Monday, May 21, 2007

Mailorder annuals...may sound kinda crazy, but when you want specific plants and don't have time/space/desire to start your own seeds, then this is the way to go! Nicely packed box from Select Seeds, got them all out to inspect-big and healthy! I wanted "moon garden" night-blooming plants, a neat cut-leaf geranium, plus three geraniums that smell like peppermint and chocolate! Yum! So I put the mailorder plants next to the annuals I bought locally for a size comparison...what do you think? I think my friends at Select Seeds hooked it up!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

As if ANYTHING could sound crazy on THIS blog.

:)

Of all your projects, mail order annuals seem almost tame. Thanks for putting this up though... I'm very delighted to see that they arrived so well. Can't believe the pelargoniums look so good. (Dig 'em up and bring'em inside this winter.)

Yes... I also want SPECIFIC things. Thy aren't always easy to get.

lisa said...

Thanks Hank, I will dig them up! (Save me some money next year.) Heh, my projects are ALL coming along, pretty much simultaneously as usual. Just realized yesterday that I haven't looked in my worm bin for about a month-yikes! Better get on that...

Unknown said...

You're so right--they really hooked it up. In fact, I'm impressed by how big and healthy the plants look in comparison... you can see the difference between those and the "produced to bloom at the garden center" ones. Speaking of this, I wonder how it would compare if you bought the same variety of plant both places and observed them as they grew? Hmm.

Oh, but my most important question is this: What cool stuff are you planting in that night-blooming garden?!

lisa said...

Kim-that's a good idea for a growing trial! The plant list is: white datura, moonflower, jasmine tobacco, 'Colchester White' centaurea, and woodland tobacco. They were sold as a set, 2 plants of each, for $39.95. (Not exactly cheap, but I WANTED them.) Next year I'd like to try starting from seed though, and they sell a larger collection with more variety in seeds for $15.95. Plants are such "instant gratification" though, and in my short growing season it's a good option since I didn't get my seed-starting act together early.

growingagardenindavis said...

Those plants look wonderful...I'm impressed! It is so nice to be able to see how things from different companies look so we can see who is a good choice. I love the idea of your moon garden! There is one over at the university here but you have to go at the right time on the right days etc,...how much better to have it at home!

chuck b. said...

I can see that Ipomoea alba down there in the lower left of the first picture! Looks just like mine.

Those scented geraniums really turned my thinking around about geraniums. Hated geraniums, now love them. This year, I just have rose geranium. Last year I had the peppermint, Pelargonium tomentosum, and what an incredible scent that is. You can flavor a peppermint poundcake with a few leaves.

lisa said...

Leslie-I was really happy with the folks at Select Seeds, they have a very large selection of seeds and plants, plus they packed the box extremely well. I like to try and post my experience with the various nurseries, although just one customer's experience doesn't always tell the tale.

Chuck-cooking with geraniums? Interesting...when I first realized there were so many more varieties of geranium than what stores usually sell, I was floored! I still don't understand why local nurseries don't offer many of them, but I'm glad SOMEBODY does! I've had zero sucess taking cuttings from them, but I'll sure keep trying, cuz' I want to keep these going if I can.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

I have been ordering from Select Seeds for many years and can not say enough good about the company. I have ordered from Forest Farm but not for a long time. From Select Seeds I order their Brugmansias and Datura, the plants always arrive safe and sound. Nice blog!

Ki said...

Wow, those are heavy duty sized plants for being mailordered.

lisa said...

Iowa gardening woman-thanks for stopping by! I agree-never disappointed by Select Seeds!

Ki-I knew I could count on them to deliver nice stuff like before, but these were the best yet! I even punished them a bit and only hardened them off for 2 days, planted before the end of our cold nights, and they still look great! (I don't recommend tempting the odds this way, but quite impressive!)

Anonymous said...

Wow, new plants. It's like have a Big Birthday Party.
Bring me some cake and a Cherry Tree please.

choconet said...

did I read chocolate?? yum...

lisa said...

Becky-heh, I'm afraid I throw myself these kinds of parties a tad too often, but I DO love getting boxes in the mail! Absolutely like a party!

Choconet-yum is right! It's my understanding that there are a few plants whose scent is described as chocolate...that would be a cool "specialty garden"...maybe I'll investigate this further. Thanks for stopping by!