Mail-order mayhem

I was hugely disappointed last week with the mail order nurseries I buy from: Spring Hill and Brecks. I have had hundreds of dollars of plants that have been on back order, some from as early as April 4. I regularly checked their status updates all spring, and each time, the delivery date kept moving back by a week or so. The last time I checked was June 13, in which the estimated deliveries were all scheduled for mid-July. This seemed strange because these nurseries usually don't ship plants in the dead heat of the summer.

I called them up and they informed me that, "actually, these orders are all cancelled because the shipping season ended today and we are out of stock." Not a happy reaction from me. First, if the orders were cancelled, why did my order status show a summer delivery date. AND when were they going to notify me otherwise if I hadn't called. AND, now I have to keep track of receiving the refunds to my credit card. Arg. AND I have been saving space in the garden all spring, so now I have bare patches that I won't be able to successfully fill this year. Total disappointment.

So, here is an overview of what I ordered and what I did not receive. Thirty hardy geraniums, ten day lilies, and five cone flowers.  In addition, I was told the six rose bushes I ordered were out of stock as well. Same with the two garden grab bags ($200 worth of plants for $20).

WELL, a few days later I received six dead rose bushes in the mail. They obviously tried to get rid of some sickly plants just to fill the orders. I planted them anyway to see if they would come back, but no, they are, in fact, dead. I have requested a credit for these...yet another detail I have to keep track of. In addition, the garden grab bags surprisingly arrived this weekend. I found it interesting that they were "completely oversold and nothing could be done," until I posted a comment on their Facebook wall reporting my extreme disappointment with their customer service. For once I was the squeaky wheel that got greased.

But despite receiving the grab bags, I'm not completely happy with the contents because four of the plants I received are not even perennial in my zone. Best grab bag items: Two perennial mums and two sunburst gaillardia! Excellent. Moderately interesting grab bag selections: three thornless blackberry bushes and three forsythia bushes. I'm not a huge fan of forsythia when its not in bloom, but those three weeks in the spring when it is bright yellow is pleasing, so I'll plant them off-to-the-side on our property. Blackberries are yummy, but again, not a visually interesting plant. I would have never bought either of these bushes by choice, but for a grab bag, not terrible scores. Ho-hum selection: American bittersweet vine. This plant produces red/orange berries in the winter. We have a stone house, it might be interesting to see this climb the exterior, but again, never would have purchased it myself. And I certainly didn't want EIGHT plants! I gave two away already, but even then, the person I gave them to wasn't that excited about trying them. But what am I going to do with eight--which would cover 480 square feet of wall if all of them grew full size! I don't want my house to look like the jungle! And the completely worthless selection: Crassula lycopodioides. A) These are succulents and can only be planted outside in zones 10 or 11. They are interesting as potted plants for your windowsill, but I already have one; I certainly didn't need FOUR MORE! I guess I will pot them up and try to give them away as gifts. Oh well. One can't expect to like everything in a grab bag.

But regardless of receiving the grab bags, I have reconsidered my devotion to Spring Hill and Brecks. Up until this point I have had good luck with the plants I've received, and if any of them have died, they did replace them promptly or give me "store credit" for other purchases, which I have taken advantage of. But this latest experience with their customer service has given me fuel to look for more reputable mail order nurseries. I'll keep you posted, but as you already know, I am a plant junkie, so I may have a change of heart next time I receive a super-savings catalog!

Long overdue update: Part 1—Veggie Garden

Cavan admiring the biggest radish
plucked from the garden.

Peas—I didn't stake them this year and most of them
have flopped over. Now I know for next time.

Here's what's up in the veggie garden.


**Peas—We've plucked eight DELICIOUS pods off the sugar snap pea plants. They are still flowering so I hope we'll get a yield that could at least fill a stir-fry rather than just an outdoor snack. I have nine plants, but it is late in the season, so keeping my fingers crossed.

**Strawberries—Almost all the plants produced pea-sized fruits last week. The were red and super sweet, but were so small they didn't even look like strawberries. As the plants mature I'm sure the fruits will be bigger and actually resemble berries. Cavan had a blast picking them though.

Brussell sprouts—Notice all the holes from the cabbage worms.

