I have just visited the only nursery/greenhouse in my small town. It is tiny, does not take credit cards, has tomatoes, pansies, about twenty kinds of mint, some very random sedums and even more random perennials, and this sign.
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you know there's history there because that sign didn't come out of thin air... twenty kinds of mint would be a great reason to visit, bees or low hanging branches notwithstanding
Ok, left-field level question but we had this one mint growing up that grew like a chaos weed of deep green, 2-3 feet high, teeming with complete unmasked aggression, eyes on total yard domination. N. Arizona. Did you perhaps see any clues to what species it might have been on your garden trip?
Hmmm, ok I’m not great at delineating the smells of mint, but I’d say more of a sharp grassy mint, rather than a soft silky garden mint. It had a bit of a punch. Kind of like mint with a hint of skunk weed. Maybe?
The little nursery up the street from me is ran by a nice old man who has the most elderly cat I have ever seen and will hold discussions about the time there was a shootout on his farm with you.
This is the nursery equivalent of a downtown restaurant with bars on the windows: it’s either going to be crazy awesome, or crazy crazy, very little middle ground.
Looks like you got crazy awesome.
They sold Russian Olive and Butter and Eggs, which no one should ever sell, dear god!…and also Redbirds in a Tree, a great native plant that I have only ever found by mailorder from one place, and some obscure native penstemons I’ve never even heard of.
The tomato section had large signs saying that they only sell to people who have cold frames and/or wall-o-water or some other way to protect plants, and they do not take returns. The word DUMBASS was not on the sign, but heavily implied.
Oh god I started mine too early this year and I'm going to have to bust out the Wall o Waters, which are SUCH a pain in the ass.
(What can I say, early March was terrifying so I started tomatoes)
I snagged a handout for gardeners New To The Area. Highlights include “If you live in the East Mountains about 6000 feet, our high elevation and alkaline soils/water make it difficult to grow anything.”
“Growing a garden of any kind means being prepared for damaging winds, hail, and below freezing temperatures at any time. Gophers, rats, mice, voles, snakes, rabbits, deer and insect plagues create never ending cycles of destruction.”
setting up new folks with just the right set of expectations, i see. gardening is a mild form of masochism under the best circumstances, and these are clearly not "the best" lol
So in other words, just have a grow room in your house. Got it. 🤣
Elevation is SUCH a bitch to grow at in general. My mom is at 4000 feet or so and, while not as bad as you, the season was SO short my stepdad was always in a struggle.
All their plants looked very healthy, and they had catmint growing around every post and along the base of the tables, which was a lovely effect. The owner was walking around and had that particular scrawny, desiccated, leathery texture some men get when they grow old in the desert.
Obscure native penstemons?! My ears perk up. We have some thirty species of penstemon in our house yard that my husband carefully nurtures…they might have some he doesn’t have.
Butter and eggs the North American native one, or the Euorpean one that was introduced? (Both I could see you going why sell them because a) they're common and if you want them just go out and get them and b) even native they're invasive just why....).
Last year I was at a garden center and overheard some lady complaining loudly about all the bees, so I'm guessing that sign is a response to someone in particular.
I am not a garden person, but my mom came from a farming family. Even I, the dumbass, know that for plants, "attracting lots of bees" is a feature, not a bug.
I'm on the east coast now, but I've still got a ton of family in the ABQ area - mind telling me where this place is? I'd like to stop by next time I'm in town.
Do they also have one somewhat cantankerous employee and the healthiest plants you've ever seen? Because I feel like that's the kind of greenhouse that would be.
I want all the mints!!! Mint is a very good way to keep away mosquitos, it makes a great tea to calm the tummy and just tastes so good! How much mint did you get?
When my mom was living in Miami (WWII) she was spreading some handkerchiefs over a bush to dry in the sun
And realized that was NOT a twig
... she did not like Florida
Are they the red, black and cream snabies that one admires from a distance because although there is a rhyme, one *really* doesn't want to take the risk that one remembered it wrong?
