In a town this size, there are way too many garden centers to choose from. The groceries and hardware stores have temporary ones, not to mention the Wal-marts nor the greenhouses that are only open half the year. I’ve been getting to know them all, watching the sale fliers and trying to concentrate amidst their storm of color.

The greenhouses have the most unusual stock. Wal-mart may have petunias, but the greenhouse on the way to work had one called “Petunia Dreams” in – what they called – a burgundy but that really looks more like a dark rich pink. The indentation between petals is quite deep, giving the flower a star like quality that it’s color completes by drawing you into infinity. And on the sale day it was still $.99 for the 4 pack.

Perennials are my first love, it’s true. I always rather put my heart and energy into a plant that will reemerge from it’s winter sleep and surprise me with a fresh spring greeting. But we hope to be buying our own home in the near future and not knowing if I will be able to dig up my friends if we move in the middle of February means that annuals are the order of the season. I am trying nasturtiums, the dwarf non climbing variety, along with my usual zinnias, adding lobelias into my petunias and for the kids have a cherry tomato and an ever bearing strawberry in pots. My hope was to find another veggie that will grow nicely in pots. The tomato is for my daughter, and I wanted one for my son but he doesn’t like bell pepper and I was too chicken to put cucumber in a container. Anyone with experience?

My one exception to the perennial rule came in a packet for $1.79 and is called a Pois de Senteur. Is the French romantic?! It translates into Pea Everlasting and according to the packet is an “easily cultivated, hardy herbaceous perennial very much like the annual sweet pea.” My hope is that it will grow up the little left wall next to my porch and be proliferous, wild and green. Fragrant would be nice too.

I have lots of pictures to go with this post but have been fighting with plugins all morning and have, at present, given up. I feel quite gimped and helpless. I find I can do SO much on my own and then I hit a wall of understanding that I simply can’t climb and have to wait until hubby comes home. So, I’m taking myself and my book back to the couch, thankful for the rain outside which is watering and rooting my little green friends.

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