subject: Is your favorite candy store located at your local plant nursery? [print this page] Just like kids in a candy store, as soon as we drive up to a nursery, we want one of each. They can be yellow, pink, blue or red, soft or hard, big or tall, we want them all. The only things that a nursery doesn't have are the bins with candies and the added weight or "directly to your waist problem," but it does have a deeper wallet result.
Whether we purchase our plants in seeds or live at our local nursery, each plant entices us to pick it up, purchase it and plant it in our gardens. It doesn't matter whether it's in the Spring with all the pastel colors, or in the Fall with the rustic shades, plants have a profound effect on our eyesight, as we would like to pick them all up and take them with us. When we smell roses, we close our eyes to absorb the deep scent of the sweet fragrance.
Unlike a candy store, we must remember that light, soil, atmosphere and position are very important when selecting plants. To reward us with their biggest blooms, bright colors and tall stature, we need to put them in places that accommodate their requirements. Some prefer shade, others full sun, others don't like to grow against concrete, any of them can do well against a fence. Mixing and matching the colors of the plants may not work if they are not positioned to their particular dimensions. Tall ones in the back, then a medium, then perhaps a spreading plant marching in the front.
Going to a nursery to purchase plants is a great day outing, unfortunately controlled by the purse strings. It's great to be able to look at the texture of the plant, read the labels to see how well it would do, imagine a space, and visualize the end result. Nurseries are a great place to go when not in a hurry, when we have time to mosey in between all the isles, go from the huge plants and trees, to those which come in small trays, speak to experts in plants, wonder what name a plant has, how it will grow. We look at the texture, the color, maybe we start taking plants and forming a pile of those we want to take home, looking to see how big the numbers are getting (just like our basket that we have in our favorite candy store; we bag them, accumulate them in our container, walking from row to row, admiring all those little bins filled with our favorite candies). Most nurseries carry more variety of plants than our local do-it-yourself store, so the temptation is definitely there to purchase more plants and in numerous quantities. Just like a kid in a candy store, we want multiple plants, our eyes feast on the selection, our look darts from one plant to another, desperately trying to figure out where we can plant this one, accommodate another, and especially have room for one more. The texture of the plant, the shape of the leaves, the color of the flowers are all temptations that we cannot resist until we come to the checkout counter and justify blowing the garden budget.
If the nursery is complemented by tables of fresh fruits and vegetables, we are in deep trouble. Freshness has a scent to itself that is like a deep perfume; the fruits smell so good, the colors are attractive, the sizes bigger than at our local supermarkets. We envision a big bowl of fresh fruits as a centerpiece on our dining room table; we smell the scent of freshly cooked vegetables to make a yummy soup; we imagine the aroma of pies as our grand-mothers used to cook; we can sniff the fragrance of the whole house that smells of freshly cooked fruits.
A funny thing happens when we are at the checkout counter and lug all the plants into the car. Still filled with the aroma of a nursery, spring has sprung in our step, fall forecasts the falling of leaves and the Holidays, so our moods express joy and contentment at our purchases, the anticipation of digging and welcoming our new purchases to our garden. We count what we have, just like candies, we put colors together, assemble our acquisition to maximize our purchase, dream of what our plants will look like, envision what we hope will happen once they are established and grow. Welcome home -- whether it's plants for the garden that we will be able to admire, fruits whose juices will dribble on our chins, or the taste of candies as we pop them in our mouths to savor their texture and flavor. All are expressions of kids at heart, regardless of whether you just came from the plant nursery or your local candy store.
Is your favorite candy store located at your local plant nursery?
