The Garden Center

We went to one of our local garden centers to look for two things:  cilantro seeds and mosquito pellets (they kill mosquitoes and mosquito eggs in standing water).  Mum's had serious problems with trying to grow cilantro in her herb garden, so we thought we would simply purchase seeds and try going cilantro in our mini greenhouse from seeds.  Well, at least I thought we should give it a go.

But going to the garden store means that I'm going to be packing my camera bag and snapping happily.  I always find it interesting (and extremely hilarious) when I bring out my camera in stores and start taking photographs.  The store's staff always gets nervous, even suspicious, and I find we get asked "Can I help you?" or "Do you need any help?" a lot more frequently.  I also notice there are always one or two employees who seem to follow us around like we're shoplifters.  But, I always end up ignoring them and keep snapping. 

We're big fans of heather.  This little evergreen is amazing and hearty.  Of course, Mum prefers the darker purplish heather, while Dawn likes the pink.  I'm all about the white heather.

There were plenty of seeds to choose from.  We ended up finding the cilantro seeds we wanted, but I also bought blue bells, purple bells, and a few others that I want in the back garden this year.  The hope is we'll bring in more hummingbirds and butterflies.

The tulips were big and bright.  Of course, they would be when they're indoors and protected from the rubbish weather.  However, I'm not complaining.  The color was fabulous!

We weren't intending to buy any plants, but I saw this baby and immediately wanted it.  The color is deep and brilliant.  Luckily for me, the family agreed and we brought this lovely beauty home to sit on our dining room table.

There were dainty daffodils like these...

And these fantastic pale blue plants.  I have no idea what they are, but they're lovely.  Delicate petals that remind me of a sort of fuchsia.  I wanted this plant, but I didn't purchase it.  It took a lot of will power, but I figured that I'll indulge a bit when the weather gets better and I can plant them into the garden more immediately.

I love this shot.  Simple and understand, but powerful.

We did purchase a couple of house plants to put in my office.  These weren't one of them.  I love African violets, but I'm complete rubbish with them.  I've killed many African violet plants in my life time, so I thought I would spare these beauties by not buying them.

And, of course, in honor of St. Patrick's Day:  Shamrocks!

I'm not a big fan of cactus plants.  They're just not  pretty to me.  However, I love to photograph them.  The texture... the strong colors... their fabulous models.

I just had to photograph these plant stands.  How cute are they?!?! Dawn wanted the green one and Mum wanted the yellow one, but at $19 each and only able to support basically a 2-inch plant - it just wasn't worth the purchase.

Then there were these... Moss covered planters.  These are in the shape of purses, but there were plants in all sorts of fun shapes.  Another pricey item that I just could see myself splurging on, but I definitely love them. 

The first day of spring officially arrives in only a few days, and while our weather doesn't really seems to support the immediately due date - the colorful blooms and all-things-garden at the garden center certainly are putting me in the mood for March 20.