I love shopping at my local garden center. Supporting my community’s economy is just one benefit of this style of shopping. The other reason is much more selfish. When I venture to my favorite garden center I get to wander through displays of arborvitaes and knock out roses. I never make a quick trip to my favorite nursery, I’ll spend an hour or more meandering down the rows of perennials, looking at wave petunias and listening to the babbling of fountains. A purchase as simple as a packet of seeds or a bag of planting mix turns into a quest for design inspiration as a stroll, very slowly, towards the cash register.
But…. If you, like me, are living in a climate where nurseries are not open year round you can run into some problems. Lack of seeds to start in March, or limited stock and supply when garden centers emerge from hibernation in early spring can be frustrating. There is a solution. Join me on a walk through a virtual nursery open 365 days a year 24/7. Welcome to the world of Burpee.
I check my mailbox religiously this time of year for the Burpee catalog, but there is really no need to wait. Their website is more interactive, informative, and easy to use. At www.burpee.com you can browse through their offerings of vegetables, flowers, perennials, herbs, and fruit. They even offer organics and heirloom varieties. Under each of these categories you’ll find new plant varieties, some Burpee exclusives that you’ll only find on their site or in their catalog. This year I’m looking forward to trying…..
Burpee offers both seeds and started plants, giving you either the satisfaction of beginning your own garden, or a jump start on the season. I’ve never had many concerns with ordering seed online. I’ve known that when the seed arrived I could plant them at my leisure. Growing plants were an entirely different matter. I worried about trying to time my order and shipping with appropriate planting times for my zone. Burpee takes away all of those worries and concerns. They delay shipping for your products until the appropriate planting time for your zone.
Log on to Burpee.com, take a walk through the veggies and meander through the perennials. I’m sure you’ll find inspiration, just like in your favorite garden center. The only thing missing will be the smell of honeysuckle, the crunch of gravel, and the sound of fountains.
*all photos from www.burpee.com
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