Yesterday was the annual trip to
Russell Wholesale Gardens. I've linked to it many times before but it bears repeating because this place is amazing. I was headed there to pick up a few more perrenials and the plants for the
Verge Garden. But you never know what you'll find at Russell's. Because look at the size of this place:
And that's just one of the area's you can visit. It's huge and they have 10 varieties of anything you can imagine.
The difficult thing about Russell's is that it isn't for the newbie gardener. You arrive, park your car, and go into the trailer and pick up the "Location List."
The Location List has the names of all the plants on offer that year with what aisle you can find them in. It's much like picking up some furniture at Ikea. Except instead of Swedish, you theoretically have to know Latin. The list is hand numbered every year and is prone to mistakes, so you may or may not find what you're looking for. However, you always stumble on something you weren't expecting and didn't know you needed, such as this Ranunculus.
Furthermore, if you end up finding the specific cultivar in the right aisle... it may look a little less... verdant... than the stuff at the Home Despot.
But that's actually probably better. Most of the stuff at the big chain gardening centers is "forced", which means to put the plant in artificially warm/moist/sunny conditions to cause it to grow ahead of its appointed time. Thus the item on the shelf looks pretty, but it's like putting a baby on anabolic steroids. I've tried that, and trust me, it never ends well.
So, you may come across a pile of Verbascum 'Southern Charm'. Which is one of my favorites... and it looks like this:
And there's no pretty picture guides, so unless you knew that it will eventually turn into this:
you're not likely to be as excited as I was, for a quart container for only $2.99.
After you fill the wagon, you cart your purchases back to the trailer to checkout...
And then of course, you remember the Herb greenhouses, of which there are SEVEN...
Varieties of every herb imaginable, stuff I've never seen used in any cookbook or homeopathic quack treatment. Basils in every color. Mints for Tea, Mints for Mojitos, Mints for Cats.
Gazillions of herbs, and they're only $1.40 a piece. At that price, you are tempted to buy 50 of them.
Which brings us to the last point about Russell. Go in there with a budget. I feel really good about my three trays of plants for $100... that's 15 one quart perennials and about 50 herb pots. But that was me restraining myself... HARD.
