On the other hand - some plants are very late to emerge in spring. You'll get to know some of these plants and their lazy habits as you get experience. And most gardeners are still gaining experience every year - even if they've been at it a lifetime.
As for the rest - all I can say is - do as I do. Dig VERY carefully. If it's a dormant plant, then just tuck it gently into its bed and tell it to go back to sleep. If it's a hole - well - you've discovered a partial answer to the next question.
Why Did I Order So Many Plants?
I know one reason that I over-order. I browse the catalogs in search of plants to fill specific places in the garden. When I find what seems to be the ideal occupant I put a check next to it. The trouble is, I get lots of catalogs and put checks next to lots of plants. I've been known to check as many as five "perfect" plants for that one spot - and then order them all, not noticing the quintuplication.
So what do I do with the extras? Sometimes it calls for a bit of creative redesigning. Sometimes I take a good, hard look at the things that survived the winter and decide to evict one in favor of a new and seemingly more suitable tenant.
Since I'm lucky enough to have a nice, large property sometimes I simply look for new and untouched planting spaces - the start of a new garden. Other times, depending on the plant, I do a container planting and skip the garden beds entirely. And finally, since I talked my neighbor into starting a garden, which is still new with lots of vacancies, I give the extras to her, if they are plants that I think she'll like.
Finally, (and I truly blush as I admit this) I sometimes merely leave the poor thing languishing in its bag or container while I ponder its fate and then move on - forgetting all about it. Alone - abandoned and ignored - it dies.
Not often, though. I try to keep a collection of potted things handy so that if someone comes to visit the garden I can present them with a souvenir. So my over-buying can make someone else happy, turning what was initially an act of sheer greed into something nice.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Carol Wallace's Virtual Gardening topic, please visit the Discussions page.