It's very easy for me. I don't go to garden centers this time of year. Quite frankly, I rarely go in the spring either.

Kevin

It is actually getting easier for me to resist plants. I guess working at a nursery is kind of an inoculation in a way. I'm realizing that there will ALWAYS be new plants coming onto the market, and it really is okay if I don't collect them all, LOL. Now that space is at a premium in my garden I also tend to assess the necessity of a plant before I get it. Those "OMG, I have to have it no matter what" plants still pop up that I am unable to resist though, just not as frequently (thank goodness)!!

My last serious temptation was a 'Minuet' Kalmia at my nursery. I was SO wanting that baby! I ended up passing because a) I don't have the space for it and b) I am not one to add a lot of specialized soil amendments/acidifiers etc. I can be (not always, it depends on what it is) a bit of a âÂÂplant it and forget it!â kind of gardener. Yep, I stole that line from the rotisserie cooker infomercial ;-)
CMK

I was seriously tempted on Monday. Went to get some deer spray (can't bring myself to make my own - yuck!) and saw a huge Annabelle hydrangea. Now, I've seen these a hundred times before and was never really tempted. I'm not a huge fan of white flowers.

But this time, I kept coming back to it over and over. HUGE blooms, all perfect. I think that come late June and into the summer I'm in "cut-flower mode" since I make bouquets for the market, and I kept thinking how beautiful those big white blooms would be.

But I resisted. I told myself it would sit in the pot for goodness-knows how many years, that I didn't have an extra $50 bucks to spend and maybe I could look for it in the fall on sale. Even on sale it would still sit in the pot for goodness-knows how many years, lol, but it would be at a better price.

My last temptation was the Sunny knockout rose, back in May, and I actually did peek around for those at the garden center the other day, but they were gone. Thank goodness.... enough pots in the pot ghetto as is.

Dee

I've seen adverts for a new Hydrangea, that is supposed to be identical to Annabelle, but without the terrible floppiness. But some pictures look suspect. Can anybody confirm it?

I have forgotten to write the name, it is called Hydrangea Incrediball

If anything, floppier than Annabelle, due to the increased size of the flowerheads. I have not noticed the stems being any more sturdier, despite the advertised claims.

My fascination with new perennials has declined in recent years - maybe because I see them everyday at the nursery or because lots of the new intros never measure up to hype but mostly because I am now tending more to shrubs and lower maintenance plants. Most of the perennials I consider now are either evergreen/year-round foliage or a hummingbird attractant I don't have. But I am a sucker for some of the newer shrubs!! Abelia 'Lime Twist', Hydrangea 'Bombshell' and Berberis 'Orange Rocket' are recent acquisitions and I am considering Hydrangea 'Pistachio'. And I am always on the lookout for succulents (hardy or not) and a few specific, harder to find plants - Carpenteria and Grevilleas are on the list.

Oh, I forgot to add, it's hard to resist temptation when it's a variegated hosta... any variegated hosta... doesn't matter which one... or if I already have that particular one...

:)
Dee

I avoid going to the garden centers, that helps a lot. I have too many seedlings, divisions and cuttings going on right now to consider addIng even more.

I like to see new things in the garden centers but don't usually fall for them.... Looking back at my label collection, there were too many flash in the pan plants that didn't last, so now I try to wait a couple years. It's always good to have a nice wish list to save for special occasions.

I do have a weakness for really well grown standard plants. The annabelle hydrangea would have caught my eye too, or something like a big fat pot of delphiniums. I always fall for a pot or three of nice chrysanthemums covered in buds and bloom....

I've been looking for something orange/red to go between two Phlox Davids and spotted Helenium when I picked up our veggie basket at the farm share. I thought --- wow! --- I LOVE that! But no more buying now until the fall sales. Besides, we're supposed to have another heat spell and July/August are tough on plants any way.

Molie

I take photos instead of buying now. In display gardens if perennials you can return to that garden next year to view the display again and don't have to care for the plants.

I have purchased perennials on clearance toward the end of summer. That way I only have a few weeks of watering to do for them. Not all make it, so am going to restrain myself this year to only the $1-2 ones & only if also hummingbird nectar plants, evergreen, or early/late bloomers. Summer garden is full!

A nursery about 30 min. away offers 20-20-20 fertilizer jugs with free refills for the life of the jug. They know when you're there & look around you'll be tempted to purchase something.

I have 4 that fit in a milk crate. Great for container plants and baskets. I don't visit as often as I was a few years ago, so only a few times a year. On my last visit I bought the granular concentrate to mix it up myself. My son was happy because he has been telling me to do that for years instead of having to stop by the nursery when nearby.

Buying new perennials (or my major problem, sowing seed and then not being able to throw away excess seedlings) is actually a good way of jump-starting your removal program.

Currently on the hit list are my patch of Chelone, the Lysimachia clethroides, the yellow yarrow, and Campanula "Elizabeth". That'll create space for at least 1/3 of what is currently growing in flats and pots.

This is my favorite time of the year to get plants because several places have them for 75% off. I'm on a limited budget right now so I get more bang for my buck.

Resistance is futile. Avoidance is the only way...

Pretty much anything...lol.

I have one more bed that's pretty much empty so...

I do have to be choosy for that one though, very dry, full sun, no shelter from wind.

I'm about done for the year anyway, because that bed needs to actually be created, as it's grass at the moment. I did snag up some Velvet Buzz Butterfly bushes at $8 and some Lo and Behold Blue Chips at $7 for it. I'll be able to avoid those when tilling it to prep it for planting and seeding next spring.

I do still have a hard time passing up coneflower and hosta from my "list" (not that I've found any so I'm ok there, will probably have to get those online). Also Rudbeckia...I am LOVING my new Cherry Brandy and Cherokee Sunsets, and my Denver Daisy and Moreno too. The worst for me are Butterfly Bushes, especially with the newer "dwarfs" out. I REALLY love color on the Velvets.

denninmi, I'm with you... I'm holding off even going in nurseries anymore until fall. Ground is too hard here now to do anything worth while, too hot and humid out and, because of the heat, everything ends up looking ratty any way. I just bought a handful of new annuals for a planter on my patio (after previous annuals died)... they're looking sad already. I'm done until fall!