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157 … and counting

May 30, 2009

The scene of the crime. And this isn’t even all of them!

Do they offer plantaholic 12-step programs? I’m seriously thinking I may need to find one. Noticing that my “holding area” (formerly the pit of despair, but somewhat spruced up) is getting a little tight, I took a count of the plants I need to plant. And the total was somewhat astonishing: 157. That’s perennials, herbs and veggies that I intend to get in the ground in the very near future. That does not count annuals (of which I’ve got hordes, but they don’t count because um … well, I have no good reason other than that it would make the total embarassingly high—which is not to say that 157 hasn’t already achieved that mark) or tree starts from our various maples that I intend to just keep growing out in pots until such time as we know where we want to put them and they are big enough to survive there.

Does anyone else have this issue? I sincerely hope so because this definitely feels like an addiction.

These are just some of the hostas waiting to go in the ground. The blame for these lies entirely with Pam at Gardening with Queenie. She’s a hosta addict and she willingly shares the addiction! Last I heard she’s got 930 varieties and is pushing for 1,000 by the end of summer. Go Pam!
hostas pit of despair plantaholic
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
6 Comments

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Comments

  1. Helen says: May 30, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    My sister and I are both plantaholics. The other day, when our garden budgets had already been spent, and then some, we passed a really good garden centre. Should we go in? Why not, we said — one little look can’t hurt. It’s just one little look…

    Reply
  2. Erin Schanen says: May 30, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    But the big question, Helen, is … did you JUST look, or did you buy? And what’s that word you used there … b-u-d-g-e-t? I’ll have to look that one up!

    Reply
  3. bart says: May 31, 2009 at 1:22 am

    I have 200 or so vegetables waiting in my holding area 20 or so are punpkins . I started with a 30′ by 60′ tilled area and I’m up to 120′ x 30′ garden. I bought my seeds in bulk this year so I have enough seeds to go out another 100 ft into my hay field.

    Reply
  4. Erin Schanen says: May 31, 2009 at 2:39 am

    Holy smokes, Bart. You win! Good luck getting all those in the ground. That sounds like some garden you have!

    Reply
  5. Stacy says: May 31, 2009 at 2:54 am

    I have it bad. I was making some significant progress on finally getting it all in ground this week, when suddenly, today, I found myself in yet another nursery. The white eggplant, the cool color in new bee balm, candy corn vine, varigated veronica? Come on, who can resist that kind of temptation?? ; )

    Reply
  6. Erin Schanen says: May 31, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    You’re right, Stacy. It’s not really our fault. It’s the fault of the nurseries.

    What I find sort of funny is that in the beginning of the season when it’s all about cleaning up in the garden all I want to do is plant. And now, when I should be planting, I refuse to allow myself to have that joy because I feel like I should be required to weed first. It’s kind of sick, actually.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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