Garden Centre Alley

Wowza wowza wowza.... I've found Seventh Heaven (and all the lesser Heavens were really cute too, bless!).... I know the way to Nirvana (it's the second left past Amarillo)..... Shake your money maker (but keep all your clothes on!).... Climb every mountain (but concentrate on the short ones first and ease yourself in)..... You were the wind beneath my wings (stop eatin' beans)....By now, you're thinking.... 'Crumbs, what on earth has sparked this extreme outburst of Stimpy-like joy in our recently replanted southern correspondent???? Has the moderately warmer weather melted the brain cells which delivered the cynicism?????'Of course, that's what you're thinking if you use words like 'Crumbs' and know who Stimpy is and have read my more cynically toned blogs... my 'Northern Oeuvre' as it would no doubt come to be known if bloggers are ever deemed to have 'periods' like painters (just wait till I hit this page with my take on cubism) .... Otherwise you're thinking... 'Minutes, minutes,... better things to do.... hair to wash....half a slug to clean off boots....missing glove to locate and lunch to make'....So - what occasions this outbreak of enthusiasm? Well, I have found garden centre alley - a short stretch of tarmac called Woodmansterne Lane near Wallington in Surrey.... I think there were at least five. Our first stop was 'Flittons'. Flittons is small, with a family-run feel. I liked that they had arranged plants by colour of flower - it was quite helpful given that I was looking for white-flowering plants for the courtyard for my homage to Sissinghurst... I know, this is a bit twee, but it's a small area and I just wanted to give it a go. We came away with a good sized Paeonie Shirley Temple and some other bits and bobs. Flittons also sells odds and sods for flower arranging, some aggregates and compost, as well as a fair selection of garden sundries..... slug pellets, foods, etc.Hop over the road (carefully, traffic is pretty heavy even on a Sunday) and you're at Barnes Nurseries. Just a note, but they don't have a car park, so there are cars parked up both sides of Woodmansterne Lane in front of and along from Barnes. We were cheeky and left our car in Flitton's car park - I hope they didn't mind, and we had already purchased a good lot from them. Barnes is big on plants - here they are arranged alphabetically with colour pictures of the plants at their best (e.g., in bloom, etc.) behind each row. Fereday cavorted around like a hyper labrador picking up perennials and 'ooohing' and 'aahhing'..... Plants all appeared to be in really good nick. At Barnes, we picked up white meconopsis, a white-flowering hosta, white iris, white geranium, white echinops and more.... the white theme is actually pretty helpful for keeping the buying impulse in check....And so, it was with a boot full that we arrived at Woodcote Green nurseries at the end of the alley..... car park, overspill car park, 'drive thru' (for aggregates and manure), coffee shop (excellent coffee) and toilets!! And masses and masses of plants, big ones, small ones,.... and pet supplies (I refrained from buying something called 'Bitch Spray' to keep on my desk at work.... some jokes are only funny for a couple of minutes, after all). Japanese maple, stipa, royal fern, purple slate, compost, couple of pots...... two sandwiches, bag of crisps, two coffees..... dazed and confused like a small child who has discovered there is such a thing as getting tired of opening yet more Christmas presents on Christmas morning..... we flooped off to the car in the overspill carpark and towards home...."oooh look, there's another one.... 50% off terracotta..... yes?""no.... I think I've seen enough for one day.....""why don't you take a little nap while I get us home, hmmm?....""okay.... wake me when we get to Waitrose....."I'll be posting up the courtyard area's tranformation with full price lists, etc., at some point in the next couple of weeks.But if you are ever near Wallington... trust me, garden centre alley is well worth a look.

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