Thanks, Aloha! It's always nice to hear about bargains!

Thanks, Aloha. When I saw your post I first thought of the O'Toole's somewhere over in Aurora, and I'm glad I read to the bottom and that you mentioned Westminster! I didn't even know there was one up in this neck of the woods! I can always look it up, but if you happen to see this, where is it? I won't be heading out ANYWHERE in the snow--is snowing and blowing and almost looks like a blizzard here in Thornton right now!--but maybe early in the week when the weather starts improving again I'll hike myself over there and see what they have---not that I have room to plant anything even if I do find something---but somehow I always to manage to find somewhere to squeeze in one more thing, or two, or three..........

What's a Seven Sons Flower???

Thanks again for posting this---and it's nice to see you around here again,
Skybird

Skybird, and I thought you were a die hard gardener ;)

I'm figuring this weather is going to stop a lot of people from shopping, especially when it's outside!

"The Seven-Son Flower emigrated from China. It is an interesting-looking, medium-sized shrub that can be trained into a tree. It has long and shiny, green leaves and peeling, bronzed bark. It produces white flowers in later summer and early fall. The outermost petals of the flower turn pink and red as the flower ages. The plant also produces purple fruit in the fall when other trees/plants in a yard or garden are well past their bloom. The Seven-Son Flower is relatively requires little pruning and can tolerate full sun or partial shade. It is also drought resistant and can attract butterflies."

Here's a pic when it bloom. The best part is when the bloom falls off and the red part remains. I'm keeping my fingers crossed since this will be in a HIGHLY visible spot near 2 patios.

http://0.tqn.com/d/detroit/1/0/u/C/-/-/Seven_Son.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: Westminser O'Tooles

Thanks for the link/map, Misty. No wonder I didn't know it was there--I NEVER get over in that area!

I way agree with you! I think this cold and snow is gonna be The End for most folks, so I suspect most of whatever was left there today will still be there Tuesday or Wednesday! Twenty five cents! That's one of those You Gotta Be Kidding things! Unless it's all Vinca and 'Alaska' Shasta daisy, I oughta be able to find SOMETHING! And I will most definitely be gardening all winter--thanks to our wonderful climate (winter of '06/'07 excluded!!!)

Your tree/bush sounds wonderful--but I don't have anywhere to put any trees or bushes--unfortunately. Hope it works out well for you!

I'll let you know if I find any "new" perennials,
Skybird

I'm going to call another O'Tooles that is only 20 minutes away for me and see what kind of specials they are running. I'm imagining many of the nurseries may be trying to clear out some of their things especially the small stuff.

I tried to make sure I got all the tags as to what they are but I missed one. Here's what I got:
Avens "Mrs. Bradshaw"
Lychnis chalcedonica (Maltese Cross)
Achillea ex. desert eve deep rose (yarrow)
Bugleweed "Mahogany"
Kniphofia "fire dance" (Red-hot Poker)
Leucanthemum "alaska" (Shasta Daisy)
Lewisia "little plum"
Leucanthemum "aglaia" (shasta Daisy)
Erysimum "variegatum" (wallflower)

Just realized I only got 11 plants (I miscounted 12 at the store so my mistake). I got double of the Mrs' Bradshaw.

I was surprised at how many had fall color - Mrs Bradshaw and the yarrow. The Erysimum still looked very attractive after several cold spells. The leaves remind me a lot of the daphne. I figured for 25 cents, it was worth an experiment.

OMG! If they still have Lewisia, I will clean them out!!! I love the stuff, and so far I've had a terrible time growing it! But it's one of the things I will never give up trying--NEVER! 'Little Plum' should all be the same color--a pretty pink. With one of the most common ones, 'Sunset Strain', every single plant is a slightly different color. Since they're small, I'd have them here, there, and everywhere among my other perennials if I could afford it--and if I could figure out how to successfully grow them! Workin' on it!

