Yesterday was a beautiful day
sunny, and warm in the early afternoon, a perfect day to get to know the local garden center. I had told you I was in the garden, but a trip to the Chiro meant no gardening so I went to Blue Mountain nursery, a lovely little garden center tucked into the fields between the edge of town, and the countryside. It’s our local go to plant source with a great selection of quality bedding, perennials, and trees and shrubs to drool over, along with many colourful fillers.
I could have picked up a healthy sized Joe Pie weed “Little Joe” for a lot less then I ordered it online, and saved the shipping costs, so next time I will look at my local garden center first, it’s a much better idea and I can get more bang for my buck at my local.
Personally I find that Big Box stores bring in big shipments of plants hoping to turn them over before any staff is needed to tend to them, they might look great for a few days, but after that, they are stressed, and on their way out to the garbage bin.
Local nurseries have staff who are gardeners, [remember I’ve been one], give great advice, and they can help you select the right plant for the right area. Meanwhile at the Big Box, Sam from shipping is trying to figure out how to turn on the water hose to get a drink, for himself… not the plants. Being a gardener it just breaks my heart to see all those rows of wilting unhappy leaves and no staff there to help them, so much as possible I am voting with my dollars at my local nursery.
Do you have a favourite local garden center, why is it the one you frequent, are the staff knowledgeable, helpful, is it the prices, the quality? All of these shots were taken at Blue Mountain Garden center. And I used my camera phone, those babies are pretty amazing.
