They had Mercury Rising Coreopsis and another I think was Full Moon. Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame', Sombrero Coneflowers, Agastache 'Blue Boa' (almost got this guy- may regret passing it up), an incredible array of ornamental grasses, and a few other neat things peppered in.

They had a fabulous Hesperaloe parviflora, but it was a little much for me (considering I don't have a spot in mind for it)- $25 for a 6gal.

Lowes has an lackluster selection of perennials, tho this spring they had some nice Monrovia evergreens/shrubs and grasses.

I picked up a few 'Northern Lights' Deschapsia at HD. Those things are awesome. One of the few plants I hae ever done multiples of! Lol.

How about you guys? Find anything interesting at the box stores this year?
CMK

Annette

I'm already starting to wonder if I should have picked up a BB! There is a spot in the back AND front it would look good. LOL.
CMK

I was trying to condense errands and needed a large bag of potting soil, couldn't find a quality at HD to tempt me. Almost every pallet had a broken bag so I was able to do a handful squeeze and sniff test, but passed them up and made a second stop where I found Gardner and Bloome in stock.

There was quite a large supply of young common boxwood that seemed well rooted if someone were doing a border, knot garden or something, $6.98 ea. I look but rarely buy plants at box stores, I would rather support nurseries....and do my share of that.

To be fair, I picked up quite a few peonies at HD about 8 years ago and they're healthy plants that produce multiple blooms every year.

This past early summer I picked up some PW annuals. But I have never seen any perennials of any consequence at HD or Lowes. It seems to me they stock the very basics ie coneflower, Rozanne Geranium, Rudbeckia Goldsturm etc.

I read something disturbing about big box plants this spring, which is that they are likely to be treated with neonicotinoids. What really knocked my socks off is that once a plant is treated, it goes on to be lethal to bees throughout its lifespan, offering up pollen and nectar that contains harmful levels of the pesticide. Ack!

I thought that I could do my part by simply never using pesticides, but it sounds like if a plant was treated with neonicotinoids before you get it can be a continual hazard, right there in your own carefully-tended garden!

I need to learn more about this topic, and I know there is a lot of controversy. (Bayer, who makes and sells the compounds, says they are safe, so they must be, right?) But I have vowed to read up on this by next spring's plant-buying season.

I linked what appears to be a well-balanced research piece. But it does not mention the idea of plants that are already treated when you buy them. Does anyone know more about this?

AMAZING ... it becomes capable creating a never-ending supply of it from .... what? By what mechanism?

Can you point to the actual research that shows that a mature plant will have any quantity of a topical insecticide that was used on it as a seedling?

Or at least the tinfoil hattery you saw the claim in?

There's a HUGE problem with that "possible link" that has to be explained away before I'll even begin to worry:

Europe banned neonics several years ago and STILL has a problem with CCD.
Australia uses neonics and has had NO CCD yet.

So, it's apparently something else ... like maybe something that's in other countries and not Australia ... like maybe whatever is in this picture.

I said I am still learning about the topic. I said it's controversial. I posted a link that looks credible. No need to jump down my throat about it.

And to answer your question in your first response I did post a link to where the info came from, which I read carefully so as not to pass along bad information. Your calling that 'tinfoil hattery' seems inflammatory. Maybe read what I posted before jumping straight to potentially insulting language?

I don't know much about it myself but I have decided to shop at family owned places just to be safe... it's not worth the risk for me. And then I can support local shops instead so it's a win win.

Emmarene, too bad your local nursery is tone deaf to what a regular customer might want. That's supposed to be the whole point in dealing with an independent business. Oh well, at least your local HD is getting the message with drought tolerant plants.

It still is a very controversial subject, but earlier this year it made the local news around here. A couple of our largest, local nurseries (not big box stores) were interviewed about the subject and they said they've been debating the issue in-house for some time and decided to go ahead with banning neonicotinoids as much as possible with the plants they sell and grow.

In doing a bit of Googling I did find the follow article which might have some more weight behind it because of where it's coming from. Take a look if you like.

I'm not a big HD shopper when it comes to plants, so this isn't a terribly big issue for me. Every time I'm in that store and see how cheaply they can sell their plants, I wonder "how can they do this?" In a way I'm kind of afraid of what the answer might be because I don't think the answer will be one I like.

Kevin

So far I've read through it all quickly and it seems level-headed with some handy, specific recommendations, such as plants in flats are OK, and perennials and shrubs maybe not, but there are things you can do (run water through the pot for 10 minutes; snip off flowers the first year). So thanks for sharing this, much appreciated!

This evening I was lounging on the back deck and a honeybee flew right over and landed on me and hung out for awhile. That was a nice little moment!