Great haul. I am sure your garden will look fab with its new arrivals.
There was a big plant sale here (local) on Saturday. I went, but was not too impressed. Every year there are more and more vendors, and less and less selling actual plant material. I got only a few little things. One thing I got, which I am excited about, is a Sanguisorba minor, Salad Burnet. It tastes rather like cucumbers. I also couldn't pass up Polygonatum humile (dwarf Solomon's Seal). I love Polygonatum; I would probably have a collection of them if there was more shade and space in the yard.

Thats neat that you have a Native Plants sale. I have really taken an interest in natives; they are such good preformers and blend it well with other plants. What kind are you looking for?
CMK

Irene you did good :o). You picked up some really nice plants. I splurged yesterday too, some have to be nursed along in the greenhouse for a month as they were very small starts but you should see the smile on my face.

Annette

CMK - Well, this was all the garden club, so not really vendors exactly. It was definitely the sort of thing where you need to show up right as they are opening to get the best selection - tho not as bad as the used bike sale! (I tried that for dd's bike, got there 25 minutes in, and all the good ones were taken already! ok, so that's OT...)

I have to admit, I was hoping to see Solomon's Seal at the Native Plants sale, since I think it does well in dry shade? My new stuff is all going just beyond the eave drip line on the north side of the house - but it would be nice to have something under the eaves, too! I don't really know that much about natives, I have to admit, but it would be nice to learn. My neighbor got a couple of ferns - I don't know what kind.

Your garden sale sounds like the Farmers Markets around here - I hate going because it is 90% other stuff, and 10% fruits & veggies, it seems.

Annette - So, what fun stuff did you pick up?

Oh dear, here comes the confession of a plantaholic....
I brought home
Echinacea Mac'N'Cheese
E. Meringue
E. Tomato Soup
E. Pink Poodle
E. Green Jewel
E. Green Envy
E. Hope
E. Vintage Wine
E. All That Jazz all quilled petals (don't know if I'm going to like this one) I guess you can tell these are my newest obsession :o).

Lithodora White Star, very pretty
Leucanthemum Sunshine (yellow single daisy form )
Erysimum 'Ems' Had this years ago, hard to find
a free Stargazer which were given out to all the moms and Lobelia siphilitica (horrible name, pretty flower) I just unpacked my little black box it was on the bottom. I much prefer it's common name Great Blue Lobelia.

I'm really taken with the new Echinacea, had a nice chat with the owner of the nursery I was at, he was telling me about the trial fields at Terra Nova he wandered through, looks like were in for some real beauties in the years to come. He will have more of the newer varieties in a month or two like.... Coral Reef, Flame Thrower and... and...

Did I ever mention I need a keeper LOL.

Annette

-Irene, Polygonatums do work well in dry areas. My largest patch is in moist shade, but I do have a few in dryer areas. They work well there too. Solomon's Seal pays for itself by the second year. I payed $10 for one shoot of it six years ago. Now I think my one patch is worth $250, lol!

There is a plant sale comming up that sells great plants, some of which are fairly rare. Not a craft item in sight! Yay! I always try to be the first in line to make sure I get everything I want.

-Annette, you got a lot of plants! And didn't you say before you have to bring all of them home on the ferry?
CMK

CMK, yes I walked on the ferry with them all packed in my little black box on wheels. I learned the art of packing/cramming plants in limited space a long time ago, in fact before getting on the ferry my son and I came up with a way to put a shelf in so I could bring back more :o). A

Annette - They have been going crazy with the echinacea varieties lately, haven't they? I hadn't been following them much, but suddenly keep hearing about them! Estelle was kind enough to send me some of her extra E. Sunrise along with White Swan (after my tipping over seeds mishap) so I am excited to see how they come out. Maybe I'll eventually branch out with some of the more exotic varieties - we'll have to see.

I have to sympathize with the whole box packing thing. The biggest thing limiting my purchases was that I had picked up this one box, and by the time I had packed it full, I could barely carry it, much less cram anything else into it - so I figured I'd better be done! I might've looked a bit more, but dd was getting impatient, too.

