Nursery Touring, Part 2

After leaving Branches, we drove south to a place very familiar to us, Windmill Gardens, in Sumner.

The sun had all of the pretty little flowers opening their faces.

We were disappointed here, because the nursery was still pretty much in winter mode, not yet restocked for spring, with very little shrub selection and a lot of empty plant tables. 

Here's an idea of what to do with an old tool or fishing tackle box. 

Windmill has a pretty good gift shop, with a few good displays. 

We didn't buy any plants at windmill, but we did find some sweet little pots that we thought might be perfect for a project we have in mind.

We went on from there to a stop at a Starbucks for lunch, sitting outside, and then drove on further south to Todd's Nursery and Landscaping.

It was here that my camera battery gave out and, sadly,  I discovered that my back up battery was probably still in the fleece jacket pocket from last Saturday, now hanging in the closet at home. I got out my old iPhone 5c, to take a few more photos. It works OK in good light. 

We had driven past Todd's before, but had never stopped. Today it was on our itinerary. 

We found a rhododendron to replace one we just took out, and while Tom took it to the holding area, I sat on a bench in the shade because we were now in tee shirts and getting very warm. 

There is a small gift shop, but mostly plant related items. I think this is a great nursery for anyone who is just putting in new landscaping, as they have a large selection of shrubs. 

We bought a small Nandina 'Moon Bay", the "Unique" Rhody, and a half price azealia 'Satsuki Higasa'. 

I knew there would be a great shrub collection at our next stop, Alpine Nursery and Landscaping, and we might just find that special pine we were looking for. 

For one day we were plunged into a perfect summer afternoon. 

We looked at everything, and then, in the specialty conifer section, we found that pine!

It's a 'Blue Shag' Eastern White Pine, pricey, but just what we were looking for. 

Tom also bought a Stag-horn Fern, to replace one he used to have in his greenhouse, and a funny little coral pink Aloe. 

We made one more stop, to a place that showed up when I had Googled nurseries near Puyallup, in planning this tour. The Gartenmeister Plant Shop is a small local nursery where the plants are mostly locally grown and I'm sure you can find good value on most things. I did find a white hellebore and euphorbia, 'Ascot Rainbow', for about half the price of a big nursery. 

We came home with a nice little haul. Most of the shrubs will go into an area we are reworking in the front yard.

 And the little pots fit perfectly in the wire rack Tom picked out at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. 

Now we'll have to decide how and where to use it. 

Monday night we had a big windstorm, and Tuesday we had rain.  Today, Wednesday, we got in our walk and then joined a teacher group for lunch. Now we are back to cold sun, and another big mess to clean up out in the yard.

It's time for more picukup sticks.