Meeting and Mingling

Although it wasn't a huge meeting of Texas-like proportions, I just have to boast anyway: I got to meet a fellow garden blogger this morning! (And if that alone wasn't cool enough, she's a fellow Blackswamp Girl, too!)

Kylee from Our Little Acre came up to Cleveland yesterday along with her Mom and another Master Gardener from Van Wert. The Van Wert MG's were in town to receive a much-deserved environmental award for their new Smiley Park Children's Garden.

Due to their time/travel constraints and some events going on at my house--namely, fencing lessons being given in my driveway--we decided to meet up at Petitti's Garden Center in Strongsville. I had instructed Kylee and her Mom to visit their Avon store the last time she was in town and they loved it so much that they wanted to see Strongsville as well. Avon is newer, but the Strongsville store bowled me over when it first opened. It was loosely based on large garden centers in Europe, and included a cafe that sold coffee/espresso and real gelato!

I was pretty sure that I would recognize Kylee immediately when I saw her, and I did--but it took her a second to realize who I was. (I apparently "sound older" on my blog... what a wonderful compliment!) Once we got the identification part out of the way, we slipped quickly into comfortable familiarity. It really was like meeting an old friend.

Kylee and I quickly headed off to do some shopping for ourselves while the other two ladies looked around for items suited to the Children's Garden. (And for themselves, I'm sure--it's hard to be a gardener and resist buying for yourself at a place like Petitti's!)

The next hour and a half or so passed by in a blur as we looked through plants and chatted about their performance. Kylee picked up a pot of the lovely hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' and since I was partially responsible for convincing her to buy it, I hope it does well for her!

She also picked up a fuchsia that is supposed to be hardy to Zone 5... it will be interesting to see how that overwinters for her in Zone 5b. (One of the guys who works there said that he planted one in the spring and is similarly hopeful that it is as hardy as reported!)

My haul? Well, I picked up another caryopteris, this one a bit taller than 'Petite Bleu' and meant to be planted behind the 'PB' I bought this week and the one I plan to pick up tomorrow. I also bought some fancy hens-and-chicks (I am extremely susceptible to both colorful foliage and succulents,) a 'Hadspen Blood' astrantia, and (3) 'Blue Ice' amsonia hybrids. It's so hard to find amsonia at all in local garden centers that I couldn't resist 'Blue Ice'... its leaves are a bit wider than those of the taller, more feathery a. hubrechtii that I have coveted, but it's still supposed to have great fall color.

As much fun as we had shopping, though, Kylee and I both agreed that the next visit has to be in one of our own gardens! (Frankly, I'm dying to see her garden--the pictures on her blog are so lovely.) And maybe I'll have some pictures to show for that meeting... but since today's didn't turn out, you're stuck with a shot of the hakonechloa macroa 'Aureola' that I raved about to Kylee, and two pics that I love of some mingling in my own garden. And with that, I bid you a very tired goodnight!