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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Spring Purchases

On the first day of spring I posted that I had gone on a shopping spree. For several days I had hunted around for pansies. I hit several big box stores and just couldn't find any. How strange.

The front walk walk and stoop were installed last June and I haven't yet designed the planters the way I want them. I knew I wanted the dwarf Alberta Spruces in one pair of planters because they will be visible year round. My mind's eye wanted orange pansies but they were no where to be found. My only choices were yellow or blue and the blue would have disappeared from view 100 feet away. At the end of May I'll switch out the pansies for something else.

Now it looks less like winter out there. I still have to replace the basket up against the house but the plant material available just isn't up to snuff yet. Lowe's had some amazing large pots full of tropicals for only $4.99 but I have nowhere to store 4' tall plants indoors until we pass the frost date of May 15th.

These stepping stones though might just turn out to be the worlds number one bargain. I'm almost afraid that if I write about them you'll all rush out to get some and there won't be any left for me. Just in case, I plan on heading out to get 10 more today.

They are concrete but thin, just under 2" thick would be my guess. A few in the pallet were broken so I can see they aren't meant for heavy duty work. The sales man told me not to stack them in my car, so I wasn't prepared for more. Are you ready for the price? 48 cents. Yup, no dollar sign cause they were only 48 cents. I can't buy a pack of gum for 48 cents. Guess I have to give up the store too...Lowes.

We don't have a Lowes too near us, they only came to Long Island a few years ago. The gas to go there is going to cost more than the stepping stones but it's still a bargain.


This is where they'll be going. Looks delightful doesn't it? Yesterday I spent hours cleaning up leaves, there's at least two more days work but once cleared out, this is my Hosta bed and there was a little bare spot in the middle for a seating area. In the past we just dumped wood chips in that area but now I'm going to make a patio out of leaf stepping stones. I'll rub some dirt into the leaf veins and some moss too and soon they'll look nice and old.

Borders was another place I got a bargain on Thursday but that will have to wait. The weather guesserologists were wrong again. No snow showers, not even cloudy out there. It's cold, just above freezing but if I get my Easter cleaning and food prep done in the next few hours I can head over to Lowes and play in the yard for a little while.

Happy Easter all!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh, Lowes! Not to worry Melanie, I'm a long haul from your home but now I have to head to Lowe's...I love those stepping stones! 48 cents! You can't hardly buy anything for 48 cents, thanks for sharing it's exactly what I need if they have some here...can you tell I'm excited! :)

Bek said...

I can't believe how much those stepping stones were! I guess I have to get to Lowe's and see what they have here:) Happy Easter to you and your family as well.

Tina said...

Hey there, Melanie.
Congrats on the find! My son brought me some of those last year and we made a patio out of them by settling them in a bed of red shale. Yes, you're right - they are very thin, you can't stack 'em, and definitely not heavy duty. A lot of ours didn't even make it through the winter.
:(
Once the water seeped into them and they froze, it crumbled them like old bread, so from our experience, you might want to bring them into a garage or basement for winter.
But, they are very cool, aren't they? Even if they are thin, I think they're awesome looking!

Wurzerl said...

Liebe Melanie,
das waren die absoluten Super-Schnäppchen, gratuliere!!!
Ich wünsche Dir und Deiner Familie ein schönes Osterfest, viele bunte Eier und Schokohasen und SONNE
(bei uns schneit es gerade wieder)
Ganz liebe Grüße vom Wurzerl

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Well ............. what can I say ................ JEEZ !!!!
Joy

kjohnson said...

Melanie, I've been scouting out pansies as well with little luck. I think next week will bring better results. Your spruces and pansies do look springy. My front pots still have some very old kale. Pathetic. But hey, no snow!!!!!!

Kathryn

Anonymous said...

That's what I did today. Go to Lowes. Lines were so long I was wishing I hadn't. You did get a bargain! My pansies have been good, but probably won't hold up much longer the way we get heat here.
Brenda

tina said...

melanie, they had the same stones here in tennessee in the fall for the same price. couldn't believe it and bought a few. i stained mine with green concrete stain. they look nice and hold up well enough for the price. none have broken yet!

Robin's Nesting Place said...

I love bargains like that. Your containers looks great.

Anonymous said...

I saw those stones fly of the nursery today--yep, I was stocking at Lowes! I love your planters. They look pretty. You are right, dark colors would have disappeared from a distance. Have you grown those Spruce before? Get a good bug spray. They get spider mites badly. I learned the hard way that they aren't landscaping plants. I saw some beautiful snapdragons and nemesia today that would be pretty in your wall planter. Bacopa is cold tolerant too.

The stone on your home is stunning!