Last weekend I was invited to go to Traverse City Michigan with my Sister and Brother-in-law. They were heading up to an iris farm and asked me if I wanted to come along. I am not a huge iris fan, but they plant them in their garden because they have a lot of deer and it is one of the few plants the deer won't eat. I had no other plans for the weekend and my family had deserted me, so I went. The iris farm was impressive. It had about 5 acres of every imaginable iris color you would ever see in one place. We walked all the isles and looked at the colors and read the names while my sister in law wrote down the ones she liked and my brother in law took pictures. They picked out about 5 they liked, paid for them and told me they would be shipped to them in the fall. They were high quality, nicely priced beautiful iris. I did not buy any because my garden is too shady and I already have all the iris I want. When we were done there I suggested that we stop at Crystal Gardens in Franfort Michigan. I had never been there but like any horticulturist worth their salt I had to see what it was all about. I had seen signs for the place on the way to the iris farm. My sister in law said she had seen signs too and thought it was a good idea to stop. So on the way home, we stopped there. I am so glad we did. What a nice nursery. One of the nicest I have been to. They had a very nice quantity of high quality plants. The prices were a bit high but the selection was wonderful. They had many varieties of hosta some I had never seen, they had a large area for native plants, and they had a lot of unique items. I was able to buy 2 plants to give to my husband for father's day. The first was a Hakonachloa macra I had never seen before called Beni Kazi. The second was a Michigan native callled Blue Cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides. My husband has created a native plant wildflower area in a portion of our garden, so I am always looking for plants for him to plant there. A bonus was that in the pot with the blue cohosh there was a Jack in the pulpit. I really enjoyed my time at Crystal gardens. I was also able to pick up a new pump for our waterfall. They have an area of sale items and I was able to get a 169.00 dollar pump for 42.00 dollars. It is working beautifully. If you are ever in the Frankfort area be sure to stop in and see what they have.
Another nursery that I love is a place in Stoughton Wisconsin called the Flower Factory. My sister has been there often and I have some friends that frequent this nursery whenever they are in Stoughton, and they love it too. Again it is a place that has a large amount of unique plant material. The prices at this nursery are more reasonable. Check it out if you are in Stoughton.
If you don't have a cool nursery in your town but you have a Lowe's or a Meijer's near you stop and check out their stock. They get their plants from the same nurseries that other places do and they often have great sales. Sometimes you can pick up perennials for a couple bucks. Happy Gardening.
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