Plants on the Porch!

Yay! Friday was the day my order from High Country Gardens arrived! I got the shipping notice on Wednesday, so knew to expect them on Friday, but that didn't stop me from hoping they'd somehow show up a day or two earlier...gardener's wishfulness ;-)



Ahhhh...here's the sight that greeted me when I got home from work Friday night. I have to take a moment to thank my dad...who gave me some money for my birthday in February...thereby funding this glut of gardening retail therapy! Thanks Dad!



I've ordered from HCG once before, so knew what to expect when I opened the box...everything is packed very carefully, each plant wrapped individually in a paper sleeve. I'm still amazed they can fit so many plants in such a small space.

The Captain waited patiently on the sidelines...not sure what to make of this frenzy of unwrapping. HCG tells you in the packaging to let the plants acclimate to your local weather conditions by setting them in the shade for a few days. There is a little styrofoam lid on the base of each pot that holds the soil in place. You should remove these and periodically check the soil moisture. Mine were all nice and moist still...so I let them sit on my porch this weekend and checked them daily to make sure they didn't dry out. In all, I got: 6 - Agastache 'Blue Blazes' 3 - Agastache 'Ava' 3 - Agastache 'Desert Sunrise' 1 - Achnatherum calamagrostis I was certainly glad we got the backyard tilled up this week...as now we can work on the fence and path this weekend (weather permitting) and hopefully plant these puppies next weekend! Of course, that's pretty ambitious...I'll be lucky if we get the fence and path done in the next two weekends.

Also, I had to laugh at myself...as once we got everything cleared out of the backyard and took some real measurements, I realized I had been WAY too generous with my measurements this winter...so back to the drawing board with the garden plans. It's a good thing I hadn't bought all the plants yet, aside from these Agastache!



And here's my haul...all nice and healthy. The first time I ordered plants from HCG, I was a little disappointed at the size of the plants...but I needn't have been. Their small size makes them more durable and resilient...important when getting shipped half way across the country. They also have really healthy root systems and everything I planted last year thrived and grew rapidly once established.



I can't wait to see how these do in the garden...as you can tell by the amount of Agastache, I've become a bit of an addict in the past few years. HCG is known for its ongoing breeding of Agastache, and have come out with some true beauties, 'Blue Blazes' being one of their new introductions this year. My luck with Agastaches in general is a bit spotty, what do you expect in Portland (winter wetness is the #1 cause of Agastache death).

Although generally my preference for buying plants is to shop locally (ensuring the plants are acclimated to our climate...and to support local business), HCG carries many types of Agastache I haven't been able to find locally. I also love to support growers and nurseries who have an obvious love and passion for plants. In addition, HCG offers a large variety of xeric plants, a definite bonus...even in Portland, which gets practically no rain at all during the growing season.

How about all of you...do you have any new plant acquisitions? What's your fave place to mail-order plants from?