Plants on the cheap

Today I went to lunch with a few girlfriends from my neighborhood at Rumbi Island Grill (give me a YUM!  “yum.”  Thank you.)  It was just a little get together to kind of celebrate the September Birthdays, but more than that, it was an excuse to get together for lunch.  Why, yes, I did organize it, thank you very much.  But it wasn’t much to organize, just a few phone calls and a couple of emails and we’re all set.  It was fun, and delicious.

After our lunch, my friend Lisa, who had driven me down there, asked if I minded if we stopped in at Lowes to look at some plants.  Ok, I said, I’m game.  John’s at preschool and I don’t have big plans other than lunch, so I don’t mind at all.  She had said that they had some of their plants on clearance.  Well, that would stand to reason, since nobody is planting any annuals right now.

What we found were some lovely goodies.  I bought an entire basket full of annuals (I couldn’t tell you what they are, but they are still pretty) for $1.  Yes, I know they are annuals and they are going to dies soon, but for a dollar, I couldn’t resist.  The basket alone is worth more than that.  I also bought a sad looking, small chocolate calla lily plant. No, it’s not blooming like that, but it was marked down to 49 cents or some obscene amount like that.  Original price?  $16.00.  I’m not sure if I should plant it in the ground and leave it there for next year or if it’s a picky plant that needs to be dug up in the fall and wintered in the garage.  Anyone know?  Zone 5, I think we are?  I also bought a pretty flowering kale plant.  I think it was about a dollar.  My three plants came to less than $2.50.

When we asked if they were going to discount the perennials and bushes further, the sales girl didn’t know.  I commented that it must be pretty boring to be out in the garden center this time of year, and she heartily agreed with me.  “They are supposed to close this area down soon.  Probably in October,” she said.  “What do they do with the plants that they don’t sell?” we asked.  “Oh, they just throw them all into a compactor and get rid of whatever doesn’t sell,” she said.

That seems like a TERRIBLE waste, doesn’t it?  Perfectly good bushes, vines, and plants that will just get tossed out?!  Well, I’m going to have to check back there in the next week or two and see if they do indeed clearance out the rest of their stuff.  I’m sure they’d rather sell it at a discount than just trash it, don’t you think?

So, if you are in the neighborhood of a Lowe’s or Home Depot (or even Wal Mart), I would check out the garden section.  You might find some forgotten treasures on the cheap.

(By the way, thanks for the well wishes.  I still am kind of sneezy today, but it’s not near the severity of yesterday.  I’ll just keep taking the Claratin and Sudafed for a while until we get through this.)