Keeping Up With The Gardening Joneses: 10 Year Gardening Journal

I try not to be a big fat copycat but when it comes to gardening, it's harder for me.

Most gardening stuff I see comes from the Internet via my favorite gardening blogs, or my favorite gardeners on Twitter or Plurk. It's not like a pretty pair of shoes that walk by me and keep on walking. People write beautiful prose about their gardening crap and the way they describe it and the pictures they show me make it virtually impossible for me to pass it up. Plus, they post all the links showing me exactly where I can find the stuff, making buying effortless. It's almost like I develop a crush on their gardening crap. I just can't resist it.

The cool thing about copying off gardeners is that, in my case at least, gardening is not all that mainstream and not that many of my friends are avid gardeners, so I can copy off my Internet peeps and then take credit for the original idea when all my friends are admiring the goods. Dear Gardening Bloggers, sometimes I buy stuff you write about and never even tell you. It's your own fault for seducing me!

My most recent purchase is the Lee Valley 10 Year Gardening Journal. In my defense, I've wanted this for over a year so it wasn't exactly an impulse buy. And, I did use money given to me as a Christmas gift by my mother to purchase it - I'm pretty sure she approves. Still, it's basically all Katie's fault. She went on and on about it on Plurk a while back and I tried to ignore it but when she later said that the company was offering free shipping, that was it. I made the purchase that same day.

I'd read about this gardener's journal before on a few blogs and one of the reasons I did not purchase it back then was that I got the feeling that it's for serious gardeners. (after my second year of gardening, I still have trouble seeing myself as an avid gardener) Also, I was concerned about my dedication to writing in it for the next 10 years. 10 years! I mean I have this blog where I am technically committed to writing about my garden and what do I need with yet another commitment, right? But I specialize in overcommitization!

I'm pretty excited about my new gardener's journal. This thing is huge! I mean, it reminds me of one of those huge ass encyclopedias at my parents house. I was kind of surprised to see that it's got way more than just space to write daily gardening stuff. Check back in a few days for my full review of the Lee Valley 10 Year Gardener's Journal.

The Price Is Right!

Buying
garden center guy - "can i help you with something"
me - "yes, how much is this planter?"
garden center guy - "well here's the price" *pointing at the yellow clearance sticker*
me - "but that says 20 dollars, right?"
garden center guy - "yes, that's what it says" *tipping the pot over to look at the printed sticker on the other side that says 149.99 and shaking his head like a crime has been committed*
me - "is there something wrong with it???? that is awfully cheap!"
garden center guy - "nope, I guess we just got tired of looking at it"
me "WELL I'LL TAKE IT! You will not believe this but I came here looking for a purple pot today - I never thought in a million years I'd find one this size for 20 bucks"
garden center guy - "that is a great deal. let me help you load this in your car"

The pot is 26 inches tall and square at the top with a 22"x22" opening. I still can't get over this!

I'm pretty sure Mr. W hates me.

Unloading
Mr. W - "OMG!" "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TAKE MY TRUCK IF YOU WERE GETTING SOMETHING SO BIG?" *staring in amazement and trying to determine how to get this out of the car before the game starts in 5 minutes*
me - "I didn't know I was getting one so big but it was only 20 bucks!!! How could I NOT buy it?"
Mr. W - "how the hell did they get this in your back seat?"
old neighbor guy - "let me help you with that.....what is this a refrigerator?"
me - "no it's a flower pot" *whoever heard of a purple fridge? is he blind?*
old neighbor guy - "JEEZUS THAT IS ONE BIG FLOWER POT!!!"
Mr. W - "TELL ME ABOUT IT!"