grow, marvel, eat, laugh, persevere

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Sneaky Shopping IS Bad Karma

I'm sad to report that the two Weigela Wine and Roses that I bought (stole) from the HD cart have now been confirmed dead by an actual landscaper. In my defense, there was nobody watching the cart and it was over in the corner loaded with plants and the cashier said I could do it so cut me some slack! The moral of the story is, if you steal plants, they will probably die.

The landscaper, Edgar (I absolutely LOVE that name) says I should take them back since I never removed the tags. I think I paid like 3 bucks for these so I'm not sure it's worth me hauling them back and trying to convince the cashier that I really did buy them from HD even though I have no receipt. The problem is that now I've been dreaming all winter of how fabulous the dark foliage of the Wine and Roses was going to look with all the beautiful chartreuse stuff I'd plant near it them.

Instead of posting pictures of the crusty ole dead Weigelas, here's what I found growing randomly in my backyard today. What is this please?

More Daffodils are open. These were all suppose to be pink. Bad Big Box Store!

First ever blooms on the peach tree I planted last year.

Disclaimer: None of the plants pictured above were stolen.

11 comments:

  1. You have grape hyacinths (genus Muscari) colonizing your lawn! Very pretty, indeed!

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  2. j beat me to the punch.

    How I wish those were naturalized in MY lawn!

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  3. I'm too late too. As for the daffodils...I've found many plants...especially bulbs...that are called pink are not what I think should be called pink...my experience is they end up being salmon. At least your daffs are pretty!

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  4. Katie, just plant some in a flower bed and it won't be long till they are going everywhere. I love them. They are so easy.

    Gina, if you let them go to seed you will have more. They bloom, go to seed, then die away. In about August the new foliage comes up and stays all winter, but they don't bloom until April or May. At least that is the way mine behave. If you collect those seeds, they can be spread where you want them to grow. It may be a problem due to the fact they are in your lawn and you will need to mow one of these days. I might could send you some seeds through the seed exchange. It would be a few years before they bloom, because they form a bulb. Quicker to buy a few bulbs and plant them.

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  5. oh wow those blue things are really pretty!!! I'm totally gonna get some of those... And awesome Peach tree!

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  6. Ohhh...THOSE wiegela...I knew nothing good would come of them when I read your post last year, Gina. Speaking of bad karma, one time I bought several arborvitae and when I got home, I realized the cashier forgot to charge me for one of them. I debated going back to the store, but decided against it, since it was only $4. Naturally, the "free" one died.

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  7. When 1/2 of the flowers on a stalk are open, cut a stalk, turn it upside down & sniff. You'll like it. And yes, that is a "pink" Daffodil. The more you garden, the more you'll see how color terms are used very loosely. There are loads of "blue" flowers that are actually pink or at best mauve.
    Get thee to a nursery (or the Morton Arboretum's Under the Tent sale this weekend) and get some more Weigelas. There's still time to plant. Don't be discouraged that your first attempted failed. You have to kill something 3 times b4 you can say you can't grow it.

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  8. That'll learn ya, Gina : )

    I am passing on the E for Excellent Blogging award to you. Please visit me and collect the citation.

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  9. Oh, killing plants (by karma or other means) is just part of making you a seasoned gardener, Gina! Love your hyacinths, and as MMD observed, catalogues and plant breeders do play fast and loose with descriptions sometimes. But soil pH and mineral content can also affect how colours happen--just look at hydrangeas as an example.

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  10. I was totally kidding when I posted that they probably knew they were stolen and that's why they died!!

    Anyway, yes those are grape hyacinths and I wish I had some (i guess I could go get some, duh). And as for your bog box daffodils, I hear you, my "yellow" hyacinths are peach.

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  11. j - thanks for the identification!

    katie - i love these and i think i'll plant more this fall now that I know what they are.

    leslie - yes they are much more salmon than pink. still pretty, though.

    barbee - thanks for the tip! ill try to collect the seeds.

    j-dogg - thanks!

    david - I tried to take the weigela back and of course they wouldnt do anything without a receipt. 2 lessons learned - 1. don't steal plants and 2. if you do, always keep the receipt!

    MMD - i got more weigelas. I paid WAY more but I'm hoping they live.

    carolyn - thanks for the "E"!

    jodi - i don't mind the salmon color but how dare they alter those pictures!

    rosemarie - you called it! no more of that sneaky shopping for me!

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