Oh I can drink alcohol--beer has too much wheat in it. The Kahlua and amaretto I love so much have too much sugar...so that narrows down the choices a bit. The sugar at night affects blood sugar, which for me is just a minor aggravation. The wheat triggers painful inflammation, and now that I know that, it's real easy to say no to anything with wheat. I bought a book that tells me what to eat, and what not to eat, and that's what I do. (Primal Blueprint)
This year I found out I'm capable of giving up about any vice. The hailstorm showed me I'm able to live without seeing my daylily blooms, and i haven't bought many of them this year. I decided to quit stopping at garage sales, and don't look at ebay or sudoku, and i used to think i had to do that.
I did buy 79 new plants yesterday, mostly 5 gallon shrubs. That wasn't rational, because the beds look better when they're not crowded, and it will hurt my back to dig 79 holes that deep. AND who knows when or if it will ever rain again! That was just my gotta have it plant addiction raring its head, telling me I had to replace everything that died this year or last. The smart voice that whispers that I ought to be spending my time and energy taking care of the survivors was just drowned out. The sneaky voice can rationalize about any plant purchase. It's crazy to keep buying roses when Rose Rosette Disease is making its way around the yard, or echinaceas, when I've lost most of them this year to Aster Yellows. The daylilies can't handle the heat, so I'm left with iris as my toughest, most reliable perennial. Then I go read that thread on scorch! yikes! So far, I'm not seeing it in my yard, but I do trade plants with my friends up in Hutchinson, and I don't use any sort of insecticide, so it's just a matter of time before I see that problem. We certainly have leafhoppers.
Here's a list of rationalizations:
Iris are ok to buy anytime, because they don't need special soil or chemicals.
Anything I buy from a friend is ok, because I'm helping out a friend. It's community service!
Anything from an iris society sale is ok, same reason. It takes a village..!
Anything traded is ok, because I didn't spend money.
New intros are ok, because people in the club or who tour the yard want to see newer ones.
Anything from last 10 years is ok, because garden judges will want to see them.
Anything that fits into a space where something else came out counts as neutral.
Anything I buy on a sale is ok because I can sell it in a few years and get my money back out of it.
If it has a family name, or a sentimental name, or a funny name, it's a go.
The more I buy, the more I can share with my mom, and she shares with my aunts, so I'm making lots of people happy by buying more.
So as you can tell, my enabler voice can be pretty convincing.