CMK - Looking up Solomon's Seal some more - now I'm thinking it might be perfect for my shady side yard, which is as close to a woodland as there is in my yard, lol. I have a funny feeling that area will be next year's major project - I keep getting more ideas for it, other than blanketing it with pachysandra. I told dh that this year, what I really want are stepping stones so we stop messing up the entire area, and we'll plant it next year. (He thinks he can get salvaged bluestone from a construction project - possibly more formal than I had envisioned, but the price is right, and if we lay it randomly I think it will look great.)

Anyhow, I sure digressed a bit there, didn't I? Have fun at your big plant sale!

I'm on my way out the door but later I'll show a pix of my little black box, all gardeners that go to plant sale should have one, so many possiblities :o). A

Not a picture of mine, mine doesn't have a lid and mine was half the price. The whole thing folds down, carried like a briefcase when not in use, great for all those great plant sales, frees your hands to grab all those little treasures :o). A

Here is a link that might be useful: Folding cart

-Irene, I think the bluestone would look great. I like the look of pairing formal with informal; it adds diversity and structure. And hey, if the stone is free...
I envy your vision for a woodland garden. If I could start over again, I think I would make my entire shade garden into a woodland one. I just love the look.

I too have given up with trying the newer coneflower cultivars. I gave up after buying several from the 'Big Sky' line that just never thrived.

-Annette, in total, how many Echinacea do you have? What's your fav? Do you have them all in a sort of 'collector's bed', or do you have them mingling with other plants? I would love to see pics of them!
Totally OT, but doesn't your ferry allow vehicles on it, or is only for walk ons?
Last time I went over to Seattle I took the car on the ferry over to Hansville WA to visit relatives. There was an awesome nursery there. Needless to say I came home with a car-load of goodies!
CMK

LOL, I think I'm approaching 30 with the ones I brought home, Some of the Big Sky's I might not be keeping, the ones with malformed flower petals aren't appealing. Right now I've got them planted in amongst the M. daisies, I'll probably move them around at a later date.
I only have a close up photo of my Razzmatazz, most of the Echinaceas were new last year so don't have big plants yet and the ones I brought home are just out of the plug stage so it will be awhile before they amount to anything.
I'll try to get pix this summer. I really like Razzmatazz and Twilight and of course After Midnight for obvious reasons. Twilight has a old rose fragrance, lovely. Although we had an exceptionally cold winter we didn't have the rain we usually get and I think that's why they all survived, they don't like wet feet in the winter. I have a plan to protect the crowns from the heavy rains next winter if they come, see if that will make a difference. A

Being a B.C. senior citizen I can ride the ferry free weekdays but have to pay $14.75 each way on the weekends, for a car and driver the fare would be around $62 each way. The ferry ride is about an hour and a half. I'm very fortunate to have a son who lives in Vancouver who picks his mom up and takes her to any nursery she wants to go to, spoiled, yes I am :o). Because of the increase in fares there are a LOT of walk ons now. A

Cool little cart! I don't go to enough plant sales for it to make sense for me. I say that now, of course... ;)

Free ferry is cool. My mom is all excited because last year they made the commuter train free for senior citizens. I can see where people would be walking on, at that rate! We've looked into the cost of the ferry across Lake Michigan, and it never seems to make sense - I forget the price, but it was a lot.

And, yeah, I think the bluestone could be cool. I'm trying not to get my hopes up - the last time we thought we could salvage some stuff from that jobsite, the owner decided to give it all to his maid.

Hold the phone--when did Bluestone have a half off sale?! I missed it!!! :-(

-Newbie, lol! No sale! She was talking about blueSTONE pavers, not Bluestone nursery. ;-)

-Irene, be sure to post pics of the area and new path!

-Annette, free ferry rides, very neat! I don't think they have that over here...
Do you find the newer cultivars to be less vigorous than the good ol' ones like Magnus and White Swan?
CMK

Actually, I did mention the Bluestone nursery sale, when comparing prices in my first post. They have their half-off sale in early May, iirc - I forget if it is over yet. I actually confused myself when I was reading a later post about bluestone/Bluestone!

I will try to post pics once there is something to see, on the side yard. (which is not where the new plants are - maybe I need to post pics just so people know what I'm talking about!)