"willingness to GTFO when they see a human (unless they think they haven’t been seen in which case they will freeze until they think the ape hath passed), a tiny venom yield, ... 2/3
Back when I worked in the garden department, we frequently used to find gopher snakes curled up in the mulch pallets. Garden stores are rodent havens so unsurprisingly, you frequently find their predators there as well. (We also have owls around the store.)
we have one like this. you have to call a number to get service (you hear an old analog phone ring in the house next door when you do), there's a 20% card fee, and the whole place is covered in signs saying you can open carry on premises.
the cats are sweet, the dogs kind. and plants healthy.
i love chaotic little hobby greenhouses. get your healthy high quality plants at reasonable prices... but accept you are entering an unhinged fairy realm the second you step foot inside.
There is a 'vintage store' (think if an antique store mostly sold what other people would throw away as junk) that the owner also has a greenhouse, so the first third of the store is succulents in very creative pots. If you bring her clippings from succulents you own, she'll give you a discount.
I may have managed to kill my deck container mint again. Or at least it hasn’t made it through the compost and mulch layers that ended up much thicker than I intended on account of dogs who wouldn’t stop eating leaf mold
I learned the "on concrete" part the hard way - had potted mint on the soil in the corner of the yard once, it managed to escape out the bottom, go through the ground, and up through the drainage holes of a neighboring pot to start colonizing it too
When I moved into my house, the back patio was surrounded by nothing except English Ivy and mint. I managed to get rid of the English Ivy by digging down about 2 feet, but the mint came right back up.
I think if you live someplace where dry alkaline soil and sudden freezes make normal plants croak, you might be stuck planting things that are unmanageable thugs anywhere else.
Personally I have to buy mint every year because I’m terrified of planting it in the ground. So it’s sits in a pot all year till the frost kills it. (I don’t like houseplants so I don’t bring it in)
I admit I’ve broken the mint rule - I have Corsican mint planted on the pathway in my rose garden. Between the compressed clay and the foot traffic it’s been very well behaved.
It’s also a creeping decorative variety, not specifically edible, so that might make a difference. 🤷🏻♀️
Put in a bigger pot and just give it fertilizer when it starts to regrow in the spring? An 18" pot works fine for me and I've had some manage in the 10-12" pots...
A wasp once managed to land *inside my sandal* just under the arch of my foot as I was in mid stride, resulting in me being unable to avoid stepping on it and it therefore stinging me. I then tripped.
This feels like a wasp thing and not so much a bee thing, though.
Went to a one with a similar feel in Maine. If you had good questions you were treated with matter-a-fact answers, if you asked dumb questions like “do you have this in the back?” you were treated you maybe got a monosyllable. They also had a sign that said FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS BUY ANNUALS.
They didn't mention that you shouldn't hit yourself on the head with a rock. Sue immediately!
I'd wonder if the USA is completely crazy, but after Trump's second term as president, it's clear.
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I am not sure they can make that stick in a court of law.
Looks like you got crazy awesome.
(What can I say, early March was terrifying so I started tomatoes)
They are really not sugar-coating this.
Elevation is SUCH a bitch to grow at in general. My mom is at 4000 feet or so and, while not as bad as you, the season was SO short my stepdad was always in a struggle.
They sound useful if you're also just new to gardening.
"Indeed."
Sometimes it's just the only way to convey something!
...OK, OK, I'm going, I'm going!
Luckily there are 2 other nurseries that are decent and the drive to another good nursery is about 30 minutes tops.
Blessed to live in the area I do (for the most part)
They're like magic up here in New England and can survive everything
Although, @tkingfisher.com *could* end up with a garden coral snake.
And realized that was NOT a twig
... she did not like Florida
"Micrurus tener, otherwise known as the Texas coral snake has not killed anybody. The reasons include unwillingness to bite, ... 1/3
Gardening enthusiasts are not going to be put off by bees, hoses or non-venomous snakes.
the cats are sweet, the dogs kind. and plants healthy.
If you go back, please take more photos so I may vicariously enjoy it please.
Maybe. Considering how the internet has told me mint grows.
It’s also a creeping decorative variety, not specifically edible, so that might make a difference. 🤷🏻♀️
This feels like a wasp thing and not so much a bee thing, though.
I'd wonder if the USA is completely crazy, but after Trump's second term as president, it's clear.