A special gift

My Dear Aunt Lee sent me a wonderful gardening gift. She sent me a gift certificate for Annie's Annuals and Perennials http://anniesannuals.com/ and a suggestion of a favored plant! The picture was taken in my Aunt's garden. That's Linaria Reticulata "Flamenco" with her companion statue, Geeky Beak.

Linaria Reticulata "Flamenco"

Annie's is located in the Bay Area in California. As a customer of mail order, I was delighted to be able to pour over an entire catalogue with no restrictions as far as what I would be allowed to order due to the Department of Agriculture. The catalogue and website were both colorful and informative. The pricing for a 4-inch potted plant is very reasonable. I was a tad disappointed with how much of Lee's precious money was to go to shipping, until the package arrived. Here, I'll show you what I mean.

One little dent in the top of the box, but never fear! All is well.

Nice and cozy

Oh cool! Another catalogue

Beautifully packaged

Such care taken in packaging! Fantastic job!

Two little slips were broken off of the antirrhinum, but I'll see if I can get them to root!

Geeky Beaky inspired me and I decided this was a good place to put Bobbin this year. I gave him a fresh coat of paint and made this planter from an old hanging lampshade while I waited for the delivery!

Bobbin thinks I did a good job...

Little Linaria "Flamenco" looks healthy :)

Thankfully it wasn't raining. Cloudy and windy and a tad cold, but oh well! 

I was all set when the delivery came.

All tucked in nicely, now, where to put them?

Eschscholzia, (a type of california poppy) "purple gleam" takes center stage in the barbecue with its neighbor "butter cream' Eschscholzia and a wildflower humming bird mix.

The Antirrhinum and Dahlia Imperialis (a tree type Dahlia that won't survive winters here) are also in pots where I can dash out and bring them in if weird weather continues!

The little hippy van in with the Dahlia says, Don't worry be happy!

 

 I can't begin to tell you how this made my day. The plants are in perfect condition, Annie's Rocks! I've already sent Aunt Lee and Annie's thank you notes for such a lovely gift and a beautiful packing job!

 

 

The root balls on all four plants are firm and healthy, they were wrapped in brown, compostable paper towel, the plant tag is easy to read, the entire thing came in a simple sandwich baggie tucked back into a 4 inch pot. No waste. I composted the paper, tucked away the baggies for future use, reused the pots and oohed and ahhed and Kitty Icky had to check out the beautiful process! She gives it her paw of approval!

 

Thank you so much Aunt Lee. I can't wait to post pictures as they grow and thrive in my garden. And come harvest, the seeds will be in the mail to you Dear Lady.

 

Everything got a healthy drink as soon as I put the camera back inside. All is well and it looks as if Mother Nature intends to water a bit better than I ever manage to do.

 

Such a lovely gift!