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Garden Catalogs And Nursery Websites

CYNDI'S PLANT BONANZA

     Cyndi has collected information on more than 2,000 garden catalogs. As you've probably noticed, I'm a strong believer in buying plants through catalogs. First, the variety is 1,000 percent greater than you can get locally, and, second, the prices tend to be lower. You can also sit down with pen, paper, and catalogs and PLAN your whole garden. If you're like me, when you go to a nursery you pick up a little plant of this and that, and then this and that don't FIT anywhere when you get them home. So you shoehorn them in as best you can, and they either take over the whole flower bed or else squat there for the next five years looking annoyed at life. And visitors to your garden don't even notice the gorgeous effects you've achieved with such labor. Instead they point to It, saying in cod-liver-oilish tones, "WHAT is that?" And you say, "I don't remember. I bought it on sale."

     Cyndi has a whole section given to "specialty gardens," including water gardens, rock gardens, greenhouse gardens, and - yes, they exist and your little boy will love them - carnivorous gardens. And then, if you want to specialize in, say, bonsai or azaleas, you can find excellent sources. Find it all here:

http://gardenlist.com/

THE CROWN JEWEL OF NURSERIES

     I feel that I’m handing you the crown jewels when I recommend this mailorder nursery, which I have happily used a number of times. FOREST FARM has listings of shrubs and trees beyond a gardener’s wildest dreams, all modestly priced. So please don’t go to the garden center and pick up one of those cheap maple trees that suck all the moisture out of your soil and turn an insipid pale yellow in the fall -- while the maples in New England are in breathtaking shades. Check out the wonders of FOREST FARM, where the maple varieties alone make a gardener weep tears of joy. And look at the flowering crabapples and flowering cherries and plums, will you? And and and.

     I find it easier to use their print-and-paper catalog, thumbing through it over and over, putting little marks by the dozens of things I want, gradually sifting them down to THE things I most want. But you can also find them online.

     Please don’t be thrown off by their use of Latin names. Note in the lefthand steering column of their website, at the top under “By name, PID, or hardiness” you can get “common name.” Just put in, say, “maple,” and get all the listings under Acer, the Latin term.

     The FOREST FARM people are wonderful. They should get a gold medal the size of a house, but they’ll be pleased with your order instead.

http://www.forestfarm.com/

BEST IRIS CATALOG

     The tall bearded iris blooms gorgeously in May and June, then goes dormant in midsummer. Midsummer is the time to divide yours and move them. And May and June are the months in which to buy iris online or from a catalog.

     I have happy childhood memories of my parents leafing through the COOLEY’S GARDENS iris catalogs, tempted here, there, and everywhere. Every Montana winter my mother lost roses, but the iris came through unscathed. And in my book COOLEY’S GARDENS are the absolute best for tall bearded iris. They don’t go in for Louisiana, Siberian, or Japanese iris. Just the one kind, but the ones they offer are simply superb!

     (And, if you want to try other kinds of iris, check out CYNDI’S CATALOG OF GARDEN CATALOGS, listed under Garden Catalogs.)

https://cooleysgardens.com/Default.aspx

DAYLILIES ARE TOUGH

     They are so tough that they can be planted almost any time the ground isn’t frozen.

     Our daughter Lisa Danahy is very happy with the daylilies she purchased online. She says, “I searched several websites before placing my last lily order and I was very pleased with the selection and quality of the lilies at ABUNDANT DAYLILIES. Their website gives details, photos, and pricing on tons of lilies and you can order using Paypal, which makes it easy to track your order and secure your payment. They also provide very personalized customer service and even sent me 10 free lilies with my purchase.” ABUNDANT DAYLILIES says, “Orders are recorded year round for shipping in March-June / August-November.” And here's a link to their website:

http://www.daylilies.net/

     Below is another link, this one to AMADOR FLOWER FARM in California, which offers less personalized service than Abundant Daylilies but has over 800 varieties. As far as I can tell they ship all year round!

http://deaver.web.aplus.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT

PEONIES FOR A LIFETIME

     When you get back from your summer vacation, your garden will still be there. A bit weedy, but there for a lifetime, especially if you plant peonies, which will last your lifetime, your children’s lifetimes, and your children’s children’s lifetimes.

     Peonies are planted in the fall. So, if you’d like to grow these wonderful flowers, summer is the time to get a peony catalog and select some. If you pay a visit to CYNDI’S CATALOG OF GARDEN CATALOGS and click on peonies, you’ll soon own some beauties.

http://gardenlist.com/
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