Hi PM - glad to hear someone else is still plant shopping!

We have a couple of nice small nurseries in Falmouth; Soare's Flower Garden Farm always has something interesting - and usually in good shape. Last weekend I lost control there and brought home half an SUV full of things, mostly for my big pots, which I haven't done yet. Luckily, I went with a friend, so had less space than if I'd gone alone in my car.

Soares had a good selection of herbs in small pots, so I got about a dozen lavender Provence - can't get enough lavender. They also had annual red fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) in small pots, for small $$$; I love to have that in an old blue glazed pot, but can't see spending more than about 5 bucks for it, since it's not hardy.

We also hit Mahoney's, in East Falmouth, which I tend to avoid because I'm not wild about their stock, but I have to say that they had many more 6 packs, including the oversized ones, than the small nurseries carry. I got some nice gazanias, lots of lobelias, and some great 3-inch pots of artichoke (a great foliage plant for sun, IMHO) and Mexican bush sage, which I can't do without.

A staff member at Brick Kiln Nursery told me that they just don't get enough profit from 6 packs - obviously, they're a better deal for the customer. I can't see buying a big pot of any annual for $10 or more, when they catch up so fast from small starts - so I'm always on the lookout. Sometimes I'll find a 6 pack in a back corner of a greenhouse, which they've somehow skipped when they're potting on their stock. They're never very happy about it, but they usually let me buy it.

DtD, There are so many higher priority jobs to do in the spring, I leave the containers until the perennial and vegetable beds are ready for the season and by then there are usually sales. Sometimes I will put out just a small pot of pansies early. I've skipped containers entirely, lots of years and then some years I'm very enthusiastic to do them. This year, fragrance was my goal so I started with two large pots that I added standard Gardenias to, that was a splurge for me but I hope to winter them over in the house. I filled in with other fragrant annuals. Some years, I've wintersown Four O'Clocks for pennies and filled a few large containers with just those. What is it about pots of annuals that are so gratifying? lol

I haven't seen any artichokes, or Mexican sage. Do you actually harvest artichoke from them? The red pennisetum is not common here either, in my experience which is limited.

How do you use your lobelia? I haven't had much luck with it. I've tried it in half sun and morning sun and they always fizzle out quickly.

Sometimes I like to add annuals to the perennial bed. Penta and Lantana are very long blooming in full sun and I grow lavender there instead of in pots.

I see they now have train service to the Cape, just on the weekends this year. We are thinking about trying it sometime. Have you tried it yet or know anyone that has?

I have never had good luck with lobelia, but I keep trying - love that blue haze effect. I use it as an edging plant, mainly in beds where there's a lot of chaos; it's nice to have an edger that ties everything together somewhat (it would be *really* nice if it grew better for me).

My favorite annual in the perennial beds is rocket red snapdragon - I love the dark glossy foliage and the dramatic deep red flower spikes. Last year I planted a six pack of them in a new bed, and most of them overwintered - better yet, there are a lot of seedlings from them. Hope they're all tall and red - the foliage looks right. Those and gazanias ... if I can find 'pink shades' I go overboard, but those don't seem to be available in recent years. I've also been doing Phygelius rectus (cape primrose, I think) in giant clay pots - long toms, actually, because these plants get pretty big. I have a good collection of big terra cotta (and terra rosa) pots, so I plant them every year - my DH complains because they fill the back deck.

The artichokes usually flower, but don't get enough heat for enough time to really produce - they're in perennial/mixed beds. One of these years I'll try them in a raised bed in a hot sunny corner, and see if I can actually get a crop; maybe when I retire (right now I'm halfway there, working part time).

We haven't tried the train, but I'm glad it's running - if it's successful it might eventually give us an alternate way to get into Boston, if/when the schedule expands. Much nicer option than the bus! If you come down, and if you come to Falmouth, and if the timing is right, I'll give you a load of flowers from your Merritt's Supreme hydrangeas - they dry beautifully. I know that's a lot of 'ifs'!

Well, I guess we are the only two still shopping, DtD. (g)

So, I’m not the only one who hasn’t found the key to lobelia. It does look nice for awhile, so may as well keep trying with it. I bet it makes a nice edger, I’ve never tried that.

Snapdragons are nice and overwintering is such a nice surprise in the spring. I’ll have to remember those. The pink shades of gazania fit my garden better than the oranges. They certainly bloom nonstop and are pretty bulletproof. I rarely see the pink.

If you ever do try the artichoke for a crop, Johnny’s Seeds offers an artichoke with a shorter growing season, if I remember right. I ordered the seed, then never got around to starting them.

