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Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Problem with Farmer's Markets

There are at least twenty-six problems with farmer's markets--for me and my wallet, anyway:

asters
balsam
coreopsis
daffodils
English daisies
forget-me-nots
geraniums
hollyhocks
iris
jasmine
kale, ornamental
lavender
marigolds
nasturtium
oleander
pansies
queen of the garden
roses
salvia
tulips
umbrella plant
verbena
wormwood
xeranthemum
yarrow
zinnias

I went to find flowers for a big outside planter at work. I found those, and a few for myself: portulaca, tall blue salvia (Victoria), a tall yellow flower that I thought was a type of poppy but the vendor said is a buttercup (I had these long ago in Virginia and have always wanted a start of them again), and several herb plants for the new herb garden--nothing exciting, just replacements for the thyme that doesn't look too happy, more chives because I don't want to move the old ones, flat parsley which I don't yet have and...something else I can't remember.

Just when I think I'm done planting, I find something else. And stores put their plants on sale. Or I find a spot that needs something different. Or I visit the famer's market and the intoxicating variety overwhlems my common sense.

Now, I made my ABC list of flowers. Can you do the same? I will admit that some letters are really difficult--u, k, and x, for example so if you use the same ones for those that I did, that's fair.

11 comments:

  1. I don't have enough flowers to be able to do and ABC list. I can do a garden okay but don't do as well with flowers.
    All I have is geraniums, ferns and a few other green plants that I have no clue what they even are. I'm just tickled that those green ones are still alive. They came home with us last year from my MIL's funeral and I have tried so hard to keep them going.

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  2. Right now I only have the flowers that the Lord has blessed me with as far as wildflowers go. Then I have a few things that were here when we bought the place that are deer resistant. Lillac, peonies. We planted a Yucca one year that comes back every year but that is about it. Oh, I'm forgetting my chickens and hens in a few pots!

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  3. You've got a long list. How about butterfly bushes,black eyed susans, daisies,jack in the pulpit,lilac bush, queen anne's lace, rose of sharon,snowball bush, and violets.

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  4. Whoops! I didn't mean I had all these flowers in my garden! This is just an ABC of flowers--I was curious to see if I could find a flower name for each letter of the alphabet. With a little twisting, I did it. Now, which ones do I actually have? Balsam, coreopsis, daffodils, Geraniums, hollyhocks, iris, lavender, marigolds, nasturtium, queen of the garden, roses, salvia, tulips, verbena, wormwood, yarrow, zinnias. Which ones do i wish I had? All of them!

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  5. I know what you mean and I think I have a wishlist or in some cases I could just use more of these. And there are some like Rosemary and Lavendar I have a weakness for. I feel like I have to save one when I see them in pots at a store.

    Anise
    Bee Balm
    Chamomile or Chives
    Daisies or Dill
    English Ivy
    Fennel
    Garlic
    Hyssop
    Iris (one of my favs. reminds me of Georgie)
    Juniper
    K - I'm not sure
    Lilacs
    Marjoram
    Nettle (been reading about it lately)
    Onion
    Parsley
    Q - Not sure
    Rosemary
    Savory
    Tarragon (have my first one growing this year, we'll see...)
    U - Hmmmm
    Violet
    Wild Geranium
    Xanthoceras
    Yarrow
    Zinnia

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  6. Great list, Jaime! I searched and searched for some of the ones on my list, but there are apparently no plant names beginning with some letters, at least in the English language. So we have to be creative. I have grown xeranthememum, but not xantheros. Now I want to go look it up.

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  7. Aster, Bee Balm, Coreopsis, Daisies, , Foxglove, Geraniums, Hollyhock, Iris, Johnny Jump Ups (or outs as Mom called them), Lavender, Mums (okay that's cheating), Narcissus, Onion grass (hey it should count!), Poppy, Queen Anne's Lace, Rudbeckia, Sweet Spire Shrub, Violets, Wormwood, Yarrow, Zinnia. These are actually in my gardens :)

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  8. the buttercups in Iowa have been so pretty and bright this week. But to my list . . . I have these but there are 2 that I could not come up with -- U and X (and I'm not good with botanical names!) and some are a "stretch"!!! anyways, here goes . . . and pardon my spelling, please.

    amaryllis
    balloon flowers
    columbine
    delphenium
    echinacea (cone flower)
    fern
    geranium
    hollihock
    iris
    jack-in-the-pulpit
    Katsura tree
    Lily of the valley
    mock orange
    nastursium
    Oxallis
    peony
    queen Anne's lace
    rose moss (or if that is moss rose? than just plain ROSE!)
    snapdragon
    tulips
    U ????
    Virginia blue bells (well, that's what I call them!
    X ???????
    Yucca
    Zinna

    Thanks, Sue, I enjoyed this!

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  9. How neat that you all took the challenge! It was fun for me too. And nice to know we share a few plants in common.

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  10. I had to look up K, Q (which now I realize I could have used Queen Ann Lace, which I love), X and I tried to find something different for Y and Z but I couldn't.

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  11. Nope don't even have half that many.
    You're doing good though.
    I must stay away from the Farmer's Market. Must. Must! MUST!

    ReplyDelete

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