Perennials - increasing my stock

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The other day I went to the Garden centre to buy more ericaceous compost for re-potting my Blueberries. Well, I did buy the compost, but I also made an “impulse buy” – I bought these:

There was a big display of Perennials, being sold as rooted cuttings / divisions, in 9cm pots, priced at £1.99 each or 3 for £5. Hard to resist!

There were quite a few different ones available, so it took me a while to decide what to get, but I eventually settled for these:

As you may be able to see, they are Verbena bonariensis, Geum “Mrs Bradshaw” and Lobelia cardinalis “Queen Victoria”. Although I’m sure that all three will be nice, I am particularly glad to have acquired the Verbena, since this plant is supposedly very attractive to bees and butterflies.

These may well be the only flower plants I buy this year, but you will have noticed that little by little I am introducing more flowers into my garden. Last year I bought Helenium, Scabious and Coreopsis; and the previous year I bought Echinacea, Rudbeckia and Gaillardia. Most of my flowers are in pots, so that I can re-arrange them frequently and put them in a more prominent position when they are flowering. These plants I have just bought are perhaps a bit small to be potted-up just now, so I will keep them under cover for a while in one of my mini-greenhouses, where they will be more sheltered from frost and wind.

Oh gosh – sudden thought… I’ll have to go back to the Garden Centre to get potting-compost, won’t I? I wonder what will be on Special Offer then?

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