Yes, the train would seem like a more pleasant alternative to the bus that would still have to go over the bridges and sit in traffic. If we ever get to Falmouth at some point, would love to see your garden, of course. So glad the Merritt Supreme is happily pushing out flowers for you!

OK here's my pet peeve against ALL nurseries and garden centers! It may be slightly off the track of this thread, so I'll just say that Equinox Valley Nursery is one of the least offenders, but still among the guilty.

It is this: selling planters of mixed varieties, species, or colors of annual flowers, as opposed to selling single plants or flats of plants of the same color, same variety, without other colors or species mixed in. Hey, I like to create my own arrangements and don't want an ivy mixed in with my pink petunias, nor do I want purple or (gawk!) white petunias mixed in with the pink ones I am seeking!

I don't even like more than one color in a flowerpot that I have planted, let alone different species of annual plants.

(I'm still angry about being forced to buy a pot of mixed shades of red and orange gerbera daisies, instead of being able to select the oranger daisies individually.)

This post was edited by spedigrees on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 17:19

I'm shopping! I'm shopping! But not buying as much as the nurseries continue to close. I even just got back from Home Depot--empty-handed. I have a lot of black holes to fill which once were impatiens beds that brought color to my shady garden. Plus I always need (want) new perennials for the inevitable losses. I think nurseries are unwilling to gamble on much due to the economy of the last few years.

It's funny how I have a simple must have annual that has become difficult to find so this year I started Lemon Gem marigolds from seed. They have fine foliage, simple small flowers and amazing lemon fragrance. I originally discovered them at a backyard kind of greenhouse operation that was just open for the spring season.

If you are ever in NH near Manchester, Uncanoonuc Perennials in Goffstown has a fabulous selection of field grown perennials. Small selection of shrubs but that's ok. I don't think they sell any annuals. Yesterday I saw showy lady slippers in their display garden. None for sale yet but they are taking pre-orders. Out of my price range but will be a treasure for somebody's shadier garden.

I don't get over to the seacoast very much but I thought Rolling Green Nursery had a pretty good selection of annuals. Haven't visited this year but I agree that many are cutting back on inventory and seem to be putting out more of the expensive Proven Winners. I don't even see a decent selection of marigold varieties lately. Haven't been to Spring Ledge in New London NH this year but they usually have a good selection of annuals.

I really don't see any decline in our local nurseries, so I wonder if our economic situation is different here on the cape. I think we have lost 1 or 2 nurseries (out of 6 or 7) in town in the past 4 or 5 years. I've been using the same 3 for many years, and they seem to be doing well. The smaller ones, that had only run-of-the-mill plants, were the ones that went under.

still buying and starting seeds,I never stop!year round so I have nice big plants for next year even if they don't bloom this year

I'm still shopping too... I love annuals, I always find a spot that needs more once everything is planted. Never done!

Red snapdragons, I think those are going on my list. I have a few that have lived several years, rocket mix I think they were labelled. The tall kind.

I live in Cheshire, the bedding plant capital, so we have no shortage of nurseries. I have been considering buying a rose, so I stop by and visit here and there to see what I might need... It's a game, I plant them asap and my husband has no idea, as long as I remember to recycle the pots!

Siennact - ha ha ha. I do that too! If I buy a plant and get it in the ground before check gets home from work, I can pretend it's always been there! Our marriage is much happier that way!

I like mahoney's in Winchester, although I've not gone there recently. I mostly grow annuals from seed, but the red snapdragon mentioned does sound interesting!

I am annoyed that gardenweb ate my first answer to this question.
Much more briefly than before, I was at Mahoney Central in Winchester and their annual selection was very good. Still healthy and not too potbound yet. Lots of proven winners at the usual 5 buck pricetag, but variety and well taken care of.
They have big packs too;homeowners in this area still loves bedding out scores of annuals.
to try: coleus Henna. I had it last year and it has been impossible to find until the other day at Mahoney's. It is a lovely rich red, with a dark undertone and just little touches of green. But its size is what is special. One plant filled a medium iron urn, it was at least a foot wide and a foot and half tall, and very full. It doesn't have the monstrous huge leaves of the 'super coleus'....which are among the most ungraceful plants available to the public.
Mahoney's has excellent shrub and tree sales periodically. But you must be vigilant about plants being rootbound. The business is too big to 'pot on' so everything just gets root bound as it gets too large for the pot.
If you don't know how to deal with rootbound woodies, don't waste your money. IExcept for annuals I almost never buy full price from Mahoneys.
I vote for Brighams in Concord. Small, family owned and run; well grown plants. Support small businesses!

I agree that there have been so many garden nurseries that have closed. And I agree that the selection at most of the nurseries that are left is sparse for all plant types.

