Sunday 28 April 2013

P****less (28 APR 2013)

Two weeks ago I thought I had found the perfect theme for my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post until I discovered that the word that I was thinking of was trademarked. Then I was driving to work last week when my engine started hiccuping while traffic whizzed past at 70 mph. To cut a long story short, after paying £235 and then even more for an overdue major service, my almost unsaleable car is now in working order and I have a greater appreciation of the things in life which cost nothing or at least not much compared to spark plug & ignition coil replacements and new tyres & tracking.

When I first started gardening, I wasn’t sure if the plants I bought would survive. I didn’t have much money to spare anyway because I was re-decorating my house. Then I discovered the sick plant shelf at my local diy store. For just a few pence it’s possible to buy plants that will come back year after year, it doesn’t take long to learn how to spot the signs of potential.

One of my recent purchases was a tiny anemone blanda bought for 10p. I know it’s going to be OK as it’s survived a few frosty nights already.
 
Price : 10p

There are failures too, but I'll brush over those. Let’s just say that you need to learn from mistakes in order to succeed and a lesson learnt by experience is worth a whole lot more than listening to advice even if you do have to put up with someone saying I told you so.

not totally worthless ... lessons-learnt

 
Hyacinth & crocus bulbs with little shoots poking out are considered out-of-date by the stores and prices are slashed, but to me it's a guarantee that there are plants inside just bursting to get out.


A sunny Sunday with nothing to do except gardening – p****less


This little and large combo in a pot were absolutely free. A sucker from my cherry blossom tree  flowering before its parent and my favourite weed lamium at its base.


















Violets and forget-me-nots put on an impromptu supporting act until the iris and peonies bloom.

 
The first daisy of the year is always so precious but I was hoping that this pale lilac violet was a rare specimen - after checking on the internet apparently not.
 

Five minutes of thinking that I had found a rare violet – p****less!
 
I fall in love with a different variety of primrose every year. My favourite at the moment is primrose "sweetheart". I bought a tray of 12 spent plants for 50p, expecting that they would be good for next spring, but they miraculously reawakened within a week. I like watching them turn from lemon cheesecake to apricot fool to mango mousse ...



... to strawberry sorbet. Did you guess I'm on a diet ? - they almost satisfy my taste buds.


 
I'm warming up to daffodils with each year that passes. This year I planted the cutest tiny ones which I'm hoping to show you in the next post. In the meantime my inherited daffodils continue to pop up ... and then fall over.

Daffodils planted by someone else - p****less !

16 comments:

Indie said...

I do love the bargain plant section at our local store! I have also killed quite a few of those plants! My favorite almost-free plants are the ones that I have grown from seeds - I get such a thrill to see large blooming plants that came from a cheap packet of seeds.

Those are some beautiful primroses! My favorite photos, though, are of the little crocuses in the lawn. So pretty!

Patty said...

I wish our stores had a bargain aisle. What does not sell seems to go back to the greenhouse or maybe the compost heap. You have done really well! I grow the mini daffodils as I am not fond of the large ones.

Mark and Gaz said...

Lovely plants and blooms you have there, even better that they were bargains!

Anonymous said...

My mother-in law did her whole garden with a miss mash of dumpster finds. She and her husband would drive their Lexus to the local box store dumpster after hours and fish out all the plants discarded the previous week.

Andrea said...

Hi b-a-g, so you are now reaping the 'fruits' of your labour. They are so colorful and lovely. By the way, what happened when you used a trademarked word? How did you know? Did it showed up automatically or someone informed you, am just curious, as i help some people apply for trademark.

Alberto said...

You had me laughing at the primrose colour description because I thought 'didn't he have breakfast this morning??' and then I read you are on diet!
I love your planted by someone else daffodils!

HolleyGarden said...

You've made me want to eat those primroses! Love this post - it's p****less. ;) As you say, all one has to have is one major expenditure (like car repairs) to know how cheap gardening can be. Plus, gardening fills us with so much joy. And everyone knows that joy is p****less. Every time I purchase a plant, I think what a wonderful hobby this is. Golfers spend much more, but what do they have to show for it in return? A scorepad. But we end up with beauty! That's p****less.

linniew said...

I like the fall bargains, when the nurseries clear out the summer stock. It usually looks neglected but tends to do fine the next spring. Lovely colors on the primrose and yes your words made me hungry so now I must go eat breakfast.

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

Love the foody primrose descriptions! And a great post, showing you can get beauty in to your garden without spending a fortune, timely given it is almost Chelsea showtime... I love lamiums, and they are great for pollinators too. They were on my list of my last garden, so I was chuffed to bits to discover some here when we moved in.

Alistair said...

Hi b-a-g, a good eye for a bargain and even now finding that Daffs aren't necessarily altogether p****less, just f***lous.

The Sage Butterfly said...

I enjoy bringing plants back to life as well. There are usually some real gems on the discount table. You have some real gems in your garden that seem to be flourishing with your tender care.

Anonymous said...

That is such a gorgeous primrose. I wish there w a better selection over here.

Donna@Gardens Eye View said...

I love the idea of visiting the bargains to spot those that will survive. So many lovely plants blooming b-a-g...and I have that same lamium popping up and I never planted it...so is it a weed?

Sarah Shoesmith said...

Glad you got your car sorted out. I love the optimism of gardeners - the way we believe we can resurrect plants. I don't think I've ever met a gardener who doesn't have a sick bay for plants. When I buy a perennials (especially one which costs more than I usually pay), I try to select ones I might be able to divide straight away. That is a very beautiful primrose.

debsgarden said...

Your primrose is gorgeous! I often find bargain plants out of season at my favorite nursery. My Cherokee Sunset dogwood tree started out like that, abandoned in the back, covered with weeds, doomed had I not rescued it.

b-a-g said...

Thanks all for your comments.

Andrea - I found out that the word was trademarked in wikipedia, it's been in a series of popular adverts in the UK, but I was just having a bit of fun.

Holley - I'm still trying to figure out why people play golf.

Donna (GEV) - I've never thought of lamium being anything but a weed, but now you have me wondering ...

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