Show us your gardening purchases 2025

I went through considerable mental turmoil before finally ordering a Corydalis Tory MP.

 

Is that the one that's out of stock @ViewAhead? (Been suspended perhaps .)

 

No, that one should be on its way shortly, together with a Corydalis Blue Summit. (Well, it might be a Blue Summit. The photo FN has up is not Blue Summit and the description is not quite right either (the elata types don’t go summer dormant), so either I will get a Blue Summit or I will get what is shown. Time will tell. )

The out-of-stock item was a Veronica Ulster Blue, so I have gone for a Corydalis Blue Panda instead (which is a summer dormant one, being a flexuosa).

I hope the labels don’t come adrift during transit or I will be in a right muddle.

 

Cheap and cheerful from Aldi at £1.89 per bag.

 

I've never experienced that

 

I joined @CostasK today and became the proud owner of this rambling rose - The Lady of the Lake®. I'd been researching for the past week or two and had three possibles on my shortlist. I had been hoping to be able to physically choose my specimen rather than rely on mail-order but this past weekend I couldn't find the ones I wanted at several garden centres we travelled to. But why did I not try my local GC first? I went there today and couldn't believe it when I was suddenly faced with a big David Austin display that I'm sure wasn't there last year, and they had the one that was top of my list! I'm not a big rose fan but there's something particularly aspirational about owning his roses

 

Ooh dear! Just had an email from DPD saying my FN parcel has been delayed. Corydalis don’t really like travelling at all. That said, I got one the yr before last that the seller posted on Monday and it reached me at 4.30 pm on the Friday, despite being RM 1st class. I managed to brink it back from the brink, but both it and I were unnecessarily stressed by the experience.

 

Oh dear @ViewAhead it seems like this order is having lots of bad luck!

 

It surely is!

Do FN keep all their plants under cover at this time of yr, @CarolineL? It is looking cold here for a few days from tomorrow. Don’t want to shock the plants more than necessary by leaving them out if they are not used to it.

 

Sorry to hear about your order trauma @ViewAhead. I'd request a replacement or refund if the plants fall below your long anticipated expectations. I am always nervous about buying plants on line, even from any trusted suppliers but it's often the only way to get something not generally available nearby.

In contrast, on Sunday I ordered two bare root roses from Style Roses at 11.00 am, standard delivery at £7.95. They arrived this morning at 8:50 am, good quality plants (sticks ), well wrapped with very helpful care details. This is my third purchase since October.

I have also got the roses bug this year @CostasK and @LunarSea . I like the bee friendly single flowered varieties. The two I have received today are Amethyst Star and The Bees Knees, photos below from the supplier's website.

 

I’ll see what arrives, @Plantminded. Courier delays are not the supplier’s fault, so I tend to just get on and make the best of things as far as possible.

 

@Plantminded most things in size 9 or 1l are in polytunnels. At the moment the only stuff outside is the "garden centre" sized stuff 3l etc, or tough as old boots in smaller pots. I didn't see things like corydalis out on the display area.

 

Thanks, @CarolineL. I guessed a polytunnel was the likely situation. I can mimic that with one of my large plastic containers overnight and, as long as it’s not too windy, they should be fine uncovered in the day.

 

That reminds me, I orders some free plants from a Gardeners’ World magazine the one where I pay £5.99pp. They going to come as plugs, but will be curious how these will now turn out.

 

Just went into Lidl for some fruit and came out with 2 campanulas (1 white and 1 purple, £3.50 each) and two packets of flower seeds (cosmos and wallflower, 29p a pack). Got plenty of fruit too!