**Radishes—All have been harvested. We had some giant cherry bombs and some the size of blueberries. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the size difference, but since Hubby is the only one that likes radishes in the family, I was not concerned. Again, Cavan loved pulling them out of the ground and we played the game "big or dud?"

**Tomatoes—Most of the plants are flowering, but we've had a week of cool weather, so I doubt any of the buds will set fruit.

**Eggplants and peppers—These also started flowering this week. Eggplant flowers are a beautiful purple. This isn't so unexpected considering the color of actual eggplants, but I was still surprised having never seen one.

**Carrots and beets—I thinned the carrots for the final time this week. The plants I pulled showed thin, spindly carrot roots. Speaking of purple, I forgot that I bought purple carrots, and the baby roots I plucked were indeed purple. Exciting. The beets. These seem to be growing much slower than the seed package said. I plucked one to see the progress and there was not even the beginning of a root bulge. They probably won't be ready for a month??!!

Garden bed #2—Left to right: Tomatoes, eggplant and peppers,
broccoli, Brussell sprouts, and the small things in the back right
are cucumbers and beans.

**Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussell sprouts—Attacked by cabbage worms!   I noticed the chewed leaves a week or so ago but couldn't see any signs of the pests responsible. Finally, I found a bunch of worms and squished them, but I also sprayed these plants with Sevin, a vegetable and flower pesticide. I have avoided spraying any of the edibles, but it couldn't be helped with these, if I want the plants to actually survive.

**Zucchini, squash, pumpkin, and corn—All of the gourds have sprouted and are growing successfully. The four rows of corn I planted have only revealed a couple of seedlings so far. I used seeds from last year...I hope they were still able to germinate.

**Cucumbers and beans—Growing but nothing of interest to report.

Cavan modeling a radish mustache.

**Herbs—The cilantro, chives, basil and dill seeds I sowed directly in the garden are all growing but really slowly, especially the basil. The parsley seeds sprouted but don't appear to be progressing. The mint, basil, and lemon balm I bought as starter plants all look good, but the recent cool weather is not accelerating their growth either. 

**Other—I still have some space in the beds, so what to plant? A couple more beans, another row of carrots, and some scallions and okra. Just got to get around to it!

Deer or Cavan??

My garden has another predator in addition to the deer—Cavan!

Today I went to the nursery to buy violas to fill in the border with my recently-eaten lilies. While I was planting them, Cavan was playing in the yard in my peripheral vision, but I wasn't monitoring her every move. As I was finishing up, Cavan comes up to me and says, "Here Mommy, I picked these pretty flowers for you," and she hands me a bouquet of the stems and flower buds of my Cupid's Dart plants, which were due to bloom next week.


AHHHHH!


Needless to say, the absolutely cute innocence of her actions prevented me from getting (too) angry, but I did have to explain to her, sternly, that she can't pick flowers unless she asks mommy first.


But I will always treasure those Cupid Dart plants, remembering how the first year they were supposed to bloom, I didn't see flowers, but rather an extra-special bouquet of buds!

Funeral lilies

This is a mournful week, marred by the tragic and untimely murders of beautiful members of my garden family--my oriental lilies. They are not the only victims of the ruthless vandals that decimated my property, but they are my favorites and are gone baby gone.

My stargazer lilies. What they looked like last year.
I won't get to enjoy them for another 13 months.

We have a six-foot deer fence surrounding our entire yard and garden. Last year, this fence worked like a charm, and despite the herd of deer that live in the woods behind and adjacent to our property, not one of them ever attempted to scale the obstacle. This year, we expanded the fencing to enclose a larger section of our property, including some of the wooded area that we are thinning out and preparing to landscape. Apparently the deer are not fond of evacuating their previously-claimed territory.

Three days ago, as Hubby opened our sliding glass door to take the dog for its early morning walk, he caught the malicious marauder in my bed of day lilies, enjoying a banquet of the newly formed flower buds. Hubby throws a rock at the deer, just missing it. Deer looks at Hubby smugly and goes back to its meal. Second rock sails just past its head. Deer shrugs, and starts moseying along, casually snacking as it starts to exit the garden. Hubby now begins chasing it, and it lazily lopes toward the perimeter fence and jumps over a section that was hanging a bit low. Hubby spent the dog-walking time re-stapling the fence to its proper height.

