PA -- Plantaholics Anonymous

DrakeMaiden

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Am I the only one here that buys more plants than they can reasonably justify based upon space restrictions?

I went to a Master Gardener's plant sale and came home with at least two too many trees. These are trees I have always wanted to grow, but never had the space for . . . now I have the space, but I'm already filling it up. Sure it will take time for the trees to grow, but I'm already maxed out in terms of mature sizing. I thought I'd at least have a few years before I'd have to face that reality.

Anyone else?

Advice?

Anyone?
 

OaklandCityFarmer

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I always tell myself as I pass a nursery or garden center, "I can't stop by just to look" -never happens.

When I need certain supplies, I say, "Just going in for what I need" always come back with a couple of plants.

I've been given a budget before. Take $20 with you and that's it. Really doesn't work though I just end up coming home with a bunch of smaller plants or annuals.

Containers have started to sprout up all over.

We actually made an agreement with our neighbors to use their yard space as well, as long as we keep it clean and share fruits, veggies and eggs with them.

We have 3 acres in Southern California. 1.5 of that is still unplanted. Not for long.
 

DrakeMaiden

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OaklandCityFarmer said:
We have 3 acres in Southern California. 1.5 of that is still unplanted. Not for long.
:lol:

Ours is 2.5 acres, and probably half of it is unplanted, but that's only because I haven't gotten out there yet with all those containers of plants I have.

Thanks for sharing, I'm glad I'm not alone! I try to tell myself that I will only buy plants from certain nurseries, but if I see someone in a department store carrying a plant that has been on my mind, you know what happens . . . . LOL.
 

Reinbeau

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on rec.gardens, a newsgroup I've read for years, we call it Sticky Pot Syndrome. People affected with SPS find plants stuck to their hands - the only cure is to check out and bring them home :lol:
 

nightshade

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went to the store lastnight to buy horse fence, came home with horse fence, a rose bush and a cherry tree. It never fails. Hubby does not let me in a garden center unsupervised anymore and a greenhouse/ nursery are majorly off limits. Where we live was left like a junk yard by the fokes before us, every spot I get cleaned out gets a garden, flowerbed or tree, and there truly never is enough space for everything I buy. But then again whats another flowerbed at this point.
 

patandchickens

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Oooo, me too me too me too :) I have about an acre around the house that is fair game for planting (the rest is horse pasture, swamp, field, etc) but especially when most of the area is low floody clay it is AMAZING how fast the plantable spaces fill up.

I try not to buy things that I don't at least have a strong theory about where they'll go. Unless it's a perennial I can stick in a temporary spot and propagate from... ;) Or unless it's a really good deal. Or unless it's something I may never see again. Or unless...

:p

Pat, who currently has 6 2-gal shrubs and about 6 small pots of perennials in the queue, but desperately needs to build permanent quarters for the chicks first as they are rapidly outgrowing the box in the basement.
 

OaklandCityFarmer

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patandchickens said:
Pat, who currently has 6 2-gal shrubs and about 6 small pots of perennials in the queue, but desperately needs to build permanent quarters for the chicks first as they are rapidly outgrowing the box in the basement.
I feel for you there Pat. We have 8 nine week Delawares in a 4'x7' box and 8 SLW in a tupperware box both in the kitchen. Needless to say we need to stop buying or focusing on plants and finish the coop as well!
 

aquarose

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You guys are lucky. My entire property is only 1/3 of an acre and a lot of it is in dense shade or too close to where the boys play handball. I try to make the most of it though. The kids panic when we pass too close to a garden center 'cause they know that if we stop we will be in there for a while, and when we get home they will have to help plant something. Went today to get my Mother's Day wheel barrow and while we were there I happened to see a hydrangea I have always wanted. DH got it for me too. I am not as desperate for the coop to be finished as Patandchickens or Oaklandcityfarmer, but my chicks are scheduled for shipment on 7/21, and we still have to move a cord of firewood to start building the coop! Yikes!
 

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