It's the perfect storm for any gardener who also happens to be a bargain shopper. The nurseries start slashing prices on their remaining spring perennials, just to move them out of the way so THEY don't have to water them all summer. (That should be a clue right there.) And I always have a few bare spots that need a little something, and an urge to fill them with something new and fun...and cheap.
So the markdowns beckon. Sure, they're a little shopworn, lanky and in need of TLC, but they're cheap. Dirt cheap. Enticingly cheap....so I take a few (?) home with good intentions of planting and nursing them. It's hot outside, and there's plenty of other things to do today, and tomorrow, and the day after that. Sometimes my "foundlings" sit in their pots, slowly declining until they're finally brown and crispy and they get pitched when fall cleanup time rolls around. Or I actually do get them planted, but then forget my promise to water them and keep up with them all summer. So when the frost comes, they go to that great compost heap in the sky, never to return.
I know all this, in my head and in my heart. And yet I am fighting the urge to just go SEE what the nurseries have left in stock. My optimistic side is telling the rest of me that this year can be different - this is the year I will keep them watered all summer. Sigh... When will I learn my lesson?
In other news, I discovered that I do not care for whole-wheat sourdough bread. The wheat and sourdough flavors fight each other and nobody wins. Next time we'll try half white, half wheat. But at least my sourdough starter got a much-needed feeding. The honey-lime glaze on the salmon went over well with the men in the family; I thought it was okay, but not as good as the chili-lime sauce for chicken. And my salmon grilling skills need some work - it always winds up just a little dry. The only thing to do is just keep trying, I guess! Today I've got a crockpot of Kim's baked beans going for a pre-Bunco picnic buffet. It ought to be a fun night, and it'll keep me from moping around while the youngest is away at swim camp. I hear-tell she's having a great time, although she hasn't called to tell me personally. See my lip quivering? Hmmmm?
