Diary of a Nursery Worker

Had a woman come in saying she planted three shrubs...all of the same, all get the same water and one of them died. She wanted us to replace the shrub at no cost to her. It was, in her words, "a faulty plant". I explained to her that it IS a plant, and that plants can sometimes die. That I can buy the same three plants and one of them dies. It's part of gardening. She said it's, "our faulty plants and she wants another one. I mean, it didn't even root!" I explained to her that it takes a year for plants to become established, and not enough time had passed.

JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

I understand it's money, and sometimes...money wasted. How do you guys deal with something that dies? Do you take responsibility and just know it's a part of gardening, or do you personally attack the nursery you got it from saying it's a faulty plant? Am I wrong to want to backhand this person???

I had a customer that comes in, oh, about once a week with absolutely no idea what she has in mind to buy. We generally spend at least two hours with this woman telling her what will work, won't work, and then plan her gardens for her.

I would like to tell this woman that for a fee, we could come out and design her yard, but I don't think that will go over well since she's already using a designer.

Um. Yeah.

Sunshine...please? and the fun job of car buying.

After 5 days straight of rain (which I won't complain about...really) I'm ready for the sun to work it's magic right along with the nice nitrogen that the rain brought. I won't have to water for a week. I worked half a day yesterday and then literally booked it out the door at noon because Brian and I went car shopping with the boys.

I am not great at negotiating. We weren't really ready to BUY a car yesterday, but wanting to test drive the Mazda CX9. There's a car down in Centennial that seemed to have everything we wanted (gadgets are FUN!) so we all piled in the truck and headed down. The boys loved the car and were, uh, very loud about it. Cardinal rule #1 killed: Never let the dealer know you LIKE the car. Brian had sent an email to the credit union to figure out what kind of loan we're approved for. Cardinal rule #2 killed: Have cash in hand so they can't bug you about financing!

We were so wrecked from trying to keep the boys on good behavior that I didn't get to use my stone face while talking to the dealer. I was pretty much obvious that I wanted the car, but wasn't ready to buy.

In the meantime...we found another CX9 in Longmont that is a year newer and has a lot fewer miles. Now we get to make another trip with the boys and check that one out. I'm working Tuesday, Thursday AND Friday of this week, so I'm not sure when we'll be able to go out, but at least we're really aware of the ins and outs of this car (thank you intrawebs!) and are prepared to give the dealer everything we've got.

In the meantime, last night I cleaned my van for everything it's worth and it's looks pretty good. I'll enjoy it being clean for, oh, a day...until the boys step back into it!

The past couple of days have brought lots of rain. With the rain comes the slugs. They are everywhere. I can't even have the satisfaction of throwing them on the street and letting their slimy little bodies fry because it's still overcast out. So...I've been squishing them one by one all morning. Only a fellow gardener would understand this process, and the little thrill of the killing. I'm sadistic today. My Mock Orange looks like a weeping tree at the moment with the heavy strain of rain drops. I do hope it comes back because the only reason we have kept it is for the shade on our west facing porch. It needs to be it's full 12 foot height to be any good for us!

Yesterday Brian came by to get two loads of mulch to finish the backyard. I am hoping two loads will be enough to cover the mud by my vegetable garden. With all of the weeds that have sprung, I also need to add a couple of inches around the rest of the gardens. I do not believe in weed barrier, but heavy mulch to take care of the weed seedlings. I'm thinking I need another two loads. :)

I also have 15 plants to plant today, and hope I can get to them before the BBQ at 1 pm!

I'll be working a half day tomorrow and then going car shopping with my hubby. We have decided to forego our deck this year for a new car. We have narrowed the search down to a Ford Edge, a Mazda CX9 and a Toyota Venza. I cannot fathom spending so much for a Venza, but do absolutely love the ride!!

Kindergarten graduation

What a great graduation ceremony. They had all four classes sing three songs, and then each pupil was handed their diploma. They then had a slideshow that included each child. I was very impressed, but this isn't new at this school. They seem to do everything right! Riordan was so happy that he is now a first grader!!!

No warranty? Are you crazy?

I went to another nursery the other day and was astounded that there was not a warranty on their merchandise. I mean, the warranty stated that they had good merchandise, but once it left the grounds, you were on your own.

HOW CAN YOU BUY A HUGE PRODUCT LIKE A TREE WITH NO WARRANTY?!?!

We're talking a lot of money here, especially during these times. I just couldn't imagine getting a tree, shrub, vine, etc. without having a warranty with it.

In Colorado, we can have very, very dry winters. When selling our merchandise (especially trees) we talk about winter watering. With the dry winds and drier winters, there's a good chance you could lose your tree within the first year. We WANT your trees to survive. We want you to be happy. Who wants to plant two huge trees within two years? We understand that you just want to sit back and watch the tree grow.

Don't put up with places that don't give you a warranty. There are lots of other places that DO, and will honor it.

Getting old and the crap that comes with it.

Oh, God, it's happened. I've gotten old. I look in the mirror and see the same person...but as I crawl into bed (more like fall) I feel every ache and pain vividly. My leg kept cramping up today like a full fledged charlie horse. Wham! I'd be with a customer and then just yell out, "Ow!" I think they might have thought I was nuts. Then I'd start hobbling around trying to massage my calve while walking. Can we say hunchback of Picadilly? My back hurts. Feet hurt. Arms hurt. I've got a bazillion mosquito bites because we haven't been able to spray yet. My fellow worker actually told me when she was scheduling that she didn't want to wear me out by scheduling me too much. She's like 12 years older than me. That felt AWESOME, let me tell you. It's like this every year when I start back up. Walking 6-10 miles per day is a killer. If I saw my legs get leaner and my ass get smaller, it might make it all worthwhile. However, when I get home, I eat like a horse to make up for the calories I just burned off and it doesn't seem to help. I truly am blessed to have my job, but I suffer for it nightly. LOL.