I remember years ago that every few weeks when I would make the garden center rounds, they would all have something different for sale. Not so now. I see the same stuff week after week, and the same things everywhere.

Having said that, This year I found the best selection of common and unusual annuals at Russell's in Wayland.

And another suggestion that is a hidden gem for perennials is Rainbow Mums and Perennials in Carlisle.

But that's all I got.

Any other local leads, or in Central and Western MA and across state lines NH, RI, CT that would be worth the trip are appreciated.

Thanks, cdeperson. At your suggestion, I stopped into Rainbow Mums for the first time for a specific perennial they had listed on their website. This was after my third trip this year to Blanchetts (now 35% off). They are only about a mile apart. The husband and wife at Rainbow Mums couldn't have been nicer! They do grow their own plants which looked very, very healthy and were reasonably priced. Thanks for the tip!

Here's some farms/garden centers I know of, including links to their websites:

Johnson's Roadside Farm in Swansea has a simple farmstand operation that I frequent. The prices here are unbeatable. The vast majority of produce they sell is grown on their farms, however some organic fruits, like California peaches, are imported (I'm guessing because they don't grow well in MA?). I choose not to buy fruits that they don't grow themselves, anyway... you can taste the difference. What else I like about Johnson's is that they sell products from a LARGE number of small, local businesses from the Providence/Fall River metro area (Landry's, Willow Tree and Star just to name a few). There is also a greenhouse that they share property with--I'm not sure if it's owned by the same people, but you can purchase annuals here (buyer beware). A 4-pack of tomatoes I bought from there all succumbed to bacterial spot on exactly the same day. Weird mojo from that greenhouse; I called them to ask if they were having bacterial spot issues with other customers or plants at their greenhouse, and the woman on the phone completely disregarded the issue and told me my plants were probably being under-fertilized. The tomatoes are dead as of tonight when I get home from work to pull them all up to throw them out. To sum up a long story: I'm not sure if the two shops are affiliated, but I'll keep patronizing the Johnson's Farmstand because aside from importing some of their fruits from California, they have some really economically focused business practices that I'd like to support. I will not shop again at the greenhouse next door though, for fear of the bacterial spot! http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php?farm=930

4-Town farm near the Seekonk/Rehoboth/Swansea border has healthy--yet slightly pricey--plants every year (annual and perennial). This year I purchased two blueberry bushes, two hydrangea, and various other herbs and annuals, of which NONE show any sign of disease. Customer service here is great. They also operate a farmstand out of the same building as the flower shop. I consistently visit 4-Town farm because their produce selection is always fresh. You can tell this farm has been in the family for 5 generations... http://4townfarm.com

J&L Landscape and Garden on 44 in Seekonk is a great supplier for bulk soil, stones, mulches, etc. They also offer a variety of plants. The staff was friendly and knew a lot about various species. I took issue with their recommendation that I apply insecticide (read: poison) to my cherry trees to kill the bugs one year**. I guess it's just me, but shouldn't farmers be advocating for the END of chemical fertilizers and xxxxx-icides? Seemed odd to me/the organic gardener. After a terrible failure with the product**, I have since stopped using that product and stopped returning to J&L. http://www.jandllandscapingcoinc.com/index.html

LittleTree Nursery(ies?) in North Seekonk specializes in an immense selection of young trees, 'bonzai' style garden trees, and loads of those ugly evergreen trees (that are shaved like poodles). They do sell other garden related items and tools, but specialize more in landscape design. http://www.littletreenurserygroup.com/landscaping.html

**PS: The chemical J&L recommended was a product from Bayer, I'm not too sure of the exact name, but it is supposed to enter the entire plant from the roots and protect for an entire year after just one application. My trees could have done with a second application this year, but after one I think I've polluted my yard enough. What a terrible, $40 product recommendation. The product works as long as there aren't immense rainfall totals washing it all away to the ocean, and even when the weather was dry, the results were minimal. My cherry trees were able to send out about 6 uneaten leaves per branch before the bugs continued their feast.

Sorry for the second post, but there's just one more:

Evergreen Tree and Landscape in Seekonk focuses first and foremost on their tree nursery (which is very cool to peruse). Don't let this fool you! Evergreen offers various other services and products, from outdoor landscape construction to indoor/house planting and of course annual/perennials. Their website boasts that in 2012 they grew over 500 species of perennials. The advice you receive from the various staff members is always sound; I personally know an employee whose yard looks like a postcard photograph no matter the time of year. I you can't take my word for Evergreen, their website has pictures of their operation. The even have pics of their poinsettia and xmas tree gardens from last winter :)
http://www.evergreentreeandlandscape.com/index.html

