Thursday, May 5, 2011

That's Cool! Garden version.

Definition of COOL

1
: moderately cold : lacking in warmth

 I think the slang version fits here: very good, excellent, all right, fashionable, and hip

 You know you are a gardener if you think these things are cool: not necessarily in order

 That's cool when.....
A plant you know was dead shows up the following spring alive and well, maybe even flowering.
A bird shows up in your feeder or landscape that you have never seen before.  ..that's cool.
When a seed you planted in the fall for summer actually germs and flowers the next growing season. ..that's ....
When a plant your neighbor has that you want a start off of but you're afraid to ask, bumps into you and asks you a plant question which leads you to ask can I have a start of that? Yes.. that's cool.
When you can go to the local municipal recycle center and get free unadulterated compost. That's cool.
When your mother comes to visit twice a year and wants to buy you plants for you birthday or whatever reason.  . that's....
When a bi-annual blooms from seed a year later, that's cool.
When people drive by and complement you on your landscape and garden.  that's cool. (prideful I suppose)
When people comment on a blog post. that's just nice.


One last one:
When you go to a nursery and you find your favorite plant (at least this week anyway) at a tremendous discount......that's too cool for school......this happened to me last week...
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis

I went to Wichita with my wife to a school function of hers. As she spent half the day there, I went and toured the nurseries. Went to an open house for a new big box home improvement center and cleaned up on #1 perennials $3, 4" perennials $1.20, #1 endless summer hydrangea $14, and bales of peat moss. That's cool...
Visit number two sent me to the next big box store to "look" around. To my astonishment they had my favorite evergreen tree (Alaskan Weeping Cedar) at a huge discount: $44.00/#10 gallon/8'. #1 Perennials 3/$10. That's awesome!
Visit number three sent me to a high-end nursery where you can find the unusual/non-commodity type of plants. Found a larger version of my Alaskan Cedar priced At $298. Purchased a few seldom found perennials, #1 14.98. That's cool on the plant but not cool on the price. But I understand local owners need to make more profit.
That's coo..ok I guess. 




So Whats Cool for You?

11 comments:

  1. The coolest thing on your list? Definitely the free compost!!

    My "That's Cool" - wanted a clipping of confederate jasmine from a co-workers rental yard, waited too long and he moved out. Later that week I passed by the house and the owner was trimming the jasmine. All the free cuttings I could ask for!

    I've never heard of that cedar tree, but it sure it pretty! What a deal you got!

    PS. I'm new to your blog and I definitely like what I see! I worked at a nursery four years ago and am trying to retain what I remember and pick back up the rest!! Thanks for doing what you do :)

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  2. I "rescued" a $5, 6 foot tall weeping bald cypress from a Home Depot a few years back. First year it grew to 10', next year died half back, and this year it seems to have dies half back again, so I have a 3' shrub. I should just kill it now, but I can't. I love it to bits. It's COOL.

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  3. Neat tree! Great price! My 'cool' thing is my husband always asks me what big garden thing I want for the year. Last year it was an arbor. Haven't gotten this year's yet. I'm allowed one big thing for the garden every year - I think that's cool.

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  4. Yes, those are all cool things. A cool thing for me is when a rose everyone says is once-bloomer reblooms :).

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  5. J- that's a long time in a nursery, they are so seasonal in employment. Glad to help out if I can.
    B- I've never seen a weeping baldy. bet it is cool, I have a weakness for weeping trees.
    H-I need to talk to your husband and he needs to talk to my wife, I could use a big thing in my garden.
    M-I agree, I love the unexpected. That's whats cool with the landscape, it's always changing.

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  6. Your Alaskan cedar is cool! I suppose I should not covet anything with the work 'Alaskan' in it, but I would if I could. One cool thing I recently discovered is swiss chard. I bought it as a decorative plant and expected it to perish with the arrival of summer heat, as do most decorative lettuce and cabbages. The swiss chard is prospering. And even better, it is delicious! That's cool!

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  7. Your post was cool. A good read on a cloudy morning.

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  8. Cool is a new rose (well, one I've never seen before) blooming in my garden. Or, for that matter, anyone else's.

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  9. When I find a new gardening blog I really like .... That's cool!!
    This would be one ... :)

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  10. Absolutely everything you listed is on my Cool list!! Plus, worm compost, smart bloggers who identify your rose problems, and a husband who promises to never buy you flowers unless there are roots attached are also cool! :o)

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  11. Hi Greggo ...loved your COOL list! Having a gardening blog is COOL! Thanks for visiting ours!

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Thanks for leaving any comments, they are always welcomed. Sorry I had to add word verification as spam was becoming a huge problem. Greggo,