We attributed the invasion to the fence malfunction, but this giant doe already got a taste of the candy banquet inside the garden. When I arrived home that afternoon, Cavan and I head up to her swing set, where I see the vandal again, inside the fence. I let the dog loose as well as hurl my pregnant body toward the intruder, yelling and waving like a banshee. The dog scares it and it runs smack into the fence, kicking its legs until it rips down 60-feet of black mesh before making its exit. Hubby rushes home to repair the panels before dark.

Surely, after being chased away twice, particularly by a snarling dog, it should be scared to come back, right?

The next morning, I check on the garden before leaving for work. That bastard deer came back. This time eating the tops and buds off of five of my oriental lilies and devouring most of the buds on a bed of my mini-roses. Shit man! I check the fence--no visible damage or downed panels. It has now figured out how to scale the fence. Well, there's nothing I can do before work, so off I go, praying that the hot weather will cause my new worst enemy to lay low during the day.

Of course not. The deer had to pick hell week for its stealth attack. The last full week of school, where I have eight billion papers to grade, after school meetings, and a multitude of other responsibilities preventing me from spending a single second in the garden. Same with Hubby. I have a recipe and all the ingredients for deer repellent, but at that moment I had no viable time for mixing it up and spraying it on. When I arrived home from work, I found 3/4 of my oriental lilies topped off. I have 30 of them in a border along our patio wall. Only six remained that evening. I went to bed last night, literally praying that the deer would hold off their assault till the weekend when I could meet them head-on.

This morning, with apprehension, I opened our patio door. Disaster. Not only were all the buds of the lilies gone, but most of the leaves were too. I am left with naked stalks. When Hubby left at 7:00 am, they were fine. Well, not fine, but in the same condition as the previous evening. Two hours later, when I checked on them--munched down to their spines. But that's not all. Every rose bush was eaten. I have six-size, full bloom rose bushes. Every flower, every bud. And every remaining day lily. Gone. And all my miniature hollyhock, which hadn't started budding, but probably won't now since 90% of their foliage is gone. I was seriously depressed all day.

Though I had to rush home after school to go to Hubby's school art exhibition this evening, I stopped at the nursery and bought Liquid Fence. Oh it's so foul. Cavan watched as I held back my vomit while misting my entire garden with the putrefied-egg-and-garlic based spray.  I had to shower immediately afterward because my legs and arms were coated in a fine mist of rotten foulness due to the light breeze while contaminating my garden. Please, please stop the deer. I cant' bear the heartache of watching my hard work and patience be devoured by mangy, tick-infested creatures.

BUT, I do hope the deer come back one more time. On Saturday morning when I'm laying in wait, BB gun in hand, ready to shoot them in their faces. Yes, I want the satisfaction of inflicting painful punishment. I can only fantasize about having a real gun and watching deer blood spurt across our patio.

The beginning of the end

This weekend is the beginning of the end. To Hubby's delight, I have finally planted into the garden everything that I had waiting around on our patio. No more potting supplies, bags of soil, or seedlings cluttering up our deck. Until my final shipments of perennials arrive this week, the only thing perpetually laying around is the hose—it hasn't rained in about 10 days and the forecast for the next week is solid sun.

Earlier this week, I planted my petunias in hanging baskets. In only a couple of sunny days, the starter plants have taken off and all are covered with blooms! Yesterday, I planted a collection of astilbe around a tree in a new garden clearing by Cavan's swing set. And I sowed the last of my seeds in the vegetable garden—corn, pumpkin, zucchini, and yellow squash. Other than weeding and watering, all I have to do now is sit around and wait for my geraniums, cone flowers, ornamental grasses and red rose bushes to arrive in the mail. AND my garden grab bags—200 bucks worth of perennials for $20! Gotta love end-of-the-season clearances! Who knows what I'm gonna get, but how can you go wrong for that price. What I don't need or want I will give to one of my garden buddies. But with all those goodies soon-to-come, I guess I'll have to drag back out all my dirt and tools for one last hoorah.