I have trouble resisting as well, just planted a new hydrangea and holly last week and worked my way through a small box of clearance goodies from Santa Rosa Gardens. Sometimes they're practically giving things away and who am I to say no :)

mxk3, do you mind telling where you purchased your globe Blue Spruce? Exactly what I am looking for and you seem nearby.

I got some goodies from Santa Rosa Gardens as well. My first time ordering from them but I read the positive reviews on Dave's so I took a chance. Got some Agastache Golden Jubilee, Aster Purple Dome, and Phlox Blue Moon for wicked cheap.

We scored big at the local Lowes with their 75% off sale. My mother has a new house and buying shrubs for $2 and perennials for $1.67 was a jackpot moment to get that garden started. Some of it was basic, but our Lowes are pretty nice and have a good selection of native or named things too. It meant we could then go to the local nurseries and get the "special" stuff with what we saved.

I struck out on the hydrangeas I wanted until my husband suggested we "go for a drive" a few days later and took me to ever last nursery in our area. Finally found them for $4.50 at a Home Depot. The only bad thing about our haul was having to plant it all! It made me glad the stuff I ordered from Santa Rosa will come in spring. I just might want to think about gardening again by then.

My fall planted caryopterious died. Could have been poor root prep on my part, but I also wondered if it is the case that fall bloomers are less likely to become well established before growth slows down too much to replace roots destroyed in transplanting.

You might consider healing in that particular shrub, then mulching well.

Marie: They will all be stored in their original pots in the barn for the winter.

Pat: English Gardens. I picked up some gorgeous dwarf blue spruce a few years ago in the fall on tremendous markdown (that plant is pricey for a nice specimen!) so I took a look this fall to see if I could score - I got the last ones at West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor EGs, and Royal Oak didn't have any. Bordine's Rochester has a lot of the Montgomery (Blue Montgomery?) cultivar, but that's not the one I want - but you may want to check that out to see if suits your needs. I also looked at Telly's and didn't see any.

I really shouldn't open these threads!. I had my bulb splurge weeks (months) ago and am now totally broke (the sodding truck still playing up) so nothing for me....even if we had any great sales. I did have to go to Homebase - our version of Lowes - for some metal paints but the only stuff they had on sale (thankfully) were pansies, dyed heather and some hopeless fruit trees. A few hellebores ('winterbells?) at ridiculous prices. Went home virtuously empty handed.

Oh, I bought bulbs, too - that was either last weekend or the weekend prior (I can't even remember - time goes by so quickly...). At least I didn't buy that many - only some tulips and hyacinths - I'm sure I can somehow manage to get those in the ground before it freezes. I have such a long drive to work now and have to deal with puppy daycare drop-off and pick-up (during potty training - hopefully only a couple more months), and by the time I get home it's getting dark, so the only time I have is on the weekend; thankfully I restrained myself with the bulb purchase so planting won't be too burdensome in terms of time. Like I said, I'll deal with planting the shrubs in the spring, no time right now plus I have all those beds to weed prior to planting - what a jungle!

I am a bit jealous - fall sales are unheard of in my area. Local nurseries do have sales on annuals beginning in late summer (end of August) but who wants to spend $$ - even discounted $$ - on plants that will only remain alive for a few short weeks. My nursery has a loyalty program that does offer a pretty generous discount on all living plants (no bulbs, etc.) during the fall months, depending on how much one spent that year. But that's as far as it goes. Even the local HD or Lowe's do not have a big "end of season" discount - they just sell off what stock they have and don't bring more in.

Picked up some stuff from probably the last remaining garden centre to have some perennials left. One and two gallon pots - they were down to $5 each or 5 for $10. So I bought 5, of course. Nothing particularly exciting, but some nice filler perennials for my from garden which I've dug up the majority of sod.

Responsibly few tulips, a ridiculously cheap rhododendron, a strawberry sundae hydrangea and just last night a few snowdrops and fritillaria. I think I'm done.... he says with little confidence.

Every time I finished working in the garden these past few weeks I said the same thing. That's it! I'm done with the garden for the year! I said it last week even, before I picked up some clearance daffodils and realized I still needed to scatter seeds for next year. Did that yesterday. I'm done. Really. I think.

Of course, now I'm browsing veggie seed catalogs. It never ends.

in the barn ... go out every other week or two.. and either put a snowball ... or some ice cubes on the pots ... just enough water.. IF IT WARMS ... for a dormant plant .. the plants need no water in MI winter dormancy ... but you dont want the peat based media to freeze dry ... and become unwettable in spring ....

ice cube trays from dollar store ... and you can make them right in the barn.. in MI.. in winter ...

just carry out a watering can ... but hay .. lol .. do you have frost free water out there???

do NOT water the pots with a watering can ... you must not freeze the roots into an ice cube ... roots need air.. as much as water..

ken