I went there with my wife, and I can’t say anything about her
purchases, because I made many of my own. It wasn’t as if we
didn’t have 20 or so plants in pots waiting to be planted. We
just decided we needed a certain gardenia for a pot by the front
door.

But our shopping trip made it crystal clear that we don’t buy
plants out of need. We buy them because they look good, the
flower color is right, the shape and size fit the spot.

The Main Motivation

The main motivation is simple: “I don’t have it and I’ve always
wanted one.” That was the reason for the 17 cultivars of
hydrangeas I bought.

Now, this is not bad altogether. Buying plants keeps nurseries
in
business. You know — that economy thing.

This obsession with plants is the same many women have with
shoes, men have with “new toys” and teenagers have with CD’s. Of
course, you don’t have to water, fertilize, prune and otherwise
maintain the shoes, toys and CD’s.

Plants become a part of the family. We had “Willie Begonia” (the
children named him) for 13 years before he succumbed.

We Baby Plants

We baby plants, tend to them and even cover them with quilts and
blankets on cold nights. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve
covered “the big bay” bush on cold nights. Sometimes after
getting in bed I was reminded, and I put on my overcoat and
trudged out to keep it one more season. It’s still with us.

How many people have taken the rinse water from dishes out to
water that certain plant during dry periods? If you perform this
type of action, you have the plant disease.

Just because you really fall in love with plants doesn’t mean
you
have to like all of them, though. Viburnums always look unhappy
to me and are not among my favorites.

The Viburnum People

I’m sure the viburnum people wouldn’t like the sweet potatoes
I’m
so fond of or the black bamboo in my yard. My wife isn’t fond of
that, either.

Still, whether they’re green, purple, pink, brown, deciduous,
evergreen, annual, perennial, vegetable, fruit, ornamental,
large- or small-flowered, fragrant, tall, short, pruned or
free-formed, they’re all loved by someone. Each has its own
passionate following, its own organization devoted to it.

Out of the diversity of the plant kingdom, please find one you
like and become as attached to it as you wish.

You’re just helping the economy.