Everyone loves a garden centre sale...

Is there anything better than a sale at a beloved garden centre? Especially when the sale is 50 % off EVERYTHING, from pots to plants, from ornaments to bird feeders...
That's the case right now til closing on New Year's Eve at Den Haan's Garden World in Middleton, here in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. Oh, boy...since I had been given some money as a birthday present, I knew I would have to go treat myself. And I did!

After several days of rude weather coupled with achy legs, I made time to make a sojourn out to Middleton this morning. I'm so glad I did. Their prices are always reasonable, but at half-off, you really get a lot of bang for your buck. Like these Rex begonias. Although I crave and adore flowering plants in the house all winter long, the foliage of these gorgeous plants is such that they don't NEED flowers to be jaw-dropping.

I brought home the two varieties in the photo above, and here's a closeup of the subtleties of one of the begonias' foliage. Exquisite, isn't it? They like moderately moist soil and medium (not too bright) light, average home temperatures to do well, so they're ideal for my office, where they now reside. But because it's been some years since I've tried a Rex, I went in search of good information, and found a terrific article at Fine Gardening, of course.

I never, EVER get tired of or bored with African violets. There are just so many different bloom types and colours to delight the eye. I didn't bring any home today, only because LAST time I was out there, a few weeks ago, I picked up several. They mostly always do well for me, as long as I keep the cats away from their velvety leaves, which otherwise start to look like cats after a couple of weeks.

If something has lavender on it, I need to have it, and this little china set of salt and pepper shakers will do nicely on our always-flowery themed kitchen table. I'd love to find a teacup, teapot, or vase in this particular pattern. Since I received LOTs of lavender products for Christmas from my wise family (from Beach Lane Lavender, now Seafoam Lavender Farm, here in Nova Scotia, and from Bleu Lavande, near Montreal, plus I have dried florets and other lavender-themed stuff all around the house, I should always be serene. Hmmm. Maybe I need to go put some lotion on to achieve a little more serenity...

Den Haan's always has an excellent selection of cyclamen at this time of year. I've confessed before how I have a fondness for the foliage as much as for the blooms, and they fascinate me because it seems most every flower colour has a different foliage colour. You'll have to wait til next time to see the cyclamen I bought today, but I'll give you a hint--it echos most perfectly the orchid that longsuffering spouse gave me!

I have had an orange hyacinth-glass for years, and its cheery colour always gives me pleasure while I'm waiting for its bulb to come into bloom. Today, I decided to add the red, blue, and green glasses to my collection. I wish I could find a purple one, which would just make the perfect addition--or should that be 'purplefect'? I have some hyacinth bulbs that are just waiting to be water-forced into blooming, so in a day or so these will be gleaming happily away in one of my office windows.

This is 'Blushing Bride' amaryllis, of which I have one, though it's not currently in bloom. We're rapidly approaching the season of many blooming amaryllis, of course, but I never EVER get tired of looking at their magnificent, stately flowers.

I resisted the urge to pick up a 'Picotee' amaryllis bulb today, but the more I look at this photo, the more I'm tempted. Tomorrow's the last day for Den Haan's sale, and they'll be closed for a couple of weeks from New Year's to mid-January to do inventory and prepare for spring...so maybe I should go back tomorrow and get a bulb. What do you think, fellow enablers? Hmmm?