I had to spend the night in Columbia for a sleep study on Thursday, so early Friday morning I decided to check out the BBS clearance shelves. First I stopped at Lowe's and the Dept. manager was there marking plants down, so I began chatting with her. The more I chatted, the fuller my cart got with marked down perennials--shasta daisies, salvias, ($1 gal. sized pots), coreopsis and holly fern were $3 per gal. sized pot, etc., so she decided that I needed one of the flat ones and transferred my plants to it. She was telling me that her plant needed new homes and the only reason the shastas looked bad is that the plant display cart was so full and the inner plants weren't getting enough sun. Also when they watered the carts, the leaves of some did not dry off and they fried when the sun did hit them. So, when they watered them the next time, the fried leaves turn mushy. I told her that I'd love to rehome them.

One of the customers noted that I had a pot of Tiny Ghost Asiatic lily ($3 tag), and told me that they were just reduced to $1. So, I grabbed a tray of 6 and placed it on my flat cart. Then I started looking at the annuals which were marked $1 and placed some in my cart--calibrachoes, lantanas, angelonia, mixed Ready fill pots and 9 pack marigolds. The Dept. manager looked at my stash and further reduced the annuals to 50 cents. I also got 2 bougainvillea hanging baskets for $3 each. i was making out like a bandit.

When I left there I decided not to got to Home Depot, as I was running out of room in my car. I needed some soil conditioner, so I stopped by Wal-Mart. What did I see? Kimberly Queen Ferns in 3 gal. pots for $2.50. I thought $10 was a bargain, but didn't get any earlier. Then I remembered that the Lowe's plant manager told me that she was surprised that her plants not only overwintered but reseeded as well. I grabbed 4 pots. I also picked up a pot of gaillardia for $2.50, and headed for home. I had no more room for plants in my car, never mind potting soil.

Way to go, Deebie! Now comes the "work" part... actually planting all those great finds

I do have a large yard, and probably could plant them all, but I love sharing my bargains with my local gardening friends. But, you're right, I've got quite a bit of work to do. I planted a several things when I got home Friday mid morning and barely got started yesterday when it started raining. It's been raining off and on since then. So, no planting is going on right now. I hope that it clears up tomorrow and that I can get an early start. Tonight I'm doing some planning/designs for container combos.

I planted my wisteria a bit ago. Holymoly, the gnats about ate me up. "nuff of that for tonight. By the time I got done a few skeeters had joined the gnat feast (me), so I gave up. LOL I wanted to plant my flowering quince, but that will have to wait till tomorrow when I hope most of the gnats have a siesta.

Wow, congrats on a great haul, Deebie!!

I think that was one of my better escapades.

You scored, Deebie!! It's kind of a rush, isn't it?!?

Yes, I must say so. I was gushing with pride all day and the next. But, I do think that I'm grateful that I'm almost an hour away from that store, otherwise, I would be broke all the time in spite of bargain buys, because I would feel the need to rescue all the plants that I can and spending every penny that I have to do so.

Deebie said: I think that was one of my better escapades.

I'll say! that was awesome

Well, today I attended a graduation party of one of DH's co-workers in Summerville. We stopped by Lowe's and HD to check out the sales aisles as usual. I wasn't planning to buy anything (I didn't expect to find any bargains on this holiday), as I had so much that needs planting, but HD had dward canna lily bulbs on clearance, and they were healthy looking ones (all the others that I've seen this season were rotten), so I got a bag. And, Lowe's had this huge hanging basket of Scaveola (purple) that was so tall it was falling over. It jumped into a nearby cart for me to take it home.

Now we're back at home and it's raining again. I think I'll put together some containers in the garage where it's dry.

I picked up a few bags of Caladium bulbs and a couple of the pre packaged roses at HD at half price.

Is there a time when shrubs tend to go to clearance?

Yes, trees and shrubs usually get marked down at the end of the growing season to make room for fall holiday merchandise, starting with Halloween. It's a good time to buy.

thanks. It'll take me until then to make room for any new shrubs anyway.

sprimg-flowering shrubs pop up now (or earlier) on clearance shelves at Lowes et al... azaleas, rhodids, dogwoods, quince, etc.

Our HD seldom mark down their plants. They send them back to the grower when it's time to clear their shelves for new shipments. Most stores sell spring flowering trees year round here in the south. Even azaleas are sold year round here, as most of them bloom year round. My neighbor has some of those ever blooming ones around his bradford pear trees with liriope, and Stella D'Oro daylilies interspaced among them. His yard looks fantastic all year. I need to go and ask him for some azalea cuttings.

The reblooming azaleas are neat, although they still look out of place to me when they bloom in fall LOL. I had one that was throwing a few blooms here and there clear through January, with the mild winter we had (before the Big Snow buried it). So keep an eye out for "Encore" series names when you're shopping for clearanced azaleas that are past their spring bloom.

Couple years ago I picked up 3 reblooming Azaleas for 1 $ each. They just needed a little TLC and fall rebloomed for me. Since ten, they look fine and bloom here 2 or 3 times.