It was Memorial Day weekend and one thought popped into my mind: It’s time to plant!

Where I grew up you didn’t dare to plant your gardens until Memorial Day weekend because there was still the chance of a killing frost. Thus it just became a habit with me that I planned to work in my garden Memorial Day weekend. Now that I live in an area where I can get away with planting a few weeks earlier I’m still having trouble getting over the habit that I developed long ago. This year, though, I just didn’t have time to get out there, or the weather didn’t cooperate. Finally, though, it was time!

The local garden center is about a 10 minute drive from my house and they open at 8 a.m. on Saturday. At a few minutes past 8:00 I kissed Jay goodbye and told him that I would be back shortly. I think that it was 9:30 when I got home. How could I possibly have spent that much time getting plants? Let me explain…

I LOVE the garden center. I’m allergic to almost everything in there, but I LOVE it. I typically have a list in my head of what I want to get, but that doesn’t stop me from walking all over and looking at EVERYTHING.

 

 

 

 

I started by grabbing a wagon and taking a glance at the perennials. I might actually need to go back and get some once I decide what I want to do around the flag pole in our front yard. However, that was not on my list for the day, so I continued on my way.

 

 

 

 

First stop… the roses.

My mother-in-law bought me a rose bush from this garden center last year, plus I returned and bought one for myself. They weathered our harsh winter beautifully! I probably spent no less than 15 minutes walking around looking at every single rose and trying to decide where I could put more roses in my yard.

 

 

 

Who wouldn’t be happy seeing this in their garden??

Or a bunch of these in their garden?

 

 

 

 

 

As I continued on toward the vegetable plants (my main reason for being there), I couldn’t help but notice this area.

At least if I ever run into the Knights Who Say Ni I will know exactly where to go to get a shrubbery!

 

 

 

 

I finally made it inside where they keep the vegetables. I think that they have every single vegetable you can possibly imagine. And some that you haven’t!

I was boring and just picked up some cherry tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes, burpless cucumbers, zucchini and green peppers.

Very boring.

 

 

Next was the hard part: Deciding what flowers to plant in my non-rose gardens.

Of course, I stopped in the area where they keep the pansies.

 

 

 

 

They had these violas which just shouted at me. They needed a good home in my garden. I said okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And who could say no to such an adorable little pansy face? Certainly not me! These little guys came along to keep the violas company.

 

 

 

 

 

What I love most about the garden center is that no matter where you look there is COLOR every where! I don’t like geraniums, but you have to admit that they are beautiful in this picture.

I ended up getting some petunias (another favorite of mine), some begonias and sunflowers.

 

 

 

I wasn’t done looking, though.

As you head out of the greenhouses you enter the main building where they sell the various gardening accessories like…

Terra Cotta pots

 

 

 

Bird Baths

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Fountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

General garden décor

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Concrete Statues.

I spent a bit of time walking among these guys. It amazes me just what somebody has designed to put in gardens.

 

 

 

 

I saw this cat that reminded me of my sister’s cat, Joey.

Who wouldn’t love a Joey in their garden??

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I’m Catholic I suppose that I must get the mandatory Mary for my garden. I think that it’s in the Catholic by-laws that you have to have a statue of Mary in your yard somewhere, and you get added points if it’s set within a buried bath tub.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps you’re a big Budweiser fan…

Whoa Nelly!

 

 

 

Awww!!! Shhhh! Don’t wake the cuteness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look! I found Big Foot!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all of that looking, this was what I ended up taking home. Not as bad as you probably thought.

I can’t wait to go back!!