I have a friend who exclusively orders from Wayside and loves them. Another friend was highly disappointed last year. She paid premium prices for unusual plants, and instead they sent her "replacements" which were all common varieties or species and charged her the same amount of money.

Garden gift items or garden supplies might be the way to go. They also have good books like Botany for Gardeners.

I will say that I just tried searching on the catalog under "estate ceramics" and that mainly brought up container plants...but I'm sure you can find something like markers, books, planters etc.

What a lovely gift!

Thanks GGG. The Wayside online catalog looked pretty dismal....lots of overpriced plant varieties that didn't look all that unusual to me. I love to order uncommon varieties from other mail order companies...as long as I know they're sending healthy plants. But Wayside is so 'hit or miss.'

The thought of adding to my book collection hadn't occurred to me. What a great suggestion!

You can use your certificate at Park Seeds as well. Likewise, in the past I've done this - order the gift certificate at a reduced price (last minute offer via e-mail, $100 certificate for only $75.) Then, I wait until May when Wayside and Parks are having their fire sale on plants and have 40-75% off and use the certificate then. If I order plants at that time it's usually too hot to put them right in the ground, so I pot them up on the porch where they get partial sun and can develop a good root system in a nice pot. Come fall I then put them in the ground. Using this method, I've made the investment go much further.

Mcrean1's idea is very good. You can get a lot for $100 when they're having a sale. I have purchased from Wayside and have been happy with their bare root roses, and as I recall I purchased a variegated brunnera which I love (though it's a bit of a struggle in this climate), also blueberries and sky pencil holly which were tiny but when on sale are fine.

Good luck, it's a great day when you get a garden nursery gift certificate any time, I say!

Rose

chattahoochie, if you like OGRs I think Wayside does sell some, also they sell David Austin roses, not sure if you like those. THeir 'collections' are also interesting.

I did get a fabulous Japanese Maple from them, which is 5 years old and is doing great. Also two weeping redbuds which I have been getting rave reviews from the neighborhood on (they are in bloom now).

They also have a lot of rare cherry and crabapple trees. Which are expensive and will take a few years to get going, but with $100 you can handle it.

DO NOT order clematis from them, too small.If you want clematis order from here:

http://www.silverstarvinery.com/

I got this link on the rose forum and ordered two. Very large rootballs.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm still pouring over the Wayside website and have now moved over to the Parks site, thanks to mcrean1. I've started to look at my garden with a more critical eye to decide on whether I have room to experiment. My neighbors probably think that it's already a jungle out there. Still a little nervous about taking a chance on any living plant material, since my last experience with Wayside was disappointing.

Nosyrosie and Buford, I think my husband would move out if I introduced any more roses. Probably have about 20 OGR's and Austins still in pots, waiting to be planted. Nowhere to put them until I shovel prune a few that haven't performed well. Glamis Castle is the only one I've been glaring at for more than a year. Oh, what a dog.

Good tips about the maple, cherry, crabapple, redbud and clematis. Brunnera sounds interesting. And Blueberries? I can feel a new obsession coming on... or maybe I should say a new hobby ;)

A word about the brunnera. It's good to hear someone else say it's spotty around here, because I have had real iffy results with them. They are pretty cheap locally, so I think I'd use my gift certificate for something else and pick up a couple of local brunneras to experiment with.
I envy you your gift certificate. Hope you get great stuff.

HMM, I have Glamis Castle in a pot waiting to be planted. Hope mine does OK.

Most crabapples don't flower well in the south - our winters aren't cold enough. I was devastated to learn this when I moved here from Maryland.

I've had mixed luch with Wayside, but more Ok than not. They have replaced plants that died, though. I am even more hesitant about Park Seed, but I have to say I've never ordered from them, and they don't seem very different at this point from Wayside (in fact it's probably the same operation, just 2 separate brands they bought at some point and decided to preserve). I've gotten a couple paw-paw trees (slow growers, so hard to tell how they will do in the end), some callas and roses from Wayside recently that are all OK so far. Their clematis didn't make it for me at all.

Good luck!

Glamis got the boot from my yard several years ago. It balled in any kind of humidity or before a rain.
However, I did give it to someone who lived outside the city and said he had much better luck with it. So it may depend on a micro climate, how well it will do.

GGG

Here is a pic of the weeping redbud I bought from Wayside 4 years ago. I bought two, one of each side of the driveway. I was supposed to stake them so they were straight and weeping, but I was lazy and forgot about it. I acutually prefer the form I have than the one in the catalog which is straight.

For the most part my experience with Wayside has been no worse or better than others. When it comes to getting replacements they are like Wally world - no questions asked. I've even had stuff not make it twice in a row and they still send replacements or subs if I like.

Someone mentioned Clematis from them. Here's what I did: they had a sale in mid to late May. Fourteen (14) Clematis for 20 bucks. A bargain. Now, I would never stick anything without a solid, containerized root system in the garden that time of year. It would fry here in our humid little hell. However, I put them in 2 gal pots filled with Fafard 3B and topped with my homegrown vermicompost. I parked them in the dapped shade on the porch and cared for them like a potted plant. Pruned them at the right time. The following early spring I set them out, each at the base of a rose or dwarf pittosporum. They grew tremendously well and wrap upward through the tall roses and around the pitts. They are gorgeous throughout the season. On the lighter side, people are always asking me what those funny shrubs with the big flowers are and I have fun making stuff up (Oriental echinechia shrub, flowering southern moonflower shrub, Mayflower cactus)

Buford, Thanks for posting your weeping redbud photo. It gives me hope for Wayside products. And mcrean1, you're absolutely on target and I appreciate the words of wisdom about nurturing the items received from the sale. I'll take your suggestions into consideration. Love those creative names for your 'miracle shrubs!