The other day, I found a real springtime treasure at Trader Joe's... a gorgeous and fully blooming hydrangea plant! I have been pining after a hydrangea for a long time but just can't stomach the price. The average price I've seen for these is around $35! so imagine my utter shock and surprise when I found this beauty at TJs for a mere $7! How could I pass this treasure up? Truth is, I couldn't. I just had to have it. And it looks beautiful in my entryway. I've already learned that these guys are serious water drinkers. The second day I had it, I woke up to find it completely wilted and I was so sad, thinking I'd killed it. But then I put it outside for a few hours and gave it a lot of water and it perked right back up. So I'm careful to water it now! I just love the pink blossoms. They are so beautiful!
And on Thursday, I took the kids down to Windmill Gardens in Sumner. I LOVE that place. It's like a dream land. I always feel like I'm in a different world when I'm there. Plus, they have a really cool little tropical area in the green house and it always makes me feel like I'm home in Hawaii. The kids love to toss pennies in the fountain there and make wishes!
Ethan and Evan have memberships to the Kids Club there. Each month they present their cards and they are entitled to a free starter plant. The plant changes from month to month. This month, the club selection was a petunia starter. Funny... when I hear that name... petunia... it takes me back to when I was just about Ethan's age. My mother and step father lived in a house in North Hollywood, California. Outside the front door, they had a raised flower bed and in it they grew petunias. Anyway... I digress...
Evan was snippy and didn't really want a petunia... he wanted a marigold or a snap dragon or a sweet pea... anything but a petunia. Finally, I just chose his free petunia and let him choose something else. We ended up with two different types of petunias, plus I bought a few starts... a coleus, a lobelia plant, and a lavender snap dragon. I thought about getting a pot or planter box to put them all in, but the boxes were all very pricey. Finally, we went outside to where they sell a ton of ceramic pots and found one for $9.99. It's a really pretty ceramic pot. Plus, at Windmill, they have a deal where you can get free potting soil if you purchase the plants and pots. So we paid for our treasures... $17 total. Really not bad. Then we went to the potter's bench and took turns filling the pot with potting soil and fertilizer. Then we removed all our starts from their
little plastic containers and arranged them in the pot and filled it up with more dirt. I think we did a GREAT job and we LOVE the finished product. Incidentally, Windmill does sell pre-made pots with starts in them already. The cheapest one I could find there was $40. So for less than half that price, we got a beautiful one! It is sitting outside our front door where it can get part sun and part shade. So far, it looks like it's thriving and we are excited to see it flower. I'll be sure and post updated photos as it changes.
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