I'm reviving this discussion but I think there was another more recent one. First, Uncanoonuc Perennials (Goffstown NH) retired last year as did Mixed Borders (Nashua NH). I finally started my own lemon gem marigolds once I got a seed packet that said they need light to germinate. Sheesh. That's important information that other packets did not have. In 2015 we did a 4th of July vacation on the Blue Hill Peninsula in Maine so I had to stop at a local nursery (Surry) near Ellsworth. I found a nice selection of plants but what surprised me was healthy young vegetable seedlings. It seems so many summer people are just starting their vegetable gardens that they keep their vegetable starts going much longer than they do where I live in NH. Here in NH, tired and leggy annuals are on sale. Good luck if you still want to start a new container. There seems to be more Proven Winners out there and fewer 6-packs.

But why I revived this discussion was accidently finding Broadway Nursery near Scarborough ME. We included Portland in our Maine vacation this year because I wanted to go on the Munjoy Hill garden tour. Advance tickets were available at different locations and we saved $5 on each ticket by buying them a day early. Although pepper and tomato plants were leggy, I found a nice single plant of a yellow tomato to fill the last planting hole in my tomato bed. And there was a good selection of cool weather vegetable plants that were young and healthy so I picked up a 6-pack of broccoli. I did not buy the mixed annual pot but, again, they looked young and healthy. Decided to buy a mint for all my recipes requiring some fresh mint (Mojito mint) and though they had a fairly good selection of herbs. I'm going to kick myself for not buying some perennials - gallon pots for $7.99 although some were on sale for $2 off. The entire nursery looked fresh and colorful at this time of year. I think I'm going to schedule a trip next year just to go to this nursery (and visit some Portland restaurants).

Wentworth Greenhouses, Rollinsford, NH- I love visiting this place and just wandering around- throughout the season too (the farmers markets are super busy and in November/December, they have tons of Christmas trees loaded with ornaments, wreaths, and fun holiday products). There plants always look nice and healthy and the staff is friendly. I went earlier in the season to get some annuals- nice six packs of impatiens and marigolds. I found their perennials to be on the expensive side as I'd prefer buying a smaller plant for a cheaper price than spending $12-$15 for one plant.

Gray Farms Greenhouses, Wells, ME- This isn't a huge place like Wentworths but they have some great stuff. There's a nice variety of 6 pack annuals including a few things they grew from seed like Statice and Gomphrena. Though I will say some of the annuals could really use a deadhead/trim back. They have a great perennial section for the small space they have. What I like is that even though they have their larger perennials, they have a section of smaller sized perennials for $4.99. Can't beat that these days. I just need to get there earlier in the year when they still have a big selection of the small perennials.

Second Wentworth in Dover, NH. Their prices are often a bit higher, but the selection is significantly more varied for annuals, perennials, veggies, and herbs. In addition, they have a heated greenhouse all winter and have some stellar house plant selections. It is not my first choice due to price and distance from me (2.5 hours). If I can find it cheaper here, great. But, I can usually count on Wentworth for great selection.

In Maine:

Estabrooks is a good nursery that caters to a wealthier area. The trees/shrubs they carry are healthy and large--for the purpose of instant effect when planted. Prices reflect as such, as well. Very good selection.

Skillins is also good, but each location has its own personality. Brunswick seems to have more trees/shrubs. Perennial selection is small there, annual selection is decent. Can't give info on other locations until I visit more.

Moose Crossing is a large garden center in Waldeboro and a local favorite due to great prices. Selection is very good, but you'd better be there early because they are busy and things sell out. Went this year within the first couple of days of their opening, and then a month later. Some selections from the first visit were long gone, and instead they had table after table of the same thing. That was frustrating. But, if you hit it before the crowds you can find a great selection and cheap prices.

Allen, Sterling, and Lothrop in Falmouth has been in business for over 100 years and is Maine's oldest seed seller. They have a small area for plants, but I have found some unusual things there in the past. I've only visited about twice so far.

Longfellows in Augusta is an institution with a great reputation, but I haven't been there yet.

I like to visit Apple Tree Nursery in Winnisquam NH for what I suspect is similar 6-packs of annuals. Some are similar to Proven Winner types except is big 6-packs with a handle. This year I made a road trip to Edgewater Nursery in Plainfield NH because of their extensive selection of annuals and perennials. I got a 4-pack of echinacea maybe first year size. I can count on them to have lemon gem marigolds which I love to put all over the place - fine cut foliage, tiny edible flowers and wonderful lemon fragrance to the foliage. They close down the nursery fairly early but Apple Tree announced on Facebook recently that they had gotten in a new shipment of large annuals. I thought that was odd because of the lateness but now I realize like the place in Maine, they have customers opening up summer cottages who are still planting.