Thank goodness for days off so I can start feeling better and then it starts all over again!

Browsing my gardens

My baby, Emerald Arrow Bosnian Pine. To the left is the Emerald Carousel, to the right is the Autumn Magic Chokeberry.

Side border with my forsythia that I had to cut way down...hardy glads, tulips, Karl Rosenfield paeonia, and Coppertina Ninebark

Various iris that I dug up from my mother-in-laws home and that Lisa from my work gave me.

May Night salvia, Centranthus Ruber or Jupiter's Beard

My two veggie gardens just built along with major cleanup that needs to happen. Yikes! The barrel is for my raspberries...

I love sticking pots in my gardens until they get the height they will be in several years...

One of the many containers I potted up. I just LOVE this ruby red geranium!

Claire de Lune clematis. I really need to find a spot for this. It is just breathtaking.

My front garden...year three. The huge bush is actually a mock orange. I've never seen one this big. This is the first year we haven't cut it down. We're hoping for the citrus-smelling flowers in June. I think you have to actually click on the pic to see it!

Other front garden, year two.

Malva Zebrina. I came back this evening to take more pictures and something is eating it all up! :(

This is one of my favorite views. I'm in love with aspens. Thank goodness I live in Colorado!

A random purple iris. I love it that I never know what will show up each year!

Pasque flower, gone to seed. I can't decide if I love this plant with the flowers, or this way.

My first attempt at a "Steppable". It's quite taller than I thought. I can't get myself to step on it...

Linum perenne or Blue flax. My hubby's favorite!! It reseeds nicely and is quite manageable. The truest blue I can find.

Closeup of yellow iris. I'm addicted to these flowers. So graceful and elegant.

Queen of the Night tulip. I hated to see the blooms fall. I can't wait until this beauty multiplies. I received the bulbs in the mail too late in the fall and wasn't able to plant all of them.

This is a new one!

Just had someone stop by and say, "I always thought the person that lived here was old...they're the only people that have enough time to keep a garden looking this pretty!"

Um. Yeah. I guess I understand the sentiment, although I think when I'm "old" this might offend me... didn't know "old" people had so much time on their hands!!

I swear to post pics today...

Sunday, Sunday

Yesterday, Brian and I spent half the day driving around looking for half wine barrels so I could plant my raspberry bush in it. A few years ago, you could find these everywhere, but we just couldn't fine them!! We ended up driving to Denver to visit Paulino Gardens and finally found one. It's been a few years since I've been to Paulino's. Great place to stroll, but can we say holy expensive Batman! I had just told Brian I wouldn't spend more than 50 bucks on it, and we saw one for $60. I caved and then we went to the register and it was $41 and then tax. Yay! It's a nice, big one that will allow the raspberry to acheive a good size, but won't take over my garden. Have you ever grown raspberries? Yeah, it's a weed out here. I've never tried growing them in a container, and not sure how it will work. The hard part is keeping it alive until next year so I actually see a crop of raspberries! (It takes year two to yield any fruit)

We then spent the latter half of the day working on the sprinkler system so all of my newly planted shrubs and perennials wouldn't bite the dust. It was a lot of work for Brian, but it sure helps in the long run. I was iffy about how much water my shrubs took, so we might have to tweak the water usage a bit later in the season.

I still haven't found a spot for the clematis. The particular kind I got likes more shade and I just don't have a lot of shade. So...I might take it back and exchange it for a little hardier of a vine. I am in love with all clematis, I don't think it will be hard to find one that I like.

I had a couple stop by and look at my gardens. They live a couple of streets down and the white iris caught their eye. It almost glows in the dark!! They recognized me from Picadilly, and I told them my yard should have a sign that says, "Provided by Picadilly". lol. I got a side job looking at their yard and telling her what she has growing. They just moved into their house a year ago, and she's not sure what is a weed and what is a flower at this point. I think there should be a business that allows people to come to clients' houses just to tell them what they currently have growing. Hmmmm.

This is the last week of school for the boys. I'm going to Riordan's kindergarten graduation ceremony on Wednesday. He is so excited to be going to first grade next year. Corrin will be starting high school. It boggles my brain!!

I hope you all had a great weekend. What did you do?

Just a question

How come people KNOW when a place closes...but come in 10 minutes before closing and when you ask them if they need help they say, "Oh, we're just looking!" ?????

I believe, wholeheartedly, that every person in the world needs to work retail for at least 6 months of their lives. So, when that person gets that inkling to just stroll in 10 minutes before closing, they'll think back on their own retail experience and remember how they just wanted to close up shop after a 10 hour day...and just maybe stay home. I love the customer that comes in and says, "We know you close at 6:00...we'll be out of here quickly." and then stays for 45 minutes.

We receive phone calls all of the time around 5:30 asking when we close, and then say "6:00? AWESOME! We'll be RIGHT there!" I refuse to go into a store no later than 20 minutes to closing. And if I DO go, I know exactly what I want, go get it, and then check out.

I understand during the week that people are at work, and might need to get things after work. On Saturdays, however, I just do not understand how you could wait ALL day and then decide in the late afternoon that you MUST buy a tree, and take an hour and a half to decide what tree you want!!

If you are that type of customer, as much as I don't want to offend...please reconsider your last minute purchase. Can't it wait until the next morning?
I'm tired. Excuse my ranting.