-

-
Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Out and Aboot

 
This weekend, I happened by the Tacoma Boys Store in Puyallup.  I'm a huge fan of  the original Tacoma Boys in Tacoma with their great produce, over the top wine and cheese selection, specialty items and so much more.  I've visited the Puyallup store before and found it less appealing space wise.  They carry mostly the same products but Tacoma has a lot more space and a lot more plants.  Hmm.  Here's a taste of Puyallup's garden offerings. 
 
These boot planters were fun.  At $110.00 the price was way to high until I did the math.  All pots here are buy one and get two of equal or lesser value free but they will sell you a single pot for 1/3 the price of three which would mean that these would be $37.00 each, a much more agreeable price.  I almost got one but I was too tired from doing all that math to care any more. 
Why not just price the pots lower to begin with?

O.K. so in the parking lot are broken pots some that might be able to be repaired some that are just too far gone to be of much use.  Notice the sign that reads "Broken Pots 1/4 of regular price."  I suppose there should be more than 1/4 of the pot left to make this at all worthwhile.  The regular price of the formerly large blue pot in the back was $550.00, 1/4 of that price is 137.50.  To have purchased the same pot in the buy one get two or 1/3 price for each, the perfect pot would have cost181.90 so the savings to haul away a badly broken pot was a whopping $44.40?  Anyway, my rule is that it's only a bargain to pay 1/4 of the price if there's at least 1/4 of the product. 

There really is a very nice and large selection of pots but The Tacoma location has them beat in that department too. 

 Spring has arrived with one of my favorite combinations daffodils and grape hyacinths!

Some good foliage plants like this variegated Fatsia japonica were dotted around.

Locally grown daffodils stacked up like cordwood were cheering on spring!




This bane of English turf lovers  is a beloved flower here.  Speaking of lawn weeds, did you know that dandelions are not native to the Americas but were brought from England by Settlers for their herb gardens.  Young dandelion greens have a very nice flavor which my mother enjoyed very much.  Each spring we'd go out, dig the dandelions out of the lawn, she'd boil them up and eat them.  Mom also liked canned spinach - go figure. 

These, of course are English daisies, the single white variety of which grows in the lawn at the school where I work.  I think they're charming. 

 Back to dandelions. Here's some information from Web MD:

Dandelion is used for loss of appetite, upset stomach, intestinal gas, gallstones, joint pain, muscle aches, eczema, and bruises.  Dandelion is also used to increase urine production and as a laxative to increase bowel movements. It is also used as skin toner, blood tonic, and digestive tonic.

Some people use dandelion to treat infection, especially viral infections and cancer.

 In foods, dandelion is used as salad greens, and in soups, wine, and teas. The roasted root is used as a coffee substitute.
I guess the difference between a weed and a sweet flower is how easily it grows and where. 

The difference between the Tacoma and Puyallup Tacoma Boys stores is that Tacoma simply has more space for interesting merchandise. 












15 comments:

  1. I really should check out the Tacoma store. The Puyallup one is closer to me so that's where I go. I've never been tempted to buy any pots there because they are so freaking expensive. They do have nice plants though, and great produce and meat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The food part is similar in both although the Puyallup store has stuff stacked very high while Tacoma sprawls a little more. Great store!

      Delete
  2. I'd like to slap the person who came up with that container pricing upside the head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. The shock of seeing the high prices shuts me down so instead of thinking what a bargain it would be to get three pots at that price, I just think they're too expensive.

      Delete
  3. I see a frustrated would-be mathematitian hunkered in a back room and laughing maniacally. I would not do well in a place where a calculator was needed (the one in my head is on the blink).
    The daffy/hyacinth combo is fetching. A friend taking master gardener classes declared the other day: "You MUST pull out all grape hyaciths...BAD PLANT". I laughed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They can be a little pushy but they're easy to get rid of and they aren't rampant naturalizers like the spanish bluebells that want to take over the world.

      Delete
  4. An annoying pricing system, I can feel your frustration.
    Not sure I'll be feasting on dandelion greens any time soon, but it's good to have options.
    When I have a broken pot I lay on its side, like a partially excavated pot in an archeological dig, with a plat growing out of it's opening. (You can tell I just hate throwing things away...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're kinderd spirits in the hating to throw things away department. I've used broken pots for the same purpose but I wouldn't pay much for one as due to my own lack of coordination, I make my own broken pots all of the time.

      Delete
  5. I think they would be doing better if they priced the pots reasonably individually. Love the colours of the boot planters though!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love Fatsia. And English daisies! My parents' lawn is full of them, single and double ones! Though none have the fine, quill-like petals of these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm going to try and plant them in my lawn again this year. They sure are sweet little happy flowers!

      Delete
  7. Hi, I am Mirja from Finland and I found your pages through Finnish blogger. Those English daisies are really beautiful, I have not seen those kinds in Finland... We mainly have red or white, pink... One of my favorite flowers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mirja,
      Thanks so much for finding my blog and commenting. I love reading Satu's blog because your climate is very similar to where I used to garden (Alaska.) They are charming flowers. We have the other kinds as well, these were new to me.

      Delete
  8. I faithfully put dandelion juice on the little wart on my hand for years. It has grown a little and now has a little brother. So much for the merits of dandelions.

    Maybe this fall I'll tuck Muscari in with all my mini Daffodils. I planted Muscari with Tulips last fall. Tulips are almost gone as are the Grape Hyacinths and Trumpet Daffodils are coming on in the back of the bed, needing companions. Hurry, Poppies! My plans always fall just a little short.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps if you drank sufficient amounts of dandelion wine, you simply wouldn't care anymore.

      Isn't it frustrating when our combinations don't work out exactly as we'd planned?

      Delete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.