Sunday 18 March 2012

Impulse Buy

I think all gardeners are guilty of impulse buys. Even when the flower beds are well stocked, there's always something which catches the eye on a trip to a garden centre or nursery. We visited our local nursery to buy the apple tree which I blogged about in my last post, but I had to pass the perennials in order to pay for the tree. This gorgeous Hellebore Niger called out to me as I passed, and with a price tag of just £2.99 it was a certainty that it was coming home with us. I've seen much smaller specimens at double the price, so I was happy with this. The flower border in my back garden needs a total overhaul this year, many plants have grown too big for their boots, so they'll have to be moved in to the patch we've got at the front of the house, and new smaller plants will be purchased to replace them. I'm going to follow Geoff Hamilton's advice and buy something new every month so that I can be assured of some colour in the border all the year round.

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, so Happy Mother's Day to all you mums reading my blog. I've been thoroughly spoilt, and one of my presents is a blackcurrant bush. I'm trying to get a bit more fruit on the allotment so this is a wonderful present. I don't have anywhere prepared to plant it yet, so it's now biding it's time in a container until I can prepare a patch especially for it.

I haven't managed to get to the allotment this weekend, but hubby has dug over a bit more ground, as well as filling the old bath there with some fresh compost in order to grow carrots again this year. The carrots which were sown in the bath last year were great so I'm hoping we have the same success again this year.

15 comments:

  1. I'll say 2.99 was a pure bargain, it would have been in my basket as quick as a flash. So beautiful, I have one that was given to me by a friend (glamour pussycat, aka Anne from accounts) in 2010. This year is the first time that it has flowered, marvellous. Our plot at green lane has a few specimens we said we would swap seeds later this year....

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  2. We impulse bought a pond and an espaliered apple tree yesterday. I only went in to look at climbers!!! Oh dear. Maybe I should be banned from garden centres.

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  3. Sounds like you've had a wonderful day and I'm sure you deserve to be spoilt.

    We had a new bathroom put in last year...maybe I should have kept the bath?/ Oh well too late now. Glad you got your tree...i got my new cherry tree this weekend too. Hope it fairs better than the last!!

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  4. Yes m'Lord, I'm guilty of that too! It's so very pretty and such a bargain, it would have been a crime to NOT have bought it!

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  5. There must be something in the air Jo - yours is the second post I have read tonight about impulse buying :) Well you just had to liberate if from that shelf didn't you - there was simply no alternative.

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  6. Lovely bargain, they must be reducing them around at the moment - my Mom bought me a Hellebore recently for the same price - just need to find a space for it soon.

    Look forward to hearing about your carrots in the bath again x

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  7. I usually end up buying lunch as well at our local garden centre.

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  8. It absolutely essential to keep the garden and allotment well stocked so with that in mind consider it an essential purchase rather than impulse buying. That's the way I think of it anyhow.

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  9. Was that from Swillington? I impulse bought a hellebore niger from them last year.

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  10. I certainly do which is why I don't visit garden centres or nurseries very often! Flighty xx

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  11. What a great price! My downfall is buying gardening magazines with free seeds. I have way too many seeds and many are the same. I was dividing perennials at the weekend to move them into a new border, and your hellebores would have gone nicely!

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  12. Dear Jo, What a great idea to buy one new plant a month to ensure year round interest. Then I can say it wasn't an impulse; I needed it! We are having beautiful weather, too. Glad you had a good Mothers Day. Ours is in May, but I phoned my Mum and sent her flowers. Glad to say she has settled into her new place, so I won't be visiting this spring, now she has 24-hour care. I miss her and England, but hate the journey. P. x

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  13. Beautiful plant!
    Think of it as an investment for the future - the future beauty of your garden!
    Happy Gardening!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  14. Carrots in the bath - love it!

    You made an excellent purchase there Jo, very pretty.

    I've been blogging sporadically since late last year and have missed so many posts - must do better!

    Jeanne
    x

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  15. It's great when a plant flowers for the first time, Captain Shagrat, especially when you're not sure of the colour, it can be a real surprise. I'm usually too impatient to wait and see so I buy many of my plants in flower so that I know what I'm getting.

    Now that's an impulse buy and a half, Wellywoman. I'll look forward to hearing how your apple tree does and also all about the pond. I wonder what plants you'll have.

    The bath was already on the plot when we took it on, Tanya. Last year was the first year we've done anything with it, but it worked perfectly for growing carrots so we'll give it another try this year. I hope they do as well as they did last year.

    I think we'll all have to hold our hands up when it comes to impulse buying, Su. I am pleased with the hellebore so I definitely did the right thing.

    I think impulse buying is very common amongst us gardeners, Anna. I don't think this will be the last impulse buy this year either.

    It's always a problem finding space for new plants, Dawn. I'm moving some of the plants from the back garden in to the front this year so I'll have some space there. I'm hoping the carrots in the bath do as well again this year as they did last year.

    Cafes can be very tempting, Don't Unplug Your Hub. Luckily, the nursery I visited doesn't have one, but many of the garden centres we visit do.

    That's a good way to think of it, Martyn. I shall consider any future impulse buys an absolute necessity from now on.

    It was from Swillington, Sue. I shall be popping back again soon for some bedding plants. I buy them as plugs and grow them on.

    I don't blame you, Flighty. I always come out of nurseries and garden centres with a lighter purse.

    I've had a magazine addiction previously, Kelli. I'm doing really well at the moment, I haven't bought a gardening magazine since last year. I look forward to hearing about the plants in your new border.

    I'm so pleased to hear that your mum has settled well in to her new home, Pam. I love the idea of buying a new plant each month, I shall definitely be doing that myself.

    That's a great way to think of it, Lea, and it will certainly cheer me up every time I look at it.

    So nice to hear from you, Jeanne. Yes, carrots in the bath. I grew them this way last year and they did really well so I'm hoping for a repeat performance.

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