And Then, After the Plant Exchange...

Some of us went just down the hill from Alison's garden to Windmill Gardens.  This is a sad time of year to visit as Windmill severely reduces it's stock for winter and quite a bit of their greenhouse space is used to store and force plants for designers of gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show which takes place in February.  While the holiday is colorful with lots of poinsettias, it's not quite the same as a nursery full of hardy plants.  It is fun, however, to sneak a peek at what the designers will be using in the show gardens.  The good news is that when we stopped by, all perennials were 75% off and there were other special sales.
 Phormium 'Pink Stripe' for only ten dollars was too good to pass up.  Jane is standing in front of Cannas on sale for only two dollars, a great buy if one had somewhere to keep them dry for the winter!

Loading up the cars is always fun, especially when they're already full of plants.  Laura laugh as Anna gets lost in phormium foliage.



I came away with quite a few Cyclamen hederifolium for only two dollars each, a hawthornia, and a couple Arum italicum at 75% off to put in pots with Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' (Black Mondo Grass.) The combination of the black grass and the red orange seed heads will be stunning!

Not enough plant buying opportunities?  Next Saturday, October 18, is the Rhododendron Species Garden annual fall sale and this year, Dan Hinkley's Windcliff Selections will be featured.  I'm bummed that I can't go this year as I'll be in a class all day (yuck.) I hope you can go, get lots of plants, and tell me how wonderful it was!