If you go to the second location, Aloha, and they have any variety of Lewisia for >$1, get me a dozen of them and I'll pick them up (don't remember where you live, but you're obviously "up here" somewhere!) and pay you for them--and bring you some "free somethings" for the trouble! I will very definitely be looking for them when I go to the Westminster location!

If they have any Lychnis left when I go I'll probably pick up a couple. I started some from (commercial) seed about 6 years ago---and they turned out to be Geum! My 'Mrs. Bradshaw' still has a Lychnis label in front of it!!! You'll love the Geum, and the 'Mrs. Bradshaw' is hardier and more vigorous than many of the more recent introductions.

Never heard of 'Mahogany' Ajuga, but I checked out some pics and I'll probably get a start of that too if there are any left. (But I suspect 'Black Scallop' will always be my favorite!)

Still can't believe they're only 25 cents each! Can hardly wait to see what they have left!

Thanks again for the info, Aloha!

Skybird

Wow!
Double wow!
TRIPLE wow!!!

Went to O'Toole's today! I don't have the foggiest idea where I'm gonna plant them, but I came home with THIRTY ONE plants! A whole SEVEN DOLLARS AND SEVENTY FIVE CENTS worth!!! If these things had been 5 bucks apiece, it would have been over $150!!! I can't believe they're selling them that cheap!

I got my Lewisia! Got the last 'Little Plum', got 6 'Little Peach', and 3 that don't have labels, but are in a different size pot so I'm hoping they're a different variety!

Got one of the 'Mahogany" ajugas.

Got two perennial alyssums, an Alyssum montana 'Luna' and an Aurinia saxatilis - basket of gold. Always kinda wanted to try it but never would have paid full price for it.

Got one each of three different kinds of Armeria -- and one thing labeled Lychnis alpina which I've never heard of---and the foliage sure looks like Armeria to me!

Got a white and a yellow dwarf Asiatic lily.

Got a Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies' which is a really cute little moundy Dianthus!

Got three of the pink flowered Fragarias (strawberries), 2 'Pink Panda' and one 'Lipstick'.

Got a Geranium sanguineum 'Vision Pink', a variety I'm not familiar with.

Got one of the Lychnis chalcedonicas like you did, Aloha.

Got a 'Beauty of Livermore' Oriental poppy, which is BRIGHT RED, and I don't have the foggiest idea where I'm gonna plant it---but I've always wanted a RED Oriental poppy!

Got a Polemonium boreal 'San Juan Skies', species and variety I'm not familiar with. (Jacob's Ladder)

Got two Primula vulgaris--the "regular" kind of primroses, and one Primula pubescens which has a different looking leaf and I believe the flowers will be in clusters that stand a few inches above the foliage. I love trying the different kinds of primroses!

And I got one "standard type" saxifrage--which is pretty straggly looking and I'm hopin' I can get it back to a pretty, compact plant again.

And all that should add up to 31 plants!

I was quite impressed with their place! It was surprisingly large inside, and they have the best selection of Dramm wands I've seen anywhere. And I found some of the "solid" plant trays that don't have holes in the bottom--that I put my flats of seedlings in when I'm growing them inside in spring---for only $1.49 each, so I picked up three of those too. Might need to go back to get a couple more! I had EIGHT stores on my list of things to do today, so I really didn't have as much time to peruse as I would have liked.

If anybody else decides to stop by, an FYI! The plants are not all perky and pretty like they'd be in spring or summer! They're in the process of going dormant in the pots, and if you're a "new gardener" you might be scared off by the appearance! Don't be! They have great root systems, and they pretty much all looked like good, vigorous plants to me! A few of them, like my saxifrage, are pretty "leggy" and could possibly be a problem to get them cut back into nice, compact plants again, but for 25 cents....................

If anybody else is looking for a GREAT DEAL, you'll never, ever beat 25 cents for a potted perennial--and like Aloha said, many of them are in 4" X 5" deep pots, and most of the rest in 3.5" pots, with just a few in 2.5" pots.

I hope they decide to do it again next year!

Skybird