Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tuesday Bloom at 'Walmart'?!

Oriental Poppy

The weather may not be making many people happy today with a reading of 46* / 80% chance of rain but it is a HAPPY DAY when you can find great buys like these at the local Walmart Super Store. I truly owe Walmart a positive blog entry after all they have saved me in the past year. They not only have been on top of things with their marketing ( and there stocks are showing it being up 11% in the last quarter!) they have been featuring products that beat the competitor. Mr. Wally and his fellow employees have provided me with an alternative to driving and extra 20 + miles into town to Bath & Body or Yankee Candle. Walmart has come out with their own line of these products at 1/2 the price with the same quality. I can't help but remember my father telling me the one thing he didn't like about the WORLD WIDE WEB when he first arrived online 15 years ago ' I don't like all the ads!" SO I will stop here with my COMMERCIAL for Walmart.

OH MY WORD.... the things I put in my little S.U.V. I would have never dreamed of putting the dirty things I have transported ( I don't mean the kids after a wet sporting event!) when I pulled out of the Dealers 8 years ago in my brand new VEHICLE! The photo on the bottom of the collage was AFTER taking the two Peach Trees (7 feet tall) out of the vehicle. Pictured in the collage are the SIX (1/2 gallon) Burning Bushes, Mandevilla sanderi, Dipladenia splendens) Hibiscus /climber hot pink and a Hibiscus Bush in 1/2 gallon tub. I also purchased the Oriental Poppy ( top photos) and Speedwell Perennials for $3 - 4" pot. :-) This is the cheapest I have seen locally.
I want to share a Walmart Garden Center tip with you all. The best time to get a GOOD QUALITY plant for this retailer is WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVE. Now this is the opposite from a greenhouse / nursery. In a nursery it is better to let the plant get feed and a good growth that a greenhouse can provide while the ground is still warming up. Walmart stores are not allowed to FERTILIZE or FEED the plants. Grab them when they arrive so you can take them home and start feeding them like the growers do.

Great site for Hibiscus growing information at : Everything Hibiscus.




I thought I would share with you the NEXT DAY BLOOMS after the wonderful comments everyone emailed me about yesterdays from the MAGNOLIA posting. This is what a bloom turns into after a windy 38* night in the Midwest. you can see the damage on the soft and very fragile peddles. I am very curious to see what tomorrow holds and then a weekend expected in the 80's.

GARDEN REPORT

GREEN - GREEN - GREEN! The new growth is loving the rain we have been receiving. Look at the show those hostas are putting on already.


The BLUE HERON photo above is for my dear friend Jen, whom I was on the phone with when this birdy decided to pay a visit to our pond. I had to quickly snap a shot before our dog so kindly does his job of chasing this unwanted critter away from my water garden. There is plenty of yummies for this bird to enjoy out in the creek and branch of the river that runs through our property.

I am off to get some fertilizer down on my new grass that seems to be struggling after a very hot and dry fall shortly after it was planted. I hope to share some new blooms with you tomorrow.

ENJOY THE RAIN!

14 comments:

Dirt Princess said...

Interesting. I didn't realize Walmart didn't fertlize. Nice shots. Really nice plants you picked up. That is all I use my SUV for...to haul things!

Jesikarena said...

I Love wal-mart too!
They always have the best prices and quality!
I can never go into walmart without browsing the garden center.

Becca's Dirt said...

Thanks for the Walmart tip. Last week I got some good deals - bulbs marked down from $10 and $5 to a dollar. I snatched what I could. Beautiful poppy. Your hostas are making a nice show. Mine are not up yet. Your magnolia may not have suffered too bad. That is a pretty color magnolia. Mine are white (cream). Mine are blooming up in the top of the trees which makes it impossible to obtain a photo.

Reader Wil said...

Very beautiful flowers! Is Walmart a super market? Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your very kind words! I wish you a great week!

Robin's Nesting Place said...

I always browse the garden center too. I'm anxious to start plant shopping! Most of my seedlings died while I was gone to Alabama. I'm hoping to salvage some of them.

Sharon said...

Beautiful captures!

I wonder where Home Depot and Lowes fall into your buying recommendations? I think they do treat them better than WalMart but probably not as well as the nurseries. But there aren't many nurseries around here anymore. :-(

Bren Haas said...

Sharon.... looks like you have given me an 'idea' for a future blog. I will have to report on Home Depot. The flower selection at the one nearest ours is not all that great.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I've been surprised at the size of trees and amount of bags of compost that I've squeezed into my SUV too. Looks like you got great deals!
The magnolia is beautiful!

Susie said...

I didn't know Wal-mart wasn't allowed to fertilize their plants. Interesting.

I see you got a pretty hibiscus. We have one at work that is orange colored with a dark center. It's really pretty.

Jen's Journey said...

Oh I love the picture! You are incredible! It took you like two seconds to take that photo and look how great it looks!!

Walmart has some good stuff, I got a few pots there with some mix flowers that are pretty!

Thanks for sharing your goodies and photo with us!

RomanticRoses@DorisJoa said...

Wonderful pics of flowers. Thanks for sharing.
Our Magnolia tree was wonderful in bloom this year and I guess you would have loved him.
Doris

Jan said...

Lot's of goodies for you from Walmart...I find great things there too. Between Walmart, HD, and Lowe's I'm a happy camper in the garden! I do still stop at nurseries, though...although they are usually more expensive. I never leave one without something, though!!

Jan said...

PS:
Bren, did you know your thumbnail photo isn't showing up on my followers list? It's just a red X. Is there a feed problem or something? Just wanted to let you know...I like seeing your face there!!

Anonymous said...

I've found some treasures at Wally World too, including my recent Korean Lilac for $6.50!