Not the greatest combination! Except for those living in sunny southern climes, gardeners pining away under darker skies often brighten up their doldrums gazing at glorious plant catalogs. The riotous colors, the promise of a dazzling yard, the enticing copy, and the cheap prices! Oh pitiful gardeners, before you know it, the UPS guy is delivering you bundles of sticks and piles of paper-wrapped mini pots. You haven’t a clue anymore what exactly these are, and even worse, no real plan as to what to do with them.
Catalog browsing and buying requires more than a modicum of self-control and know-how. What looks so luscious on the page rarely will look like that in your yard. When you buy with your eyes, you haven’t paid attention to buying plants that can actually survive in your flowerbed together. Plants need to be grouped together by watering needs, sun or shade requirements, ultimate height and circumference — things you probably didn’t pay attention to when dog-earring the pages .
Sad to say, what happens to lots of pitiful gardener catalog orders is they get plunked in the ground in the wrong place, or never actually make it that far. Intentions may have been on the up-and-up, but when it comes to getting down into the dirt, that can be fraught with mishaps.
Really, it’s better to go see the bigger plants at the local nursery or big box stores’ garden centers. Buy a few when the temperatures are optimal, and get them into the ground in a timely manner. If you can handle that well, then add to your collection gradually…and successfully!
