There is no place quite so glorious as a nursery run by people who absolutely love plants and love sharing plants with other people. That's how Annie's strikes me. When I took up gardening I had a ritual of eating breakfast at my favorite b'fast restaurant, then poking around the local nursery for an hour or so. I can still remember the exact moments when I discovered confederate jasmine and mandevilla Alice du Pont. My nose found them first, and I just followed my nose. This is one aspect that shopping online sorely lacks. I'm not completely convinced that even the best owner-operated nursery in Prescott is quite so passionate about fragrant plants.
In any case, I am very pleased with all the plants I got from Annie's earlier this year. The sedum was ravaged by a nibbling animal and I lost maybe four of six. But everything else has survived despite a rather high level of neglect. Of course the first real test will be whether they make it through the heat and dry weather of mid-summer. The second real test will be whether they happily return after being brutalized by winter and spring's seductive yo-yo weather. (We got a smattering of snow here yesterday. High on Friday is supposed to be 80F. Cannas have not been happy.)
