baker's as well - $4.59 if you bought 10 (which we didn't have a problem doing LOL) and Chris gave us an additional 10% off :) Of course when we went 2 years ago, we were fortunate enough to hit their 50% off sale in July!

Maybe wasn't too hard to fall in love with a guy who buys plants, eh>> It wasn't "hard" at all :))))

Holly, who knows, maybe if we're successful keeping 'Miss Andrea' alive over the winter, I might have some to share :)

Susan, I only wish it WAS "closer" - the six hour drive was worth it but not likely we'll be doing it again soon!

Rick's got just about everything repotted, has taken cuttings of the Coleus for himself and now I'm left with "stubs" to plant in the garden! I'm not worried though, I know how quickly they grow and I just need to get them planted :) It's hard to see in this picture, but I've already got half a dozen Coleus planted in the center of this garden. There's a basically dead Clethra in the middle that has to go and some Thermopsis that look sickly and I'm going to cut them down to the ground and plant the extra Coleus there. Along the front are a few other annuals I planted the day before we left for Baker's so by the end of the summer hopefully this bed will be filled out and full of color. I tried originally to develop a purple and gold theme but that will quickly change with the new additions :)

Debbie, One of these days I will get to see your gardens, they must be absolutely beautiful. I'd love a little of your Miss Andrea. I'm hoping to get the conservatory built next summer. I don't want a working greenhouse (although I could really use one) I want a tropical garden right in my home. I think that 'Miss Andrea' would look really nice in my conservatory.

What fun Debbie...a beautiful rainbow of colors you got there!!!

Oh Chantell, I thought of you when we were there :) I took my camera but I was so busy in the short time we were there I didn't even get any pictures! Their cactus and succulent section was incredible!!!

Holly, the "tropical garden" is exactly what we're hoping for - not sure when, but we've got to do something to make room for all these beauties. Our plan is enclose one end of the deck near our bedroom. We've got a large double pane window there and figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem replacing it with a door so we could walk right out into the tropical garden. Have researched some of the 'Four Season Greenhouses' additions but WAY too expensive :( We just need to stop buying plants and saving the money to bring the plan to reality! LOL

Sounds like a great time! :) Nice haul ya got there too.

I have huge warehouse windows stored in the barn, probably been there for 15 years. Ric got them for free when they were tearing down the warehouse, You know one of those someday projects well looks like someday will be next year. It will be placed up against the side of the house in the back between the lower wood deck (you know the one I just PW and stained) and the raised brick patio. Maybe something like 16 X 18. The kitchen window will open into it. But there is no door so we will have to put one in. It will go from just under the roof overhang to ground level. I am both thrilled and terrified at the same time. I have no idea how to care for plants in these conditions.

Holly, what a perfect place for it! I agree, both thrilled and terrified - the picture below gives you an idea of the area we'd like to enclose - this was taken back in 2000 before we finished nailing the rafters for shade. The arrow shows where the stairs go down and this is where the "sun room" would stop so we wouldn't lose access to the stairs. There are also built in deck planters that I still want access to so we would have to leave a 'walkway' on the right. You can't see it in the picture, but the wall of the house where our bedroom is, is on the left. We'd need a door from the bedroom and another one placed in the middle of the picture to allow access from the deck. Our biggest problem, other than actually doing it, is trying to figure out how to attach it to the house because the roofline is pretty low and it's going to be tough to figure out how to flash it properly, etc. We're DIY kind of people but I think we might need a little more expertise in this situation which means $$$$ :( I'm sure "your" Rick could figure it out though, he seems a little more 'handy' than mine - just don't tell "my" Rick I said that! LOL

rcn
Just found this thread. What a great haul! I'm still dreaming of a trip to Baker's.

Thanks for sharing the beautiful plant pictures with us Deb. Everything is lovely. Gosh your back deck is luscious looking. You and Holly are of the same mindset that I am. I am waiting for the day that I can add something on to my back deck which will serve as a plant room.

I am waiting on my 18 year old son to decide what he is doing because he sleeps in the room where I will be adding to. One of these days......

Ruby

Debbie, Love the idea of having a tropical garden just steps from your bedroom. Your really going to have a project, I know what you mean about the roof line issue. That deck is beautiful and filled with some wonderful plants that will do great in your conservatory. Yes, we are the DIY kind too. Ric is pretty handy and has passed that down to both of our sons and they have picked up skills of their own over the years.

jadajoy, nice to see you posting! Any Coleus pictures to share with us this year?

Ruby, I ought to take a picture of the deck now - it's not so "luscious looking" - that picture is 8 years old, my first summer in VA :) Rick's made progress on getting all the plants repotted and placed, but that man can make such a mess!!! I'm always good for clean up detail though once he's done "playing" :) LOL

Holly, my youngest son is VERY handy but still living in Maine - sure wish he was around, I could use his help. He started helping me in the gardens when he was only 8, mulching, etc. By the time he was 10, he was driving the tractor and picking up all my weed piles :) And then in his teens, he'd drive the tractor to the gravel pit nearby and bring me back huge boulders for the gardens. I miss him!

As soon as I finish cleaning up Rick's mess, I'll share some new photos of all our goodies in their new homes.

Debbie, Give a boy a tractor and you can get him to do anything. LOL Both my sons were like that. I'm really looking forward to seeing more pictures of your plants.
Ruby, Nice to see you, there has been some talk of your and Johns Daylilies over on the June Pics thread. Some of us have posted pictures of the Lilies you gave us at swaps. I bet your yard is gorgeous right now.

Hmmm....so that's how to get the DS motivated...a tractor...LOL Just thinkin' that might not work in a townhouse yard though...LOL

Ok, now I have heard it all. Your DH suggests going to a nursery....as a road trip! What a haul you came away with. What is the pale ivory plant in the front row in this pic?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=5136712

I think I killed one last year:)
-Kim

LOL Kim, I've killed it at least twice! Silene 'Druett's Variegated' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58279/ I think it was because I planted it in too much shade although the red clay soil may not have been to its liking either :( It just looks delicate so I thought I was giving it a break from the sun. Going to attempt it one last time and plant it in full sun with some of the other alpines in the photo. Wish me luck!

Thanks, I thought I was home free with it being tolerant to zone 4 - not so much. Good luck this go around. I really liked it and had planned on doing a whole border area but it never came back from last winter. It was in part shade. Maybe it is only a West Coast plant - HA!

LUCK!

Thanks for telling me about the pictures Holly. Will go and see what I can find.

Ruby

So why do I continue to buy all these garden magazines when these threads often turn out to be better? Great work Debbie and hubby.

Thanks docgipe, I should have pictures soon of the plants in their new homes - Rick has finally finished potting everything up, now I just have to get the rest of the plants in the ground!